Dear Ziko,

For context, I want to preface this by saying that I am speaking as a former member of the strategy team, not as a Foundation employee. My perspective was always that the team leading the movement strategy process was working in service of the movement, not of the Foundation.

I hear that you are unsatisfied with some of the content of the document. I hear that you disagree with particular elements like advocacy or new forms of knowledge. I hear that you question the broad definition of "community", which in your opinion should only include active Wikipedians.

I don't agree with all your points, but I understand them and I relate to some.

I appreciate that you hold very strong opinions on some of those topics. I would like you to see that other people in the movement can hold dramatically different opinions that are just as valid.

Many people (in and outside the movement) pushed for Wikimedia organizations to become much more active politically. Others expressed concerns about becoming too political. In the end, the document gave a nod to political advocacy but didn't make it the number-one priority of the movement. There was a balance to strike, and I would like you to understand that need.

I would also like you to understand that your approach and language may alienate other members of our communities. When you call oral traditions one of "the most terrible things from the paper" and disparage experts who shared their opinion with us, your words unwittingly cast away communities who have been historically left out, and you contribute to perpetuating their structural oppression.

You argue that the notions of new forms of knowledge, oral traditions, and Western bias were pushed by experts and by the Foundation, and didn't come from the communities. And yet, at the 2017 Wikimedia conference in Berlin, whose participants were coming from Wikimedia communities, the most-voted-for statement at the end of the conference was this one:
Knowledge is global: we must move beyond western written knowledge, towards multiple and diverse forms of knowledge (including oral and visual), from multiple and diverse peoples and perspectives, to truly achieve the sum of all human knowledge.
[ https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Conference_2017/Documentation/Movement_Strategy_track/Day_3 ]

What I am trying to convey is that for each of your concerns, there are people within our movement and communities who have fought, like you are fighting now, for those elements to be part of the movement's strategic direction. And they have outweighed you. On some other topics, your opinion is the one that prevailed. On many topics, we all agreed. It is now time to accept the outcome and focus on what motivates us to contribute individually to parts of the strategic direction, so that we can advance as a movement.




2017-10-03 13:38 GMT-07:00 Ziko van Dijk <zvandijk@gmail.com>:
Hello Guillaume,

Thank you for sharing your point of view. But I cannot agree with you that this is a case of „negativity bias“ or „tunnel visions“ or „begrudging fashion“. I have fundamental concerns about the redefinition of the community and the widening of the movement‘s purpose, and I fully join Frank Schulenburg‘s statement that the draft paper says hardly anything to the average Wikipedian.

As I do not know your prerogatives given from above, I cannot judge about your personal role. I don’t want to and I have nothing against you personally, on the contrary. Indeed, you took some of the most terrible things from the paper - such as the „oral traditions“. But they still appear as a residue in the „Appendix“, and how could it happen in the first place that they were ever pushed forward by the WMF? Challenge 2 called our work with reputable sources a „Western bias“. Where did that come from? Not from the communities (my definition), but from „experts“ such as a man who runs a company for storytelling and claims that he can trace his ancestry to the middle ages via „oral traditions“! 

As Andreas pointed out, there is much more in the Appendix such as the cooperations with Youtube and Google, „new incentives“ etc. and also the opinion that „Wikimedia“ should become more „political“. Certainly, I was against SOPA and like to see the WMF fight copyright problems. But what I saw at Wikimania made me wonder about the common ground. The WMF is partnering up with the ACLU that endorses the freedom of speech for the KuKluxKlan. The WMF is already approaching EU laws from an American point of view and dismisses the possibility that Europeans may think differently.

If we keep all those things in the draft paper and in the Appendix - the WMF will have carte blanche to do literally anything it likes, being a social movement fighting whatever technical, political or social inequity. But well, the WMF will claim that that is what the „community“ wants - given the new definition of community, that would even be true. :-(

Certainly, people can set up a page on Meta to express their concerns about such an unready draft paper. Is this an announcement that endorsements of the draft paper will be welcomed at the main gate, while the concerns will have to use the backyard entrance?

Kind regards
Ziko






Guillaume Paumier <gpaumier@wikimedia.org> schrieb am Mo. 2. Okt. 2017 um 22:36:
Hello,

If you feel a strong urge to reject the text, there is obviously nothing
preventing anyone from creating a Meta-Wiki page to that purpose. However,
I would first ask to reflect on the process, its outcome, and where it's
going.

Strategy is complicated. Building a movement strategy even more so [
https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/05/19/wikimedia-strategy-2030-discussions/
]. One person's serious issue may be another person's slight preference.
People's serious issues may be at odds with each other (and I can tell you
from experience that they are indeed). Balancing all those priorities is a
difficult exercise, and I certainly don't claim to have done it perfectly.
But I do think the outcome we've arrived at represents the shared vision of
a large part of the movement.

As I was writing, rewriting and editing the text of the direction, I did
consider everything that was shared on the talk page, and the last version
is indeed based on those comments, as well as those shared during multiple
Wikimania sessions, individual chats, comments from the Drafting group,
from affiliates, from staff, and so on.

While I did consider all of those, I didn't respond to every single
comment, and there is little I can do about that except apologize and
endeavor to do better. I should have set clearer expectations that not
every comment would be integrated in the text. I ran into an issue all too
familiar in the Wikiverse where one person had to integrate comments and
feedback from a large group of people at the same time.

High-level vision and strategy integration isn't really something that can
be spread across a group of people as easily as writing an encyclopedia
article, and so I ended up being a bottleneck for responding to comments. I
had to prioritize what I deemed were issues that were shared by a large
group, and those that seemed to be more individual concerns.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not the "everything must be positive,
fantastic, yeehaw-we-are-number-one" type. If anything, I'm rather the
opposite, as I think many Wikimedians are. If we had unlimited time, I'd
probably continue to edit the draft for years, and I'm sure there would be
other perfectionists to feed my obsession.

However, others in my personal and professional circles have helped me
realize in the past few weeks that even getting to this stage of the
process is remarkable. As Wikimedians, we often focus on what's wrong and
needs fixing. Sometimes, our negativity bias leads us to lose focus of the
accomplishments. This can clash with the typical American culture, but I
think somewhere in the middle is where those respective tunnel visions
widen and meet.

One thing I've learned from Ed Bland, my co-architect during this process,
is that sometimes things can't be perfect. Sometimes, excellence means
recognizing when something is "good enough" and getting out of the
asymptotic editing and decision paralysis loop. It means accepting that a
few things annoy us so that a larger group of people is excited and
motivated to participate.

>From everything I've heard and read in the past two months, the last
version of the direction is agreeable to a large part of individuals,
groups, and organizations that have been involved in the process. Not
everyone agrees with everything in the document, even within the
Foundation, and even me. But enough people across the movement agree with
enough of the document that we can all use it as a starting point for the
next phase of discussions about roles, resources, and responsibilities.

I do hope that many of you will consider endorsing the direction in a few
weeks. While I won't claim to know everyone involved, I think I know you
enough, Ziko and Fæ, from your work and long-time commitment in the
movement, to venture that there is more in this document that you agree
with than that you disagree with. I hope that the prospect of moving in a
shared direction will outweigh the possible annoyances. And so I hope that
we'll endorse the direction together, even if it's in our typically
Wikimedian begrudging fashion.


2017-10-02 6:56 GMT-07:00 Ziko van Dijk <zvandijk@gmail.com>:

> Hello Katherine,
>
> This is actually sad news. In my opinion, the draft is far away from being
> a useful and appropriate document for our future.
>
> The serious issues from the talk page are only partially addressed in the
> rewrite. So I contest your claim: "The version on Meta-Wiki is based on the
> feedback you offered."
>
> You have announced that organizations and individuals are invited to
> endorse the draft. Will there also be a possibility to reject the draft? I
> remember the 2011 image filter referendum, when the WMF asked the community
> how important it finds the filter, but not giving the option to be against
> it.
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Image_filter_referendum/en&
> uselang=en
> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Image_filter_referendum/en&uselang=en>

>
> The drafts tries to enforce a new definition of the "community": "from
> editors to donors, to organizers, and beyond". I thought that "community"
> were people who are contributing to the wiki Wikipedia on a regular basis
> as volunteers.
>
> I am very positive of having an open Wikimedia *movement*. But if in future
> more or less everybody will be *community*: that is in fact abolishing the
> community.
>
> Kind regards,
> Ziko van Dijk
>
>
>
>
>
> 2017-09-30 22:28 GMT+02:00 Katherine Maher <kmaher@wikimedia.org>:
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > Since my update last month, we have been collecting, processing, and
> > including your most recent input into the lastest version of the movement
> > strategic direction. This version is available on Meta-Wiki.[1]
> >
> > We're so close! The direction will be finalized tomorrow, October 1.
> > Starting tomorrow, we will begin to invite individuals and groups to
> > endorse our movement's strategic direction. I want to share my greatest
> > thanks and appreciation for the work and contributions so many of you
> have
> > made throughout this first phase (Phase 1) of developing a shared
> strategic
> > direction.
> >
> > In the coming weeks we will be preparing for Phase 2, which will involve
> > developing specific plans for how we achieve the direction we have built
> > together. I do not have many more details to share right now, but will of
> > course offer an update as they become available.
> >
> > *Strategic direction*. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the
> > draft introduced at Wikimania. The version on Meta-Wiki is based on the
> > feedback you offered.
> >
> > *Endorsements*. Once the strategic direction closes tomorrow,
> > organizations, groups, and individuals within the movement will be
> invited
> > to endorse the direction, in a show of support for the future we are
> > building together. We'll be sending an update next week on the process
> and
> > timeline.
> >
> > *Concluding Phase 1*. Please join me in offering thanks to the
> volunteers,
> > staff, and contractors who came together to make this possible! As we
> > transition into Phase 2, some of these roles will be concluded and new
> ones
> > created in their place. We'll keep you updated.
> >
> > *Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2017*. I was fortunate to join Wikimedians from
> > Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) last weekend at the sixth annual
> Wikimedia
> > CEE Meeting[2] in Warsaw, Poland. Nicole Ebber and Kaarel Vaidla led a
> > series of discussions on the direction, including what it means for
> CEE.[3]
> > Thank you our hosts, Wikimedia Polska, and to all of the attendees for
> such
> > a wonderful event!
> >
> > *In other news.* I've heard from many people how much you appreciate
> these
> > updates as a means of keeping track about what is going on. I'm talking
> to
> > the Communications department about keeping them going once the strategic
> > planning process concludes, with a focus on more general updates. Keep
> the
> > feedback coming.
> >
> > Since my last update, our planet has reminded us of its incredible and
> > often unforgiving strength. My thoughts, and those of many within the
> > Wikimedia Foundation, are with our Wikimedia family which have been
> > affected by the natural disasters of recent weeks. We have been in touch
> > with our affiliates in the areas impacted, and will offer any support we
> > can.
> >
> > Finally, as our CFO Jaime mentioned last week,[3] the Foundation is in
> the
> > process of moving into our new office, in One Montgomery Tower. We invite
> > you to visit its new page on Meta-Wiki.[4]
> >
> > We are at the halfway mark of this movement strategy process, and I am
> > incredibly proud of the work we have done together on the strategy. Thank
> > you, again, to everyone for your contributions to this process. We have
> > more work ahead but should be proud of what we have achieved already.
> >
> > Ten cuidado (Spanish translation: “Be safe”),
> >
> > Katherine
> >
> > [1]
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/
> 2017/Direction
> > [2]  https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_CEE_Meeting_2017
> > [3]
> > https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CEE_meeting_2017_%
> > E2%80%93_Movement_Strategy.pdf
> > [4]
> > https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2017-
> > September/088654.html
> > [5]  https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_headquarters
> >
> > --
> > Katherine Maher
> > Executive Director
> >
> > *We're moving on October 1, 2017!  **Our new address:*
> >
> > Wikimedia Foundation
> > 1 Montgomery Street, Suite 1600
> > San Francisco, CA 94104
> >
> > +1 (415) 839-6885 ext. 6635
> > +1 (415) 712 4873
> > kmaher@wikimedia.org
> > https://annual.wikimedia.org
> > _______________________________________________
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Guillaume Paumier
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