--- Robin Shannon <robin.shannon(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
Is this the first time a CEO has been proposed?
what on earth would be
the point of having one? I ask if this is the first time it has been
asked because i would like to see any wikipages or archeived email
threads to see what the arguments are for having one.
We have been talking about this for at least a couple years; the last time we did
so publicly was
just mentioned and linked to by Erik. The reason why this is necessary is due to the fact
that we
long ago reached the limit on what volunteers alone can accomplish. We have therefore been
missing
out on many different potential opportunities (for getting grants, very large donations
and to
reach our ultimate goals) simply because we have not had proper staffing. And a staff
needs a
person to manage them and the daily aspects of running the organization. Simply put, we
are
transitioning from the amateur football club model to a professional organization. Staff
are an
investment.
What you seem to forget is that Wikipedia's strength rests with its
amateurs. While there may be evident need for some amount of
administrative staff it is as important to avoid pretensions of being a
professional organization. If you look at staff as an investment you
are assuming an economic model that runs contrary to Wikipedia's free
nature.
Ec