[Foundation-l] Remembering the People (was Fundraiser update)

[Marc Riddell]

> Marc Riddell writes:
> 
>> The Foundation - and those who represent it - seem to have forgotten
>> that
>> people are at the heart of what they are there to do. And, without the
>> heart, it cannot live.

on 1/8/09 4:22 PM, Mike Godwin at mgodwin at wikimedia.org wrote:
> 
> This is really an insupportable assertion.

(I changed the name of this thread so that those who wish to keep their head
in the sand may do so by avoiding it.)

My message is supported by the countless number of patronizing,
condescending missives handed down by your group. In them the people come
across as an after-thought. A linguistic analysis by several experts in the
field concluded that you don't have a clue about effective group management.

> The Foundation and those
> who represent it are, if anything, hyperaware of the community on
> whose volunteer efforts we depend. That awareness factors into
> practically every decision we make.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is
> speaking out of ignorance.
> 
> To name only one example:  Every time we discuss Flagged Revisions at
> the Foundation, someone will express concern about how it might affect
> community participation if current edits of a sighted version are not
> visible (for some period of time, at least) to those who consult
> Wikipedia without logging in. Sometimes the person expressing concern
> is me -- I know from my own long-term experience in online communities
> that keeping people motivated to contribute is central to a
> community's success.
> 
> The idea that anyone at the Foundation ever forgets about the
> dependence of the projects on the larger community of editors is just
> nonsense, born out of the impulse, so common in online forums, to
> Assume Bad Faith.

This is pure unsubstantiated rhetoric. There are real-life, real-time
problems - serious problems - that directly involve the people occurring in
the English Wikipedia for example. Where is your help?
> 
<snip> My message is not about Eric.

The culture of product first - people second was established from the very
creation of the Wikipedia Project. And it remains pretty much intact to this
day.

Wales, in his past statement, was wrong. Humans will not destroy Wikipedia;
but rather the total disregard of them by its leaders will.
> 
> Try assuming good faith.

I have all the faith I need: in the people.

Marc Riddell