Yair Rand writes:
I find it difficult to believe that this situation is so critical and urgent that an RfC in advance was impossible, so if it does fall under that section, the policy was yet again violated.
I don't find it difficult at all to believe time was of the essence, but, then, I'm an attorney who's worked for many years on collaborative efforts, including but not limited to legal action.
I grant, of course, that your experience with doing legal and public-policy assessments may be different. But if your view is that either the Board of Trustees or WMF staff cannot be trusted to make these assessments, then I urge you to explain in more depth why you think this is so.
My own experience has been that quite often the Board or the WMF staff have to make quick decisions, especially when the timeline for decision-making is not in WMF's control. Certainly I often was called upon to make decisions on behalf of WMF and the Wikimedia movement on timelines that made consultation with Wikimedia-l or with committees and affiliated organizations unworkable. I hope you don't find that difficult to believe.
Please assume good faith.
Best,
--Mike