I know you will find an interesting and awesome next chapter but it is certainly a bittersweet pill to see you heading out. I've enjoyed working alongside you for the past 5 years from debates about jimbo banners to what show we should play at Science Tuesday. You have been a huge presence in the movement since it's very creation and you better not completely disappear. Denver that a departure from a role like this only allow you to take on different roles ;).
I'll have time to do this more later this month I'm sure but may your next adventure be as or more fulfilling then your last :).
Sent from my iPhone
James Alexander Legal and Community Advocacy Wikimedia Foundation +1 415-839-6885 x6716
On Apr 13, 2015, at 11:27, Brion Vibber bvibber@wikimedia.org wrote:
It's been a long journey -- I remember that 2007 office well, and the crazy times before even that. :)
Best of luck on what's next!
-- brion
On Apr 13, 2015 11:12 AM, "Erik Moeller" erik@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi all --
As Lila noted, since January 2008 I've worn many hats at the Wikimedia Foundation, and in the six years before that I was a Wikipedian, MediaWiki developer, and member of the WMF board of trustees. I became involved in Wikipedia when I was 22 years old. :) The Wikimedia movement has accomplished amazing things, but I believe it's time now for me to do something different and new.
It's been a long and incredible journey, and one I am privileged to have helped to shape. When I joined the Foundation in December 2007 we were a staff of a dozen people, with barely enough funds to keep the lights on. Since then, we've tackled challenges of a complexity and scale faced by few other organisations. In doing so, we’ve been generously supported by people all over the world who are grateful for the gift of free knowledge.
I’m proud of and happy with what we've achieved. Reaching people on mobile. Pioneering new approaches working with universities. Painstakingly building a visual editing experience on top of wikitext. :) I’m glad we’ve taken a stand when it matters (SOPA blackout, NSA lawsuit) and that we don’t shy away from complex issues such as community health and diversity.
I’m excited that Wikidata is growing in leaps and bounds with the help of Wikimedia Germany, and that more and more powerful tools and services are being built on the basis of Wikimedia APIs and data. I’ve always believed that Wikimedia chapter and affiliate organizations are key to the success of the movement, and I hope they are going to truly thrive in years to come.
But it's time. As the leadership team begins to coalesce under Lila, I want to open up space for the organization to learn and explore anew -- and I’d like to rediscover for myself what it means to tackle challenges outside of my areas of comfort and familiarity.
I’m very interested in the technical challenges of federated collaboration, and am looking forward to getting my hands dirty in that domain. I also want to explore how to make patterns of ethics, policy, and self-governance more accessible and re-usable for communities. In short, I’m itching to immerse myself in new problem spaces and new ideas.
Lila, Damon, Terry, myself and others in the org have been discussing how to organize product going forward to set the org up for success in the years to come, and we’ll have an update on that very soon. This is a very natural point for me to pursue something new.
What Wikimedia does in the world is wonderful & important. I’m sure I will continue to cross paths with many of you in future as I continue to move in free culture circles, and I very much look forward to it.
I’ll continue to be @ WMF full-time through April, and will make myself available as necessary afterwards, for when the org needs human institutional memory that surpasses digital archives. I wish you all success and joy :-)
Love,
Erik
Erik Möller VP of Product & Strategy, Wikimedia Foundation
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