[Foundation-l] Can a wikimedia-b list be setup

[Jeff V. Merkey]

Pat Gunn wrote:

>Given that our community is motivated by ideology (not a bad thing --
>idealism is an underestimated thing in today's world), we need to
>be extra careful to not let our goals fall astray. 
>
I share with you my views and observations of the current "We" and where 
it should be opened to embrace
a broader view of humanity.

Patt, I've managed people and companies for about 20 years, and have had 
upwards of 500+
people reporting directly to me at various stages of my career. There 
are three things that
motivate human beings I have always seen true in my 46 years on planet 
earth in career and
life advancement.

Knowledge, Power and Money.

In essense, they are all actually the same thing with regard to the end 
result. What people truly desire
in life is FREEDOM to pursue their pursuits of pleasure and their 
dreams. For many people, money is freedom
because is gives them security. For others, power is freedom because it 
gives them the feeling they have control
over their lives and the lives of others. For a very very small minority 
of people, knowledge and the pursuit of
enhancing their intellect and skill gives them the greatest freedom of 
all - the power to mould their own destiny
and create new avenues of endeavor on the frontiers of human knowledge. 
I personally am in the third
group, and have in my life experienced a freedom few people will ever 
know because my skill and knowledge I cultivate
above all else, and power, money and freedom have been the reward -- 
things I never sought for themselves.

In business, anytime I ran across a person who was solely motivated by 
power and not money, I fired them
at the first opportunity. I did so because my experience has taught me 
that people who are motivated by power
and other intangible ideals are dangerous to organizations and 
collective efforts and will always put themselves
and their self-serving desires above the good of the whole. People who 
are motivated by money are very
predictable and easy to manage and are solid contributors to any 
organizations success. Their patterns
are inherently easy to anticipate and accomodate.

By giving people the chance to express power over others with admin 
status, etc. a large majority of the current
community are in this first group and are there for the power and 
control aspect over Wikipedia's direction by
either oppressing others or combining into a cohesive front. There are 
also a lot of folks who are there solely
for the benefit of knowledge and increasing their skill. Almost none of 
the folks in the class motivated my money
are even present or represented. They exist outside of the community.

My observation of the community is that it is comprised of folks 
motivated by the pursuit of pure knowledge, and
those motivated by desire for power and to use it as a platform for 
various platforms. What I am talking about
is balancing its composition to embrace an element that is currently 
absent. An element to concert it into something
that will endure as an institution into the far future.

So when I hear words like "corrupt", "motivated by ideology" all these 
things mean "motiviated by power" to me,
and not the collective work of moving an organization into a positive 
growth model for long term stability and
financial health. "Show them the door" is exactly what I would do with 
any employee I hired who evidenced
power motivated behavior, using your words.

There's room for everyone and none should be discarded, all have value 
and Wikipedia says its mission is to reach the
whole world. That means it should embrace the whole world. Including the 
missing element in the community at present,
which is a healthy and vibrant business community within it. The power 
motivated folks can still be admins in the Community
and other positions of power. The Knowlege pursuers can still edit and 
stand with a foot in both worlds. And the Money people
can find new and innovative ways to improve processes and contribute to 
avenue which will in fact reach the whole world.

All my love,

Jeff


>I would prefer
>that the foundation bend very little or not at all (absolutely
>no exclusivity arrangements with any business) on these matters.
>If we look to our future audience, we can best serve them by keeping
>the project from being corrupted by the quickest path to growth.
>We don't need to care about anyone else's concerns but the
>foundation and its projects. IMO, if external dealings require
>such secrecy, we should simply show people and companies that
>require such things to the door. I've seen volunteer communities
>destroyed by such things before -- it's an ugly thing.
>
>---
>Pat Gunn
>mod: csna, bmcm, bmco, cooa, cona, clpd, coom
>http://dachte.org
>If lightning is the anger of the gods, then the gods are concerned
>mostly with trees -- Lao Tze
>
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