[Toolserver-l] The Future of Toolserver Governance

[Daniel Kinzler]

Hello all.

The Toolserver has been run by Wikimedia Germany since 2005. We now feel that
it's time to make the Toolserver a joint operation. In the past, other chapters
have expressed the wish to contribute to the toolserver, and some have done so,
but it was always a bit tricky.

We hope to improve this situation by creating an independent entity that runs
the toolserver. We have discussed this during the Wikimedia Conference 2010 in
Berlin, documentation of this discussion can be found at
<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Chapters_meeting_2010/Documentation/Working_Groups/Toolserver>.

Mainly, we agreed to form a working group that includes every chapter that is
interested in discussing the future of the Toolserver governance and is willing
to financially contribute towards the operation of the Toolserver. The purpose
of this working group is to propose the organizational and legal structure for a
new Toolserver association and with some basic roles & responsibilities of such
an association.

All chapters have received a request for participation from Wikimedia Germany's
ED, Pavel Richter, and several have already expressed an interest in taking
part. If you would like you local chapter to be involved with toolserver
governance, please ask them about it. The deadline for joining the working group
is  June 11,  working group than has until the end of September to come up with
a proposal. The working group will consist of one official representative for
each chapter, possibly aided by advisors/experts.

One important question the working group will discuss is how the toolserver
community (you) can and should be involved with the governance body. What do you
think would be a sensible way to do this?

Also, if you have any questions, concerns or proposals you would like to see
addressed by the working group, please let me know - best by posting here.


Daniel Kinzler
Software Developer
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.