Hello Hannah,
I'm writing this as a Wikimedian, relying solely on publicly available information. I'm sorry, but I will not reply to any questions, as the last time I tried, it didn't end well.
It may sound counterintuitive, but WMF is sometimes too nice and careful about the reputation of wikimedians and this leaves room for speculation. In this case, the WMF left a lot of room for candidates who didn't pass the preliminary stages of the vetting process to withdraw with grace, but it didn't work, and now we have multiple petitions for the reinstatement of these candidates.
Concerning Ravan, future candidates should be more cautious about what they post on social media, as some posts pose significant risks to the WMF's reputation, primarily because the press is particularly vigilant about the WMF board candidates at the moment. I'm supporting women (you may have noticed that I'm a woman too) and LGBTQIA+, but in this instance, I cannot support her candidacy, because the risks for the public reputation of WMF outweigh the risks to gender equity.
As for Lane, he
* publicly stated in his candidate video (1' in) that WMF is going to replace some of the text in Wikipedia with the text written by AI - *this is not true*, as anyone who has read the WMF AI strategy would know. Wikimedia Foundation elections/2025/Candidates/Lane Rasberry - Meta-Wiki https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2025/Candidates/Lane_Rasberry
* Publicly written in the candidate statement:
*I set up a Right to Information https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Right_to_Information project on Meta-Wiki because years ago, I wanted information, and I could not find a way to communicate to the Foundation. As trustee, I encourage the user community to organize to make public information requests to me.*
To me, it looks like he's going to disclose the non-public information, especially as he emphasises that he's an editor of the Signpost and his duty as a journalist will come before his duties as a trustee. He also writes:
*I want access to Wikimedia Foundation financial records so that I can analyze them at my university, or otherwise, the WMF can just be direct in saying it does not want to share this info. Right now the WMF's financial reports are incomprehensible to the user community. We need transparency in those reports so that Wikimedians in each country can know what money the Foundation spends on their behalf, and what the development strategy for that country is.*
It sounds like he's going to disclose non-public financial information.
All people who know Lane well state that he's an honest person who does as he says. As a Wikimedian, I cannot support a candidacy for a person who makes grossly unsupported statements. As a trustee, I cannot support anyone who wishes to disclose non-public information, which is in direct contravention of the trustee's duties and responsibilities.
As you can see, my objections to the Lane candidacy have nothing to do with him being a minority or any other potential issue that he mentions in his communications; it's much more mundane.
On Thu, Oct 9, 2025 at 6:52 AM L C zinkloss@gmail.com wrote:
It would make sense to add the link to the index of petitions/complaints at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Objections_to_the_2025_WMF_Board_election_re... so they are all centralized.
Selected quotes from other letters boycotting the election in protest.
"The Wikimedia Foundation has long emphasized its commitment to good governance and transparency, as well as to gender equity. Yet, by excluding Ravan—the only female candidate in this election—without any clear explanation and amid strong indications of political bias, the Foundation has violated all of these principles."
"We write to you with deep concern and strong objection to the recent decision to withdraw candidate Ravan Jaafar al-Taie from the ongoing election process for a seat on the Board of Trustees. This measure, taken without transparency or public justification, undermines the legitimacy of the process and contradicts the values of inclusion, equity, and diversity that the Wikimedia movement has promoted since its inception and that Strategy 2030 ratifies as guiding principles. The action is unfair, arbitrary, and sets a dangerous precedent for democracy and the efforts of female Wikipedians who actively fight for inclusion. Ravan is not only a valid candidate, but also the only woman in this electoral process."
"There have been two candidates rejected without a credible explanation. Rejecting either candidate based on “lack of experience”, political attacks or dubious conflict of interest have been based on falsehoods or just incomprehensible. Ravan was the only woman candidate left in the running and Lane was the only openly queer candidate remaining in the election. This has been the opposite of the previously publicly stated values of the WMF commitment to representing minority voices and diversity. The Board and Election Committee stated on Meta that they were aiming for 6 candidates to vote on, but there are just 4 now remaining, all men, and are less representative of the volunteer community."
At a minimum, this wide level of objection from different and significant parts of the community should result in an immediate independent investigation or a suspension of the election.
On Thu, 9 Oct 2025 at 04:47, Hannah Clover clovermosswikipedia@gmail.com wrote:
Hi, I have written a heartfelt letter for reform at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/2025_WMF_Board_reform_petition. I encourage everyone across the movement to read, translate, and share this message as it is not just an enwiki issue but something that affects us all.
Sincerely, Hannah Clover _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines
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