[Foundation-l] Wikimedia Board Elections

[GerardM]

Hoi,
I doubt that you have asked Angela or Daniel Meyer if they want to be a
"life board member" of the Wikimedia Foundation. I think floating such an
idea is irresponsible. Given that Angela decided that she no longer wants to
be a board member should be respected. By pressing her to accept such a role
it can also be considered a vote of no confidence on the people who are
still on the board.

Given that you are a candidate for exactly the position that Angela vacated,
I think you have shot yourself in the foot. You are aware are you not that
there will be this thing in Europe where the WMF considers how to look at
it's future? I think that would be a much better platform to discuss issues
like how to replace Tim. At this moment it is exclusively for Jimmy to
replace him if he so chooses to do this.

Given that there is to be this thing in Europe, you will be part of it when
you are chosen to be there. The worst thing that can happen is if there is
going to be a bout of infighting now that there is this opportunity to
create some clarity and focus about the organisation and how it functions.

Clarity is needed because of the secrecy and the lack of responsiveness
needs to be replaced with a reasoned and reasonable openness combined with
at least the minimal courtesy of an acknowledgment of receipt when it has
been asked for. Focus is needed, because there are many opportunities for
us. These opportunities will nor remain there indefinitely and we have a bad
record on this. No is often a great answer, yes is often a great answer no
answer is an open invitation to more confusion and more cross purpose
activity. Focus is needed because there is a tendency to be overwhelmed by
all the things that could be done. It is much better to be clear what the
WMF is capable of and leave the rest to other associated organgisations.
Focus is needed because it allows us to finish things so that we can move to
new stuff. Clarity and focus will bring us less work because many of the
issues we deal with are there because we have not positioned the WMF well
and we have not made it clear what people are free to do within the WMF
framework.

Thanks,
    GerardM



On 9/16/06, Jussi-Ville Heiskanen <cimonavaro at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 9/16/06, Jimmy Wales <jwales at wikia.com> wrote:
> > It is very very important that everyone vote.
>
> Totally.
>
>
> > I personally strongly strongly support the candidacies of Oscar and
> > Mindspillage.
>
> So do I. I will add that no-one, but no-one should feel that they
> shouldn't vote for Mindspillage because she is US-based. They should
> vote for the best candidates from which-ever country. My personal
> biggest regret is that an excellent candidate from the US, Daniel
> Meyer was not elected in the first ever foundation elections. No-one
> knows if that was because Daniel comes from the United States, but if
> it was, please, please, let us not make the same mistake this time
> around. Vote for the wisest people you know, regardless of gender or
> nationality, or sexual orientation, or whatever consideration other
> than character. Remember that the board can, should it feel that there
> is a relevant imbalance in the board in any respect, in its wisdom
> balance *itself* by _appointing_ new members, and *do* trust that if
> you vote wise members to the board, they will be able to assess the
> need to balance itself by whom they appoint into their own number.
>
> > Oscar is an amazing Dutch Wikipedian with strong support from that
> > community but who does not have broad exposure in the English
> > Wikipedia... I hope we can change that by introducing him to people.
>
> While I don't know Oscar from extended personal interaction,
> everything I hear and have observed bears this out.
>
> > Mindspillage is Mindspillage.  We all know and love her.  Give her some
> > votes.
> >
> > There are other candidates, some good, but at least some of them are
> > entirely unacceptable because they have proven themselves repeatedly
> > unable to work well with the community.
> >
> > Please, everyone, vote... and vote for people who you can know and trust
> > and care about as human beings.
> >
> > I invite an open discussion here of the candidates.  This is your
> > community, speak openly of who you trust and why.
> >
> > --Jimbo
>
> This is directly to you, Jimbo. I say what you have done above, is
> very courageous. Exposing yourself to criticism for trying to
> influence the vote. And let me be clear, every word in the previous
> two sentences should be construed at face value, no sarcasm, no irony,
> just what the words themselves denote.
>
> Let me take the opportunity here to openly and concretely address the
> question of how the new elected board should approach the question of
> appointing a replacement for Tim Shell when his resignation is due. My
> personal strong feeling is that instead of choosing one appointed
> member, the board should appoint two, and appoint them as *permanent*,
> life members of the board . Daniel Meyer and Angela Beesley. Their
> conduct has clearly demonstrated that they have at every turn put the
> good of the foundation above their own. The fact that Angela Beesley
> resigned the board when she saw it having developed in an unhealthy
> way, demonstrates clearly that she is just the kind of person who
> *can* be trusted to guard the overall and longtime disposition of the
> board. Besides his awesome number of edits, Daniel Meyer stayed the
> course as Chief Financial Officer, despite the fact that his job was
> made challenging by problems of timely action by the board.
>
> Angela and Daniel are both members from the community, and of the
> community, and if we *do*, as I think we should do, elect permanent
> members to the board, to ensure long-term stability, there are no two
> people better to accomplish this. I repeat, no two people from the
> community that I know could do better in this respect. I still
> maintain, that if people from *outside* the community be appointed to
> the board, by the board, they should serve a limited term just as the
> elected community representatives do.
>
> --
> --
> Jussi-Ville Heiskanen, AKA. Cimon Avaro
>
> Candidate for Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation in the
> September 2006 elections.
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