[Foundation-l] Policy governance ends

[daniwo59 at aol.com]

Some people have commented about my comments. I wish to explain myself, and  
I will start with a few assumptions.
 
1. Wikimedia is big, and it is growing, beyond what anyone ever imagined. 
2. Our greatest asset is our brand, and the reputation for quality that  goes 
along with it. People trust us.
3. Growth requires money requires trust. Trust leads to money leads to  
growth.
4. The world is watching us. Some people even want us to fail.
5. Long term sustainability should be a mantra for the Board and for  
everyone else involved in fundraising. 
 
Having said all that, I think that Florence asked some interesting  
questions. I am pleased that the Foundation still values community input. That  we can 
rival Amazon or Ebay, and still encourage input from our community is  
commendable. 
 
But the Wikimedia Foundation is also a business, hence the name Wikimedia  
Foundation, Inc. It is a not for profit, but that still means it is a  
business--just that there are no shareholders, and instead of measuring our  success in 
dollars (or euros or yen), we measure it in free content for the  world. We 
are a vast internet business, and Florence, our CEO, is roughly the  equivalent 
of the CEO of Amazon, of Ebay, or Google. 
 
And I wonder what would happen to Amazon, Ebay, or Google if their CEO  would 
ask on a public mailing list, "So, how do you think we should run this  
thing?" 
 
I, for one, would sell my stock ... cheap. 
 
Danny



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