Hi all
We are very proud of the fruitful discussions that are held on this Public
Policy list. Surely most of you will agree that we regularly see very
productive conversations and great contributions, including from outside
the Wikimedia movement. We are very happy about the level and substance of
conversation on this email list, which many consider one of the best within
Wikimedia and maybe even beyond.
However, Listservs are a complicated thing. We are all humans (right? :)
and so we wanted to send out this gentle reminder to please keep the
conversation friendly, productive, and focused on the goals that we share.
In order to continue the valuable discussions and make them open for
everyone who wants to contribute, including participants from other
organizations, we would like to encourage everybody on this list to apply a
couple of principles that we recently developed during a discussion at
Wikimania:
1. Give constructive criticism. Offer options.
2. Treat people as you would like to be treated. No personal attacks. Be
empathetic.
3. Re-read your contributions. Be patient. Think: this is how xyz makes
me feel.
4. See something, say something.
5. Rewind. Connect on human level. Apologize. Get off-list for a second.
6. And finally: let others speak. Don't send too many messages. Give
recipients room to breathe.
Even though we use email and not letters as a medium of conversation here,
please also try to stick to basic formalities and acts of courtesy when
addressing the group or individuals.
We are not trying to over-regulate this listserv. But we feel this is a
good time to talk about this in order to make sure we can continue to
successfully work together towards free knowledge. If you have comments or
questions, feel free to send them directly to me.
Thanks a lot and keep up the good work!
Jan
==
Jan Gerlach
Public Policy Manager
Wikimedia Foundation
149 New Montgomery Street, 6th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
jgerlach(a)wikimedia.org