Dear Wikimedians
I have been thinking more about my message to this mailing list and the reactions it caused, and I want to offer my apologies. People who know me know that I always speak my mind and I am a direct person. I think this is one of the reasons people voted for me on the Board.
When we had the Movement Charter vote last year and people were questioning the Board’s decision, I wrote a message to explain my personal reasons for my vote, especially since this was one of the campaign issues in my election to the Board. I felt it was important to keep my promise.
So I did that again here. But my mistake was that this board decision is about people, not about a document, and people don’t deserve to be drawn attention to in ways that can cause harm. I also understand that the Board’s code of conduct requires Trustees to coordinate their public communications on collective decisions, which I did not do this time.
I am frustrated by what I see as inaccurate information about some aspects of the election but understand that sometimes not all forms of official communications can satisfy everyone.
First and foremost, I would like to apologise to Ravan and Lane for any harm I may have caused them as people. In hindsight, it sounds naive that I did not intend it. I will tell them more personally but a public apology is essential. I would also like to apologise to any Wikimedian who experienced any negative emotions as a result of my letter. And I apologise to the Board and staff as well for breaking the agreed commnucation strategy.
I have decided to immediately suspend myself from most of the board activities until the end of the year, in coordination with Board officers. I will continue my Wikimedia activities such as editing, uploading photos etc.
Thank you for reading this letter.