On Fri, Feb 12, 2016 at 4:31 PM, Liam Wyatt liamwyatt@gmail.com wrote:
This Grant document for a “Knowledge Engine by Wikipedia” is *specifically and overtly stating* that its purpose is to start work on an search engine as a rival for Google/Yahoo. That is the end goal of the project.
See also:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/02/12/wikipedia_grant_build_search_engine_...
It is, therefore, inconceivable to me that the Executive Director would privately propose to an external partner that they would undertake a 6 year project to build a search-engine that will have massive cost, staffing, strategic and content implications - entirely without an official WMF strategy covering that period, no indication in the current annual plan, without the awareness of the community, and unclearly communicated to the Board. I find the fact that this could have been done to be a deep breach of our values - and not wholly unrelated to the current sudden exodus of long-serving members of WMF staff.
Liam / Wittylama