Ok - I would be really surprised if WMF have discussed Google in their executive sessions either - given the difficulties around staff and strategy they probably haven't had five minutes to mention Google, even if they wanted to. So the most economical hypothesis is that the reason Denny hasn't recused himself is because the subject hasn't come up.
I would agree that board members should step aside from discussions about anything that will have a commercial impact on their employers, though I don't quite understand how Wikidata affects Google's bottom line and so can't work out how this might be a conflict - can anyone explain this? Or indeed what the "Knowledge Engine" actually is?
Regards,
Chris On 11 Jan 2016 03:17, "Anthony Cole" ahcoleecu@gmail.com wrote:
Chris, there have been no resolutions since Denny assumed his seat that impact Denny's employer, as best as I can tell, unless there is an existing direct relationship between Google and one or both of the new trustees, and no one's provided evidence of that. I hope Denny will recuse from any decision-making that might impact his employer, not just those decisions that directly address his employer.
I would be concerned if he were involved in *discussions* on topics that impact Google, not just topics where Google is named. By this I mean, but not only, anything touching on the Knowledge Engine and WikiData, and I'm not just referring to discussions related to a resolution. The executive session of each board meeting is secret.
On Monday, January 11, 2016, Chris Keating chriskeatingwiki@gmail.com wrote:
I am concerned that Denny may not have been recusing from discussions
and
decisions affecting Google. This strikes me as exceptional, and that
the
board doesn't find it so troubles me, and hints that you may all have something to gain from independent advice.
Out of interest, do you know of a single decision made by the WMF board regarding Google while Denny has been on the Board?
All their resolutions are public, and the members voting in favour and against and absent or recused from each decision are listed. So if the
WMF
has been discussing WMF's relationship with Google and Denny hasn't
recused
himself this should be apparent.
I have not checked the list of resolutions myself but I suspect that the WMF board rarely, if ever, considers anything to do with any major tech companies.
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