[Foundation-l] Our values

Wed Jan 30 01:30:31 UTC 2008

Looking forward to watching discussion unfold about your note, Florence.  I found the analogy at the opening quite strong and timely - it's true how 
so much of what we relate in casual conversation often captures our mission, values, and vision.

Just to clarify from Danny's comment - the views I expressed in that email regarding 'community' were specifically in the context of communications 
practice and the use of specific approaches to reach specific people, rather than the broadstroke idea of communicating with all people at the same 
time (which may not always be the right approach).

I think Florence's idea of 'community' as a collaborative, cooperative, mix of supporters is a highly significant value.  In that case communications 
has a lot to do with listening and sharing from all parties.  And 'community' is central to what makes us successful, it's where so much of our 
strength, capacity, and energy flourishes.

Jay Walsh
Head of Communications
WikimediaFoundation.org
+1 (415) 839 6885

daniwo59 at aol.com wrote:
> Florence,
>  
> This is a very commendable email, and I admire its simplicity. The  values 
> you suggest are instinctive to anyone who has been involved in the  projects for 
> a while, but as Wikimedia grows, it is important to reiterate them  again and 
> again for new staff and new project members, who have not been raised  on 
> them. 
>  
> That said, I do have a couple of questions and hope that you can  clarify.
>  
> In a message dated 1/29/2008 5:06:37 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
> anthere at anthere.org writes:
> 
> Our  community is our biggest asset
> We are a community-based organization. We  must operate with a mix of
> staff members, and of volunteers, working  together to achieve our mission.
> We support community-led collaborative  projects, and must respect the
> work and the ideas of our community. We must  listen and take into
> account our communities in any decisions taken to  achieve our mission.
> 
> 
> Question: "Community" has always been a mantra of our projects. As such, I  
> was a bit surprised by an email exchange with Jay Walsh last week, in which he  
> said: "I'm hesitant to use the word 'community' as much as I'm hesitant to  
> call people 'audience.' In reaching out to communicate, so far at least, I'm  
> more inclined to speak of users, editors, stakeholders, casual readers etc - 
> but  this is my personal interpretation." I found his comment counter-intuitive, 
>  given the nature of the projects to date, and wonder if you might clarify 
> your  opinion on "community" and the terms used to describe it.
> 
> 
> 
> of service is a priority
> We will try our best to give  access to high quality Wikimedia project
> content 24 hours a day and 7 days,  as well as provide access to
> regularly updated, user-friendly, and free  dumps of Wikimedia project
> content.
> To insure world-wide, unrestricted,  dissemination of knowledge, we do
> not enter into exclusive partnerships,  with regards to access to our
> content or use of our  trademarks.
> 
> Freedom
> We make extra efforts to use only free software  on our own servers, and
> to support open and patent-free media formats that  are viewable and
> editable with free software.
> 
> 
> Question: This was the subject of some debate last week, also on this  
> mailing list. Are we committed "exclusively" to open and patent-free media  formats 
> that are viewable and editable with free software?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Transparency
> We must communicate Wikimedia Foundation  information in a transparent,
> thorough and timely manner, to our  communities and more generally, to
> the  public.
> 
> 
> Independance
> As a non-profit, we mostly depend on gifts  to operate (donations,
> grants, sponsorship etc...). It is very important to  us to ensure our
> organization stays free of influence in the way it  operates. For this
> reason, we strictly follow a donation policy, reserve  the right to
> refuse donations from a limited number of sources, and try to  multiply
> the number of sources.
> 
> 
> Question: As a charitable organization, it is easy to become dependent on  
> the largesse of major donors, who could hold considerable sway over day-to-day  
> operations. The answer is either to find an independent revenue stream or to  
> create an endowment to ensure that basic costs are covered in perpetuity.  
> Frankly, I am biased. I believe that "Independence" is the most important of  
> these values--without it we will not be able to withstand challenges to all the  
> other values. As such, what steps are being taken to ensure the Foundation's  
> financial independence?
>  
> I believe in the values as you expressed them, and I am confident that the  
> Board will vote unanimously in support of them. I am just curious about some of 
>  the practical implications, and eager to hear your thoughts on them.
>  
> Danny
> 
> 
> 
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