I'll respond to a few related comments and questions at once:
On Sat, May 8, 2010 at 12:31 PM, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
It's board members directly asserting control over content. Of course it's a major issue.
Perish the thought. The Board is not controlling content - I would oppose any Board action that did so.
Phoebe writes:
I'm not sure that's how I'd frame it. The board statement seemed pretty clear; reaffirming existing policy. I guess it depends a bit on what capacity you think Jimmy was acting in;
On Fri, May 7, 2010 at 7:08 PM, Gregory Maxwell wrote;
I find it shocking that the board has chosen to explicitly support this 'wild west' approach.
The Board does not support this - although individuals may - it is not the role of the Board or the Foundation to get involved with project policy or content discussions. Jimmy represents himself when he contributes to the projects.
I don't find a 'wild west' approach helpful. However some community members have in the past; and Jimmy's founder role stems from the deference of the community, not a blessing from the Board.
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Millosh asked about the Board perspective on the Jimmy's last actions on Commons, so here is mine:
Jimmy started a discussion on Commons, about a subject he cares deeply about. It began well. As Adam and others have said, by Friday morning there was an active community discussion led by Commons administrators, and steady progress on fleshing out a sexual content policy. That was largely attributable to Jimmy's help facilitating a community discussion around a concrete proposal. I engaged in the discussion myself, but my comments there -- as those of any Trustee -- represent only my input as a member of the community.
Since Friday afternoon, this has been derailed. Jimmy acted boldly and unilaterally, changed the developing draft significantly and then acted on it, reverted opposition without comment, and threatened desysopping. Work on the proposal died.
Boldness is useful - I am a fan of WP:BRD - but I am concerned about the last point. From Jimmy's talk page today: "I am fully willing to change the policies for adminship... removing adminship in case of wheel warring on this issue" -- this Sword of Damocles is problematic. It is difficult to reach meaningful consensus in an atmosphere of fear.
I hope that noone in the Commons community feels threatened or unable to speak their mind (or to exercise their administrative abilities in carrying out their work).
As to a way forward -- it is (as ever) up to the Commons community to work out what its policies are to be, with Jimmy if they are willing. I encourage those who feel strongly about these issues to engage directly in discussions there.
SJ