[Foundation-l] Omidyar Network Commits $2 Million Grant to Wikimedia Foundation

[Thomas Dalton]

2009/8/26 Erik Moeller <erik at wikimedia.org>:
> 2009/8/25 Thomas Dalton <thomas.dalton at gmail.com>:
>> How can you have a Q&A on a topic like this that doesn't even address
>> the matter than you have sold a seat on the board? Has the WMF
>> completely lost touch with the community? It should be obvious that
>> this is going to be a highly controversial decision and yet you can't
>> even get the basic announcement right and don't even try and answer
>> the obvious question the community is going to ask.
>
> (begin quote)
>
> Why did the Wikimedia Foundation invite Matt Halprin to join its Board?
>
> Matt's background and skills are a great fit for the Wikimedia
> Foundation Board of Trustees, which has had two "expertise"
> (non-community) seats vacant since last April. Matt is a Board member
> of several other non-profit organizations, which means he will bring
> general non-profit governance and oversight experience to Wikimedia.
> His background at eBay gives him a good understanding of issues
> related to online community, trust, reputation, privacy and content
> quality: all key issues for the Wikimedia Foundation. Matt also has a
> background in strategy development, which will be useful for the
> Wikimedia Foundation as it embarks on its collaborative strategy
> development project. The Wikimedia Foundation believes Matt will be a
> terrific addition to Wikimedia's Board of Trustees.
>
> Is Matt Halprin's Board seat an individual seat, or an Omidyar Network seat?
>
> Like all Wikimedia Board members, Matt will be a member as an
> individual, not as a representative of any particular organization or
> constituency. All Wikimedia Foundation Board members have an
> obligation to put the best interests of the Wikimedia Foundation
> first, and to do their best to support and guide the organization, to
> help it achieve its mission and goals. The Wikimedia Foundation looks
> forward to Matt's participation on the Board.
>
> (end quote)

Those answers don't address the fact that you've just given a seat on
the board to someone that has just given you a big pile of cash. I am
open to being convinced that this is a good thing, but you haven't
even tried to convince me. I am not arguing that Matt isn't a good
choice for the board, I am arguing that the circumstances of his
appointment are inappropriate. Had you discussed the general principle
of selling board seats with the community you might have got a
positive response, but you didn't ask.