[Foundation-l] Provisional Volunteer Council - proposal sent to the Board

Tue Apr 1 11:33:28 UTC 2008

While I'm absolutely aware that this is not a vote, I would like to
second Ray's proposal.
Effeietsanders has indeed been a driving force behind this issue and I
would very much appreciate it if his voice could also be heard at this
stage, I am sure that he has many valuable ideas and suggestions to
bring in.
For these reasons, I join Ray/Ec in his nomination.

By the way: As this has been brought up here, I am also of the opinion
that the projects listed next to the nominated PVC members do not
mean, that these nominees are representatives or ambassadors of the
project. In my case, I have listed de.wikipedia as my primary project,
as it was the project I started in and indeed for quite some time the
only project I was involved with. However, I am today not really that
active anymore in German Wikipedia, even my OTRS work focuses at the
moment more on en.wp matters, so the German Wikipedians might quite
rightly object to me being labelled a representative of their project.
In my view, these project indications should be viewed in terms of
geographical, cultural and linguistic origin, although as
Effeietsanders pointed out, diversity could (and probably should) have
been larger. However, it is very difficult to reach out to communities
who are not normally active in "international discussions" (which at
the moment is equal to "readers and writers of foundation-l") and if
there are no nominations, it is difficult to proceed.

Michael

On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 6:22 AM, Ray Saintonge <saintonge at telus.net> wrote:
> I have one important amendment to propose:
>     That the name of Lodewijk Gelauf, Effe iets anders (Main project:
>  nl.wikipedia) be added to the list.
>
>  Lodewijk has been the one to carry the ball to get this proposal to
>  where it is.  Many of us have talked about this for years, but he has
>  done the work. I understand that the only reason why his name was
>  omitted from the list was because of his ethical concerns about
>  self-nomination.  It is an honour to nominate him.
>
>  Ec
>
>
>
>  effe iets anders wrote:
>  > Dear all,
>  >
>  >  I am very glad that the proposal for establishing a provisional
>  > volunteer council received such a lot support both on this list as in
>  > private conversations.
>  >
>  >  Since the request for candidates for the Provisional Volunteer
>  > Council, I received quite some nominations. However, unfortunately I
>  > have to admit that there were no (willing) candidates from some
>  > important regions amongst these. As I have to work with the candidates
>  > that were nominated, I was therefore unable to candidate someone from
>  > these regions.
>  >
>  >  I did try however, to get at least a few projects represented, and
>  > also a more technical person (from the developers side of the
>  > volunteer spectrum). Please find my final suggestion list below in the
>  > proposal (attached again for reference - only one minor spelling and
>  > layout changes).
>  >
>  >  Please note that this is a *proposed* resolution, and not yet accepted.
>  >
>  >  I know this list is not very long. And some area's are still missing
>  > in representation. However, I trust this group wholehearely, and
>  > suppose that they will make sure as a first thing to get at least one
>  > or more projects better represented (such as Wikinews or Wikiversity
>  > which have a very different character).
>  >
>  >  If you have major concerns with respect to this list of candidates,
>  > please send them to this list or communicate them to the Board (I am
>  > not sure which route is the best for that though). I will make no
>  > changes any more myself, but the Board is of course able to determine
>  > the list as it likes.
>  >
>  >
>  >  With kind regards,
>  >
>  >  Lodewijk Gelauff
>  >
>  >
>  >  --------------------------------------------------------------
>  >
>  > Whereas the Board,
>  >
>  > * recognizes the value of volunteers in Wikimedia projects and that
>  > their work is the very reason of their success,
>  > * values the volunteers' opinions and takes them into serious
>  > consideration when discussing issues involving the volunteers,
>  > * is of the opinion that these volunteers should have a strong say in
>  > changes in the articles of incorporation and the bylaws of the
>  > Wikimedia Foundation,
>  > * considers a Volunteer Council a valuable intermediary between
>  > volunteers and the Foundation, and as a good instrument to hear the
>  > voice of the volunteers:
>  >
>  > it is hereby resolved that:
>  >
>  > 1. The Board of Trustees hereby creates a Volunteer Council, to serve
>  > as a valuable complement to the Staff, Advisory Board and Board of
>  > Trustees.
>  > 2. Without restricting the generality of this provision the purposes
>  > of the Volunteer Council shall include:
>  >
>  >   1) Offering advice and support on issues relevant to the Wikimedia Volunteers,
>  >   2) Recommanding the opening or closure of Wikimedia projects,
>  >   3) Approving changes to the articles of incorporation or bylaws of
>  > the Wikimedia Foundation and
>  >   4) Assist in establishing a clear separation between the legal
>  > responsibilities of the Wikimedia Foundation as an Internet Service
>  > Provider and the community decisions for the Wikimedia Projects.
>  >
>  > 3. The members from the Volunteer Council must be volunteers within Wikimedia.
>  > 4. The Provisional Volunteer Council shall report to the Board no
>  > later than September 1, 2008, which report shall include
>  > recommendations regarding the number and composition of the Volunteer
>  > Council, and how the members of the Council shall be chosen. Said
>  > report shall also include recommendations regarding the distribution
>  > of rights and responsibilities between the Board and Council, and any
>  > changes in the by-laws that may be necessary to implement this.
>  > 5. Except where it pertains to its own procedures, no decision of the
>  > Provisional Volunteer Council shall bind any person.
>  > 6. On receipt of the said report the Board shall take such steps as it
>  > deems necessary to confirm and empower the Volunteer Council, and
>  > provide for a transition of operations from the Provisional Volunteer
>  > Council.
>  > 7. Members of the Volunteer Council will not be financially
>  > compensated for their activity. On approval by the Board of Trustees
>  > expenses of the Provisional Volunteer Council and Volunteer Council in
>  > the fulfillment of their duties may be reimbursed.
>  > 8. The following people are hereby appointed as member of the
>  > Provisional Volunteer Council:
>  >
>  >  Michael Bimmler, Mbimmler (Main project: de.wikipedia)
>  >  Yaroslav Blanter, Yaroslav Blanter (Main project: ru.wikipedia)
>  >  Lise Broer, Durova (Main projects: en.wikipedia and commons.wikimedia )
>  >  Jesse Plamondon-Willard, Pathoschild (Main projects: en.wikisource
>  > and meta.wikimedia )
>  >  Sydney Poore, FloNight (Main project: en.wikipedia)
>  >  Milos Rancic, Millosh (Main project: sr.wikipedia)
>  >  Ray Saintonge, Eclecticology (Main project: en.wikisource, en.wikipedia)
>  >  Andrew Whitworth, Whiteknight (Main project: en.wikibooks)
>  >  Michal Zlatkovsky, Timichal (Main project: cs.wikipedia)
>  >
>  > 9. The members of the Provisional Volunteer Council may on a 2/3 vote
>  > of all its members add such additional members as they may deem
>  > necessary and useful to their deliberations.
>
>
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