[Foundation-l] Board statement of responsibility

[Birgitte SB]

--- On Wed, 5/21/08, Florence Devouard <Anthere9 at yahoo.com> wrote:


> However, it is quite obvious to me that the
> non-disparagement part is 
> collecting a significant amount of support amongst board
> members... but 
> would have a serious impact on the sharing allowed to take
> place between 
> board members and community.

Granting that there is a lack of clarity on the sort of criticism is forbidden here, it seems to me this would effectively solidify the sort of coded information that is shared with the community currently. Where silence is the new criticism in a message praising specific people and what they have done.  Where what part is *not* commented on is the most important information in an email about a proposal. I think it is all a bit silly, as I can decipher these things pretty well. But it is probably rather frustrating for those who cannot and likely leads to unnecessary misunderstandings. 

Overall I don't think it a good idea, but I don't see it being all that far from the status quo.  I don't think it will stop the gossip which is the real problem.  I imagine people will still rant and and rave about each other in backwater chat rooms because it is the nature the insular groups to generate a false sense of privacy and human nature relieve frustration by disparaging others.  Overall I think it will slightly inhibit public communication to the community and have no effect on the semi-private communications which are the real problem for WMF.  Mostly though I think the communication with the community has been negatively impacted by the whole "one voice" nonsense to a degree that makes this policy a bucket of water in the ocean. Fighting this policy on the grounds of "community communications" seems to me to be like splinting the broken arm of someone who is bleeding to death from their leg. A little irrelevant.

Birgitte SB