Dear All, Remi's email is symptomatic of the kind of communication we have been confronted with when asking questions (I repeat : questions, because all the so called opponants did in the first place was to question). No wonder people are unhappy: they are invited to do exactly the contrary to what we are used to in the Wikimedia projects: debate and search consensus though confrontation of different ideas. As for the "silent majority" representing 70%, they are just silent. Maybe they dont understand, dont care, dont have the information or support the current board: we cannot assume without an open conversation what their ideas are. This is why it is important to discuss AND vote before the GA assembly to make sure all interested members.
Furthermore: last year if I remember correctly, there were 130 people participating to the GA. Now 74 members asking for a GA is about half of them. Not just a few members.. Words and numbers have precise meaning, that can just not be avoided.
With wikilove Natacha /Nattes à chat
Le 3 août 2017 à 14:16, Devouard (gmail) fdevouard@gmail.com a écrit :
Correct Ting
At the moment, we are still in the hopes of saving it. I do not think losing the chapter agreement at the moment would be helpful.
Flo
Le 03/08/2017 à 13:30, Ting Chen a écrit : Hello dear all, at first I would object that the Foundation do such a thing, even as a denkexperiment. This may be seen as an easy way to react on a crisis but this opens doors for misuse of power. In a different situation, a different time, with a different WMF board and ED, this can open a door to do a lot of harm to the movement. Second, @Florence and other WMFR members: If the chapter is really beyond repair, I think a better way is to create a new organization, join as a user group. This can lead in a few possible outcomes:
- The old chapter could struggle and lose further ground, lose funding, missing reports, etc. which at some time will also lead to lose of chapter status. The new user group, if it performs well, can then apply for the chapter status
- The old chapter can reform itself, regain its foot step, and come back in course.
The point is, you can be member of both the old and the new organization / group, they don't exclude each other. With the new group you can also create pressure from outside to get the old chapter back in course. I believe this is the more ordered way to get a better solution. It certainly is the longer and more difficult way. But the dark side of the force is always easier and quicker. Greetings Ting
Am 03.08.2017 um 13:10 schrieb James Salsman: Can Katherine Maher as Foundation Executive Director decide and announce a new policy that the continuation of the WMFR Charter is contingent on the September General Assembly agenda including particular items which they may not otherwise be inclined to agendas, please?
On Thu, Aug 3, 2017 at 6:33 PM, Devouard (gmail) fdevouard@gmail.com wrote: The current situation at Wikimedia France is ABSOLUTE NON SENSE
After MONTHS spent trying to figure out what was going on, collecting data, finding witnesses, fighting fears of being sued... we succeeded to mobilize 25% of Wikimedia France members to vote to request a General Assembly. That was a challenge. It took us several weeks to achieve that.
Now... the General Assembly is scheduled 9th of September. But per bylawys, the current board decides of the agenda of the meeting. Topics not on the agenda can not lead to any votes... Being generous (sarcasm on), the current board will open the floor for discussion AFTER the General Assembly. Which somehow defeats the whole process as the discussion should occur BEFORE the vote. Also, some of us would like some resolutions to be voted upon, such as request of a financial audit...
According to our bylaws, discussion points and decisions propositions may be made by the members and will be added to the agenda IF at least 25% of the membership ask for them. And this should be approved one month before the actual assembly. Which is just in a few days...
But to make things easier for us...
- some members memberships requests and renewals were rejected, thus
decreasing the number of potential voters. Of course, the memberships rejected were from opponents to the current board... who would have voted for the new agenda...
- in the same time (2 weeks...), the membership increased from 275 to 300
members. No idea who those 25 new members are. But increased number of members is making it even tougher to reach the 75 votes to request additions to the agenda.
- the main mailing list of the association is still closed... which means we
can NOT reach out to ALL members. We have no means to contact them. I managed to get a public list opened just a few days before the closure of the internal mailing list and to send a call for registration. So the most active members actually joined that public list and are within reach. But all the other members... the ones who did not reach to that new public list... we have NO MEANS to contact them. How are we supposed to get members to be given the chance to vote on an agenda when they do not KNOW about this agenda ? We can't tell them about it.
How serious and honest from our current board is that ? This is beyond shameful behavior.
So, friends, I would like to ask you help.
If by any chance, you joined the association in the past 2 weeks... please vote. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikim%C3%A9dia_France/Assembl%C3%A9e_g%C3%A9...
Please, do realy our call in your network.
If you know anyone who might by chance be a member of Wikimedia France, please tell them about the vote. It is here : https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikim%C3%A9dia_France/Assembl%C3%A9e_g%C3%A9...
Or RELAY in social networks. For example that tweet https://twitter.com/photos_floues/status/892731233784008704
Or DROP A WORD to current board members and tell them about how wrong they behave by not giving a chance to democracy Something like "please inform all Wikimedia France members about the vote opened for the new agenda : "
The current board members
- Secretary : https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:EdouardHue
- the President : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilisateur:Authueil
- the vice President : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilisatrice:AlienSpoon
- The treasurer : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilisateur:Floflo
- and the former president who is now regular member:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:ShreCk
Thanks
Florence
Le 02/08/2017 à 20:09, Pierre-Selim a écrit : The passing of Louise is really sad :(
On the other fronts, Edouard it feels like you're not telling things the way they really are.
"The board acknowledge..." means the board has been forced to a new AGM by 25% of the member. Our bylaws dictate that.
The board has published a shameful "Right of reply" [1], full of inexact/false statements that are on the same line than the email sent by the board on July 11th (and shared here by Chris [2]). This Right of reply even "use" Louise passing ... For shame!
In an uncollaborative way, the board has not listen to the community/member for the agenda which forces the members to a new vote [3] to add items to the agenda ... during the summer ... and Wikimania.
I hope the board will have again to "Acknowlege" the voice of the community, but I wish we did not had to go this way.
I am truly ashamed of this board,
[1] https://www.mathisbenguigui.eu/wikimedia-timeline/droitdereponse.html [2] https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2017-July/088008.html [3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikim%C3%A9dia_France/ Assemblée_générale/septembre_2017/Points_à_ajouter_à_l'ordre_du_jour
2017-07-26 17:56 GMT+02:00 Yaroslav Blanter ymbalt@gmail.com:
Yes, I figured this out, thanks. Now copyediting.
Cheers Yaroslav
> On Wed, Jul 26, 2017 at 5:51 PM, Natacha Rault n.rault@me.com wrote: > > probably me... >> Le 26 juil. 2017 à 17:49, Yaroslav Blanter ymbalt@gmail.com a écrit : >> >> Actually, after Catherine's mail, an English article was started by > someone >> I can not recognize from the username. >> >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Merzeau >> >> Cheers >> Yaroslav >> >> On Wed, Jul 26, 2017 at 2:38 PM, Katherine Maher <kmaher@wikimedia.org > >> wrote: >> >>> Dear Édouard and our other colleagues at Wikimédia France, >>> >>> We are sorry to hear about the passing of Mrs. Louise Merzeau. While I > did >>> not have a chance to meet her, I understand she was an advocate for the >>> Commons movement and a leading academic on digital identities and the >>> relationship between technology and culture. I suspect we would have > gotten >>> along well. >>> >>> Although she did not get to share her knowledge longer, we are grateful > for >>> the contributions she made. I have no doubt Wikimedia would have > benefited >>> greatly from her continued advocacy. >>> >>> I recognize with everything that is going on, an event like this can >>> quickly pass by without enough notice and tribute from all of us. > However, >>> I hope we can pause to recognize that, above all, we are people who have >>> come together under a shared vision for a better future. The passion and >>> bond that unites us are much stronger than any disagreements or > challenges. >>> Louise was a part of that vision, and we owe it to her to recognize her >>> passing. >>> >>> On behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation, please know that she is in our >>> thoughts and that the community has our condolences. >>> >>> Katherine >>> >>> PS. I encourage you to learn more about Mrs. Merzeau and her life from > her >>> article on French Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/ > Louise_Merzeau
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