From: dacuetu(a)gmail.com Date: Sun, 28 Feb 2016 17:52:30 +0100 To: wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikimedia-l] What it means to be a *volunteer* organization I am starting a new thread because I disagree with the idea that the WMF should be a high-tech organization as the other thread by Brion seemed to suggest. Yes, technology is a tool that we use in our mission to gather and process all forms of human knowledge, but in the end the driving force is volunteership. Without volunteers there wouldn't be any movement and there wouldn't be any need for tools, or any donations whatsoever. It is the concept of working for free for the common good that allows us to exist and fulfill our mission. The WMF is instrumental in providing the tools for it to happen, but those tools are not only technological, they are also legal, educational, and social, however when talking through computer screens we seem to forget that. A hi-tech tool can work for a given task or not, but there are more important topics like trust, commitment, empowerment, motivation, and joy that cannot be assessed so easily, and that are at least as crucial as any software. What is the point of having a perfect tool Z if I don't enjoy working with my fellows on a common mission? The role of nurturing volunteers is not exclusive of affiliate organizations, the WMF offer grants to volunteers and organizes several gatherings. Is that enough to strengthen the volunteer community? Then I look at organizations like WOOF or workaway that thrive with full-time volunteers and I wonder if more opportunities could be opened for our volunteers. Is there anything holding us back to try new things besides old patterns of participation? It is a challenge to do more for the volunteer community without resorting to grants or payment, but that is the key to succeed as a volunteer organization, to provide an ecosystem where personal growth is possible. I am interested in hearing what others have to say about it. Maybe it is possible to gather ideas or even a team of people who wants to research more information about the topic. Cheers, Micru _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>

I have to agree here.

The WMF and its employees have forgotten that the mission is to support the work done on the various wikis, not make work for fireworks for themselves.

Nothing we are dealing with here is new. It is just the eruption of some very long-standing problems with the WMF and the tone it sets for the rest of the movement.

While some might be celebrating now,

Lila was not the problem. IMHO, the problem is a lot of hidden hierarchies (denied of course). Add to that, that the lack of transparency allows the growth of hidden agendas.

the board unceremoniously. We find out through this that the community (or chapters) have no real voice on the board under the current set up.

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David, you appear to be agreeing strongly with me, not disagreeing. :) -- brion On Sunday, February 28, 2016, David Cuenca Tudela &lt;dacuetu(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: and any any of resorting _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>

Two distinct issues, I think:

2) about support for volunteers to get stuff done effectively:

Hi Brion When you refer to patches with other movements / affiliates, are you proposing that WMF sponsors more Gibraltrapedias ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibraltarpedia Have we forgotten so soon the adverse media publicity about these stealth PR campaigns "Once Wikipedia becomes a pay-to-play platform in any sense, it's no longer a balanced, universal wellspring of information. It's just another commercial website, with a particularly insidious brand of camouflaged advertising. Any company with a sly enough PR person could promote ostensibly fascinating facts about its products" [1] "payment of money to Wikipedia editors represented "the greatest threat the [Wikipedia] brand has seen to date" [2]. Lila had taken the first technical / automation /AI steps to identify / weed out the paid editing claques which rule the roost. That she was eased out in this way shows that WMF is in terminal disrepair, and I resent Flo's attempt to deflect this thread away from the numerous paid editing controversies which have dogged the projects since the very beginning and systematically driven away all competent potential long-term contributors. At the risk of being unpopular, I suggest the long-term health of our projects require that its not about empowering our volunteers but about regulating them. David [1]

[2] http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/20/wikimedia_uk_scandal/ On 2/29/16, Brion Vibber &lt;bvibber(a)wikimedia.org&gt; wrote: > Two distinct issues, I think: > > 1) about improving community representation in power structures, I

> have to think more about what representation we want and what structures > would accomplish it. I have no answers but think we should consider

> beyond WMF alone: > >

> > 2) about support for volunteers to get stuff done effectively: I'll have > mostly tech-focused thoughts on that because that's where my expertise

> so you need to hear from other people who interact with a wider set of > volunteers than patch contributors and the people who manage to figure

> our feedback systems. :) whether that should be funded by / staffed

> WMF or our other movement orgs or both is an open question. > > -- brion > On Feb 28, 2016 11:51 AM, "David Cuenca Tudela" &lt;dacuetu(a)gmail.com&gt;

> >> Brion, >> so far in the discussions I have seen more weight to the idea of the

>> as >> a tech provider for the community, and not so much conversation about >> other >> roles that the organization could fulfill besides of tech / grant

>> So when you see that we are agreeing, do you mean that there should be >> more >> power transferred to the communities and that there should be a greater >> focus in empowering volunteers? >> How would you increase the participation of volunteers in the

>> the movement? And how to offer volunteers the opportunity to become

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I have to agree here. The WMF and its employees have forgotten that the mission is to support the work done on the various wikis, not make work for fireworks for themselves. Nothing we are dealing with here is new. It is just the eruption of some very long-standing problems with the WMF and the tone it sets for the rest of the movement. While some might be celebrating now, Lila was not the problem. IMHO, the problem is a lot of hidden hierarchies (denied of course). Add to that, that the lack of transparency allows the growth of hidden agendas. Remember this blew when a community selected board member was tossed off the board unceremoniously. We find out through this that the community (or chapters) have no real voice on the board under the current set up. and any any of resorting https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>