[Foundation-l] Changes to the identification policies and procedures

[whothis]

Hi Steven Walling, I would say your tone might have been a bit abrasive from
the beginning but I am assuming good faith.

I absolutely love Michael Snow's take on the situation, I hope that the
staff members are reading it too.

On Sat, Feb 5, 2011 at 2:20 AM, Steven Walling <steven.walling at gmail.com>wrote:

> I would agree with you Birgitte, except that MZ talked to Christine and
> Philippe about the issue beforehand and was specifically asked not to post
> about it here until Philippe is back and any questions can be answered.


You're mentioning something only staff personnel would/should know here. I
would have to assume what role you're speaking as now- staff, OTRS volunteer
or a community member.

>


> To answer Elizabeth: I am listed on the staff page at
> wikimediafoundation.org. My fellowship is for a year and I work at the
> offices here in San Francisco. Fellowships are all different in length and
> who they work with, and that diversity is intentional, since they're
> project-based and different projects have different needs.
>

There is absolutely no new information in that statement beyond that you're
a fellow. I never questioned you my dear.

I only asked for clarification on what roles fellows are playing now, they
seem to span from quasi-staff members to advisory board members to full
staff members to grant recipient to whatever fellows are actually supposed
to be. I was only asking for a little clarification, that's all.


Thanks.


Elizabeth.


> On Fri, Feb 4, 2011 at 12:15 PM, Michael Snow <wikipedia at frontier.com
> >wrote:
>
> > On 2/4/2011 11:19 AM, Birgitte SB wrote:
> > > I imagine MZMcBride's inquiries have so often been slanted as though
> they
> > had
> > > originated from a hardened negative opinion, because he gets his
> > information
> > > from the gossip network rather than the WMF. I think I am so often
> > ignorant
> > > because I do the opposite. It seems to me, that MZMcBride has been
> taking
> > pains
> > > for sometime to change the tone of his messages. I personally have
> > noticed a
> > > continual incremental improvement on his part. It bothers me that
> despite
> > what I
> > > would rate as his success in crafting a neutral and reasonable message,
> > he is
> > > still characterized as demanding answers and chided for bringing up the
> > issue
> > > altogether. Whatever anyone else thinks MZMcBride, I have noticed your
> > efforts
> > > and I appreciate them a great deal.  Introspection and change are hard
> > things to
> > > do; thank you.
> > I agree with much of Birgitte's analysis. I would add that it is not
> > fundamentally wrong to try to surface issues from the gossip network to
> > a more public discussion. (The gossip network is as closed and opaque a
> > forum for discussion as any private mailing list; I'd call for it to be
> > more open, but that would be denying human nature.) Among other things,
> > surfacing these discussions can do the foundation a service by informing
> > it about what matters are being discussed there. However, it does
> > require a great deal of care to surface things in a way that is
> > productive and informative, rather than simply poisoning the public
> > discourse. You can see some of this in how the respectable media
> > approach news that is thrust upon them by tabloids or internet chatter.
> > They go to considerable lengths not to defame and try to avoid unfairly
> > maligning or adding their own insinuations and speculation. I think the
> > pattern of inquiries here has improved, though it could still stand
> > further improvement.
> >
> > On the foundation side, meanwhile, I believe more work ought to be done
> > to minimize the "need" for the gossip network as an information channel.
> > I've repeatedly pushed for creation of a staff position specifically
> > dedicated to communications with the community. As the current
> > communications staff, Jay and Moka are wonderful but much more
> > external-facing, and have their hands plenty full with just that. I've
> > been expecting that one of the Community department positions outlined
> > in the annual plan would cover this, and if things follow the schedule I
> > would hope to see such a position relatively soon.
> >
> > --Michael Snow
> >
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> >
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-- 
Sorry my karma ran over your dogma.