[Foundation-l] Chapter-selected Board seats - brainstorming

[Brian McNeil]

I'm going to be cursed for top-posting, but c'est la vie.

The United States is a unique country made up of fifty separate states. A
great number of these states are geographically large enough to hold small
European countries like the one I live in - Belgium - and have plenty room
left to spare. When you look at some of these states, say, California, they
have a GDP that would put them in the top ten or twenty global economies.
There are a variety of other aspects of the U.S. that make it unique, but
none which in my opinion merit giving it a special status.

I believe U.S. chapters should be encouraged, and it is up to their
potential members to decide how to structure them. Yes, with the WMF being a
U.S. registered entity there may be details that differ from those of other
chapters, they may be sub-entities as opposed to independent in their own
right. This is no reason to assume they would be under-represented at WMF
board level.

I've not followed a lot of this discussion as it has simply been too high
volume. There are too many people shoot first and ask questions later.
However, why would a situation where the various chapters select their
candidates and put them forward for a WMF-wide election not be reasonable? A
global election for the seats in question, but the candidates selected at a
more local level by the chapters. Candidates who have their chapter's
endorsement and are a lot more serious than people who'd suggest things like
shutting down everything but Wikipedia.


Brian McNeil

-----Original Message-----
From: foundation-l-bounces at lists.wikimedia.org
[mailto:foundation-l-bounces at lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Florence
Devouard
Sent: 04 May 2008 17:56
To: foundation-l at lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Foundation-l] Chapter-selected Board seats - brainstorming

Birgitte SB wrote:
> 
> 
> --- On Sun, 5/4/08, effe iets anders <effeietsanders at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> From: effe iets anders <effeietsanders at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [Foundation-l] Chapter-selected Board seats - brainstorming
>> To: birgitte_sb at yahoo.com, "Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List" <C>
>> Date: Sunday, May 4, 2008, 9:59 AM
>> 2008/5/4, Birgitte SB <birgitte_sb at yahoo.com>:
>>>>> The board suggested in the restructuring FAQ
>> said:
>>>  "We acknowledge that giving the chapters an
>> official voice in the governance of the Foundation makes it
>> more important than before, that chapters -as much as
>> possible- reflect the full range of Wikimedia supporters.
>> Therefore, we now want to encourage the creation of
>> sub-national chapters in the United States." [1]
>>>
>>>  This is where my interest in the US chapter
>> information stems from.  So please don't patronize me
>> that the US is asking for attention or making an issue out
>> of something that should simply be neglected if the need is
>> not felt. The only reason there is an issue at all is that
>> people from outside of the US are insisting there should
>> not be sub-national chapters without a national one. 
>> Perhaps I should have ignored them rather than started this
>> attempt I have been making to see those concerns addressed.
>>>  Birgitte SB
>>>
>>
[1]http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees/Restructure_Announc
ement_Q%26A
>>>
>>>
>> Yeah, you are right, the FAQ seems to suggest that indeed.
>> OK, I
>> should reword my statement probably to something along the
>> lines that
>> I do not want to tell people that they should set up a
>> chapter. I
>> agree that the balance of pro's and con's has been
>> changed somewhat
>> since the board restructuring yes. But after all, it
>> remains so that
>> the volunteers running the chapter should decide whether it
>> is worth
>> it. Whether things are worth the trouble.
>>
>>
> 
> Thank you.  I am personally uncertain whether things are worth the
trouble. 
That is why I am trying to get answers on why the board and people who 
believe chapters to be important
think US chapter(s) to be worthwhile.
> 
> 
> Birgitte SB

The way I understood it when we drafted the text is this:
We felt that various people considered that the board was not supportive 
of the creation of a USA chapter;
 From the moment when the chapters have a say in the board membership, 
it seemed likely that part of the community could have complained that 
American citizens would not be able to have a voice about these reserved 
chapters given that the board did not allow US chapters.
As such, what our sentence primarily meant was that the board would not 
oppose the creation of a USA chapter.

It does not mean that we know or have a clear opinion on how to deal 
with state level - city level - library level etc...,
It does not mean that we yet know what these chapters would do
it simply means that on the principle, we'll be happy to approve a USA 
chapter ... or USA chapters, or USA chocolate cake, or something, that 
will make it possible for USA citizens to get involved at board 
membership level.

HMMM, I hope I am clear ;-)

ant


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