[Foundation-l] Re: Wikimedia Communs

[Jimmy Wales]

Erik Moeller wrote:
> > our behavior gives the impression of Jimbo as a
> > MeatBall:GodKing.
> 
> .. which he effectively is. He has, however, gradually relinquished power  
> to open decision making processes.

And everyone should be aware of a few things in that sort of matter...

1.  I do not like being GodKing, or being viewed as GodKing.  The
extent to which I ever was, was simply a fact that happened, due to
the fact of my founding the Nupedia/Wikipedia community and funding it
and the nature of software and system administration and so on.  It
takes time for community institutions to arise, and in the early days
there was no alternative but for me to be a sort of final arbiter.

2.  It is my intention to continue relinquishing power over time, and
of course the pace may not always be to everyone's liking, but I think
it's important that we consciously manage the process rather than me
just walking away from my responsibilities in this area and leaving
anarchy instead.

3.  On a personal level, it's important to realize how big a part of
my life this is.  It's my full-time job.  If you add up my assets
(house, cars, etc.) and substract my liabilities (mortgage, other
debts) and then compare my net worth to the amount that I've spent on
Wikipedia, you would see that it's no exaggeration to say that I've
sunk my life savings many times over into this project.

This is not self-sacrifice, something that I don't believe in.  But it
is a commitment, a big one, and as a result, if I'm ever slow in
relinquishing anything, it is because, well, this is *everything* to
me.

My goals for the Wikimedia Foundation are similar to, say, the
International Red Cross.  This means that in time, I will be a
historical footnote.  At the centennial celebrations in January 2101,
my portrait will hang on the fall of the foundation offices in Geneva,
New York, and Tokyo.  (Randomly chosen cities!) :-)

We are still a very young project, a very young organization.
Everything seems to move faster in Internet time, but my plans extend
across the next 50 or 500 years, not just the next 6 months.

--Jimbo