Hi all,

It's coming close to time for annual appointments of community members to serve on the Ombudsman commission. This commission works on all Wikimedia projects to investigate complaints about violations of the privacy policy, especially in use of CheckUser and Oversight tools, and to mediate between the complaining party and the individual whose work is being investigated. They may also assist the General Counsel, the Executive Director or the Board of Trustees in investigations of these issues. For more on their duties and roles, see http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ombudsman_commission

*This is a call for community members interested in volunteering for appointment to this commission.* Commissioners should be experienced Wikimedians, active on any project, who have previously used the CheckUser/Oversight tool OR who have the technical ability to understand the CheckUser/Oversight tool and the willingness to learn it. They are expected to be able to engage neutrally in investigating these concerns and to know when to recuse when other roles and relationships may cause conflict. (In the past, commissioners have retired from other roles that could cause conflict.)

Commissioners must be willing to identify to the Wikimedia Foundation and to comply with the appropriate board policies (such as the access to non-public data policy < https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Access_to_nonpublic_information_policy%3E and the privacy policy https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Privacy_policy). This is a position that requires a high degree of discretion and trust.

*If you are interested in serving on this commission, please drop me a note (kbrown@wikimedia.org kbrown@wikimedia.org) detailing your experience on the projects, your thoughts on the commission and what you hope to bring to the role.* The commission is deliberately quite small, so slots are limited, but all applications are appreciated. The deadline for applications is January 2. Any timezone. :)

Please feel free to pass this invitation along to any users who you think may be interested.

Thank you!

Sincerely, Karen Brown