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

Tue Apr 1 11:40:14 UTC 2008

Hoi,
It is not a vote, and as Danny expressed that I would be so against all
this, I would like to express satisfaction when Lodewijk is the token Dutch
influence in all this "nonsense".
Thanks,
     GerardM

On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 1:33 PM, Michael Bimmler <mbimmler at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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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> >
>
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