[Foundation-l] Board-announcement: Board Restructuring

[Geoffrey Plourde]

Mike, the new change has made it so a majority is unelected. 



----- Original Message ----
From: Mike Godwin <mgodwin at wikimedia.org>
To: foundation-l at lists.wikimedia.org
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2008 1:04:05 PM
Subject: Re: [Foundation-l] Board-announcement: Board Restructuring


David Goodman writes:

> 3) make plain our total repugnance for officers of the foundation who
> talk about the people who create Wikipedia as not having or deserving
> the right to the running of the project.

I don't know of any officers of the Foundation who are dismissive of  
the people who create Wikipedia. Both Board and staff regard the  
volunteer community as essential.  That is not the least of the  
reasons this organization has chosen to have the community select a  
majority of the Board members. That hasn't changed. At the same time,  
the Board has attempted to address two weaknesses -- (1) integrating  
the chapters more formally into the Board selection process, and (2)  
filling out the Board with the kind of professional expertise the  
Foundation and its projects need for the next stage of their  
development.

The fact that the pre-existing bylaws referred to the chapters as part  
of the Foundation's structure but gave no formal role to the chapters  
in the selection of Board members has seemed anomalous to many people,  
including me. If I can say so without seeming dismissive of some  
complaints here, the Board's effort to restructure itself so that  
chapters are properly recognized seems to me to be a positive  
development.


--Mike







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