Angela wrote:
On 1/29/07, effe iets anders effeietsanders@gmail.com wrote:
Actually I am somehow missing a bit more input from the communities. Most of the users seem to me (except angela) relative outsiders, please correct me if i'm wrong. Might it be worth evaluating the idea that in some way we should have a user of several parts of the wikimedia communities?
I think there is room for a separate body of user representatives made only of people from the community. Something like the WikiCouncil idea which has been proposed in the past.
The advisory is meant to provide the Board of Trustees with some "outside" perspective which is why most of its members are not a core part of the community - though many of them have had some involvement with Wikimedia before, so it's not like they're complete Wikimedia newbies. :)
While it might be a good idea to ad one or two thoughtful Wikipedians to the Advisory Board, particularly if it chooses to operate a series of committees where direct representation would be an asset. Beyond that I don't see any urgency to having more community members on that Board.
I have always been positive toward the WikiCouncil idea, but I'm afraid that if we make sorting out the issue of democratic representation a precondition for establishing a WikiCouncil it will never happen. If a WikiCouncil is set up finding a solution to that problem should be a high priority item on its agenda. It may be necessary for the first members of the WikiCouncil to be appointed, but a more representative system could be used when it is time to replace these people.
Ec