[Foundation-l] Board-announcement: Board Restructuring

[Florence Devouard]

Nathan wrote:
> I'll be curious to see how the various chapters determine amongst
> themselves, without guidance for the board, how to select the two board
> members allocated to them. Will they use the existing inter-chapter
> structure, the Chapters Committee, to coordinate discussion? I'm also
> curious as to the rationale for this change -- have the two chapter seats
> been created because it was felt that the non-English project participants
> have been under-represented in past elections? Do their members vote at
> lower rate of participation than the English project members? I'm assuming
> that all the folks who might participate in local chapters continue to have
> a vote for the community seats, so will the net effect be that their
> individual votes are the equivalent of some multiple of a vote from a
> community member without a representative chapter?
> 
> Nathan

have the two chapter seats been created because it was felt that the 
non-English project participants have been under-represented in past 
elections?

 > Absolutely and most explicitely not.
First, let me remind you that there is a UK chapter and an Australian 
chapter, who will weight in the elections. We also recommand that a new 
US chapter be created in the future, even if that implies special 
policies to define their relationships with WMF.
Second, chapters may perfectly decide to appoint english-native as their 
representant.
Third, with only one seat open for elections this year and usually a 2/3 
majority of english-native voters, I'd say this year elections will 
probably be painful for everyone.

The chapter seats comes from several considerations.
Essentially, the mission of the WMF is to work in coordination with a 
network of chapters. The mission is shared between all of our 
organizations, and the WMF controls certain assets needed by the 
chapters (trademarks), which made the partnership a certain one-sided 
collaboration. Providing seats to chapters is both a way to foster a 
real coordination between all of our organizations, and a way to 
recognize the chapter role in the great scheme of things.

Side benefit is that chapters also may understand better than community 
some of the organization needs and as such bring interesting missing and 
different expertise. I'd say it will enrich things in bringing a 
different viewpoint that editing community. Our community is not only 
about editing the projects, it is also about promoting them to the 
public, answering the press, dealing with the various legal complaints, 
discussing with government to push for better laws, seeking funds, 
organizing Wikimania or Academies, producing DVDs, implementing tech 
features, etc...
Many of these things are largely handled by chapters or chapters-to-be.
So, it seems fair to recognise them as stakeholders as well.

I think that for a certain time, it will make very little difference to 
what would have happened. If you look at past elections, many elected 
were actually chapter board members (Florence, Frieda, Oscar)

 > I'm assuming that all the folks who might participate in local 
chapters continue to have a vote for the community seats, so will the 
net effect be that their individual votes are the equivalent of some 
multiple of a vote from a community member without a representative chapter?

Some chapter members are not community members, so will not have a vote 
to the general elections. As for chapter selection, we still do not know 
how it will be organized (will all members vote ? will only board vote ? 
Or chair ? Or what ? they may also decide that those voting at these 
elections will not vote at the other elections ? We just do not know yet)

Ant


> On 4/26/08, Casey Brown <cbrown1023.ml at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hmm, let's let a board member update that one... they might have
>> extended the appointed members' terms at another meeting. ;-)
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Apr 26, 2008 at 8:28 PM, Kwan Ting Chan <ktc at ktchan.info> wrote:
>>> On Sat, 2008-04-26 at 21:19 +0200, Jan-Bart de Vreede wrote:
>>>
>>>  > - Jimmy Wales (term expires December 31, 2008)
>>>
>>>  Can someone with access correct
>>>
>> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees/Restructure_Announcementso that it doesn't say 2009 and thus contradicting both this email and the
>> foundation's own Board page? ;)
>>>  KTC
>>>
>>>  --
>>>  Experience is a good school but the fees are high.
>>>   - Heinrich Heine
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Casey Brown
>> Cbrown1023
>>
>> ---
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