Hoi,
There is a big difference between how "it should" and "how it is". For
all
kinds of reasons, there is a big NEED and EXPECTATION that a WMF board
member spends a lot of time on the organisational matters of the board. Not
only is there the need to communicate in order to come to the strategy of
the foundation, it is also expected that board members are part of
committees and play an active part in these. I have heard horror stories
where board members were denied access to information of "committees" and it
is therefore understandable that these invisible organisational units are
considered to operate in stealth mode.
At this moment the organisation is very much in flux. Not only has Angela
decided to quit, Brad is finding his way in the murky dealings of the WMF
organisation, the committees pronounce very much that they are only starting
to get going. To top it off, many of the current people who are up for
election for the board are manifestly unsuited to the task because of their
narrow minded platform.
When it is said that a board member only needs to spend "only" a few hours a
week on this function, the reality is very much ignored. By expressing that
this "should be the case" and by not indicating what needs to be done to
make this happen, I am afraid that false expectations are raised. At this
time, being a board member seems to be the kind of activity that eats up all
the time that you can throw at it. It has relatively little to do with any
one project and as Anthere says, it is hard work for little recognition.
I wish all future board members well, but I hope that none are chosen
because of their ideas on how the English Wikipedia can be improved. They do
not understand what is needed.
Thanks,
GerardM
On 8/12/06, Anthony <wikilegal(a)inbox.org> wrote:
On 8/11/06, Erik Zachte <erikzachte(a)infodisiac.com> wrote:
Anthere quit/lost (no idea which) her job while
being a board member, as
she
professed publicly some time ago, so I can quote
that. She also told she
works nearly full time on the project and given her omnipresence, this
might
well be an understatement. I think we should be
grateful she is putting
so
much time in the project. And I am sure everyone
is. But maybe we ought
to
taken a moment to discuss the consequences.
If I remember correctly Anthere responded to a question from the
audience.
Candid as she always is, she explained her
financial situation (again).
So I
feel I can comment on that some more.
I don't know many mothers with three young children who can afford to
spend
so much time pro bono. Of course there must be
more Wikimedians in a
similar
situation, who show as much commitment. Still I
feel the organisation
has a
special obligation towards its official
representatives. If only people
who
are financially independent can afford to work
for the organisation in
central positions, and others do it to their own detriment, I think the
organisation (not on purpose but still) puts a bias on its central
workforce
which is unwanted. These issues have been
discussed before. But we have
grown from a small village to a large city, and our budget has increased
with it. We can even afford to delay fundraisers so it is not that we
are
entirely unable to even discuss this due to lack
of funds. Brad
commented to
this effect.
I have no idea how other non profit organisations handle this, but
frankly I
think we should make up our own mind.
Well, I think we should follow the lead of other non-profit organizations.
Being a board member shouldn't require a lot of time - a couple hours
a week at the most. If a board member wants to spend more time
voluntarily, that's fine. But if someone wants to spent 40 hours a
week helping Wikimedia, and isn't in a financial position to do that
for free, and Wikimedia agrees to pay them for this, then they
shouldn't be a board member. It's too much of a potential for a
conflict of interest.
I don't mean to say this as though it's a simple change to make. But
it's extremely important that the change be made.
Anthony
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