[Foundation-l] Ombuds-wo-men commission

Florence Devouard Anthere9 at yahoo.com
Sat Nov 24 18:54:53 UTC 2007


Philippe Beaudette wrote:
> Hi Anthere -
> This is a great team, all of whom have my respect.  My only question relates 
> to transparency, and perhaps I just missed an announcement (which is 
> entirely possible, given the way my life has been lately) 

No, there was no formal announcement. The issue was mentionned now and 
then on this list and in other places. They were supposed to be there 
for one year and then... the issue kept being postponed, though it was 
raised frequently here and there.

but.... from where
> were these people drawn?  
Was there a call for volunteers?

No, there was none. From experience, it is best to focus on people who 
have an experience of check user tool (but avoid the most active of 
checkusers, as it is asked to ombudsmen to stop being CU... asking the 
most active ones would be problematic). I discussed the issue with 
various people I know and trust. On some channels. With Cary. Etc...

  Did the board
> simply select highly qualified men and women (which is - in my opinion - 
> entirely within their purview)?

I selected these people based on recommandations of various parties. 
Then I asked feedback from the internal community.

  Was the legal counsel or the consultant to
> the board involved?

They are part of the internal community. I asked Mike a couple of times 
in the past 3 months to review the privacy policy, discuss with 
ombudsmen etc...
I think neither Sue nor Mike could really bring much more, simply 
because they would rely on recommandations just as I did myself. I also 
have a community experience they do not have.

> I have no issue with the group that was selected, nor with the mission of 
> the group, I'm simply curious where the names came from.

Enlightened despotism :-)

> Thanks,
> Philippe
> 
> 
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Florence Devouard" <anthere at anthere.org>
> Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 10:20 AM
> To: <foundation-l at lists.wikimedia.org>
> Subject: [Foundation-l] Ombuds-wo-men commission
> 
>> Hello,
>>
>> It has been over a year since the first commission was appointed. It was
>> high time for renewal. I would like to thank you our previous team,
>> Nathan, Steve and Enders for their help over the past year (their task
>> was not always very easy), and welcome the new team
>> * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Mackensen
>> * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Rebecca
>> * http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Hei_ber
>>
>> The ombudsman commission is tasked with processing complaints about
>> violations of the privacy policy on any Wikimedia project, in particular
>> concerning the use of CheckUser tools. The ombudsman is tasked with
>> investigating cases of such policy breach or CheckUser abuse for the
>> board in an official manner. They will mediate between the complainant
>> and the respondent (usually a CheckUser, bureaucrat, administrator, or
>> arbitration committee member). When legally necessary, the ombudsman
>> will assist the general counsel, the executive director or the board in
>> handling the case.
>>
>> Since the issue was raised during the year, let me repeat that the
>> commission is not here to fix various disagreements and abuse reports,
>> but is dedicated to issues related to privacy policy infringments.
>>
>> These people were selected to provide a healthy mix of language, project
>> and gender diversity. Two have been CU, so are familiar with this role
>> and the issues related to CU activities. The third is deeply interested
>> in privacy policy issues. All have been highly recommanded. I hope you
>> will feel confortable with them joining this commission.
>>
>>
>> More on the commission here:
>> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ombudsman_commission
>>
>>
>> Best
>>
>> Florence
>>
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> 
> 
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