on 3/20/07 9:12 PM, Steve Bennett at stevagewp@gmail.com wrote:
According to Erik, he has no legal power. According to Phil, he has reserved a role that includes the power to make decrees like "this is unacceptable". What is going on? What can he and can't he do? Why does he ignore the merge of WP:V and WP:OR into WP:ATT (and I thought I was slow for missing it...), then appear and not only criticise it, but actually act on it: "As a first step, I am removing the claim on this page that is supercedes the other two, and restoring the other two to their rightful place in the pantheon of Wikipedia."
I don't attribute any malice to Jimbo, or anyone else for that matter. But clearly, there is widespread confusion about Jimbo's role in Wikipedia that needs resolving. Perhaps I could pose some questions for the audience:
- What is Jimbo's financial position with respect to Wikipedia? Does
he own any part of servers, software, intellectual property? In what way, if any, does he profit from it?
What is Jimbo's legal position with respect to Wikipedia?
What is Jimbo's position as an editor on Wikipedia? Does he have
the right to ignore consensus? What happens if people disregard his right? Can he confer this right on others? How do we distinguish between Jimbo as normal editor and Jimbo as editor with godlike powers?
- Does Jimbo have a leadership position, and if so, of what? Whom
does he lead? In what way? Is that leadership contestable?
- What concrete changes have taken place as a result of Jimbo being
succeeded by Anthere as chairman of the Wikimedia Foundation Board? What is the day-to-day effect of these changes?
- What is Jimbo's position as a spokesperson for Wikipedia or the
Wikimedia Foundation? What does it mean when Jimbo tells the press that some change "will probably be going ahead"? Are we to interpret that as an order to be obeyed?
- Are the answers to any of these questions different for the
different language Wikipedias, or other Wikimedia projects?
Thanks in advance for answers and positive discussion.
Steve
Great questions. And the beginning of what I hope will be a great and honest discussion. Every successful organization that has had a strong, charismatic founder has had to eventually come to terms with many of these same questions. Unless they are confronted, wrestled with, and answered honestly, that organization may grow in size - but not stature.
Marc Riddell