[Foundation-l] Chapters

[Nathan]

Few last points before I duck out of this conversation for awhile...

There are international accounting standards (see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Accounting_Standards_Board). It's
not necessary that all organizations follow them to the letter, obviously,
because not all nations (including the United States) accept them. The point
is, I'm sure, that in order for the WMF to achieve the points laid out in
the Board letter, they will need to see certain types of information from
the chapters. To have confidence in that information, some common
understanding of how reports are developed will have to be agreed upon.

I don't have the background on the Board's decision necessary to understand
why they chose the particular timing they did. If it were me, knowing only
what I know, I would have deferred the effect of the change until the next
fundraiser. But, that carries risks - if they were informed of a material
problem and chose to defer for a year, they could incur some serious
liability. I believe they see the Wikimedia movement as an international
endeavor, and the chapters as an integral part of it, and I remain convinced
that the Board members have the best interests of the Foundation and the
movement at heart.

Having said that, Assume Good Faith is not how corporations with lots of
money protect themselves. It's a good principle when interacting with
people, but corporations (for profit or otherwise) need to establish
controls based on the potential for bad actors. It's not about distrusting
partners, its about fulfilling a fiduciary duty of care for the corporation
that will survive changes in personnel and circumstance.

Finally, the WMF certainly does have an obligation to meet the expectations
of the community in many areas of concern. That doesn't mean they can or
should reveal every detail, nor does it mean it will always successfully
meet the expectations of every individual or even the community as a whole.
Perhaps Theo's experience with this list is different than mine, but after 4
years of subscribing I can't think of anyone who doesn't believe the
Foundation is responsible to the Wikimedia community.

Nathan