Ilario writes:

Putting experts in a complex environment like Wikipedia's communities it's a risk not for Wikimedia projects, but for themselves because they could not have the power to introduce a "new deal".

For what it's worth, putting experts on the board of EFF who themselves had no direct experience in civil liberties or freedom-of- expression issues turned out okay. Some of them even lacked any experience in nonprofits.

I don't think the process outlined by Jan-Bart poses a significant risk to the communities or the projects.

I also think that if the communities wanted a "new deal," they could get one through the processes they control (both direct election and chapter selection). It does not even take a majority to shake things up if a Board has gone off-track.

--Mike