On Fri, Nov 28, 2014 at 5:55 PM, MZMcBride z@mzmcbride.com wrote:
The banners may be effective, but they're not aligned with Wikimedia's values.
I wouldn't come out quite as strongly against these banners, but I share the underlying sentiment.
I agree that the urgency and alarm of the copy is not commensurate with my (admittedly limited) understanding of our financial situation. Could we run a survey that places the banner copy alongside a concise statement of the Foundation's financials, and which asks the respondent to indicate whether they regard the copy as misleading.
Quantitative assessments of fundraising strategy ought to consider impact on all assets, tangible or not. This includes the Foundation's goodwill and reputation, which are (by common wisdom) easy to squander and hard to repair. It is critical that we be maximally deliberate on this matter.
In addition to the survey suggested above, I want to also propose that we:
(a) solicit input from a neutral reputation management consultancy, and (b) create a forum for staffers to talk openly about this matter, without fear of reprisal
All that being said, since this is a tough thread, and since it is Thanksgiving weekend here in the US, it is a good opportunity to express how much I appreciate the work of the fundraising team. Banners are never going to be popular and it must be tough as hell to do this work while fielding rants and grumbles from everybody and their cousin. I consider it a stroke of cosmic luck that I get paid to work on Wikipedia and its sister projects, and I am grateful to you for making that possible.