[WikiEN-l] [Foundation-l] Wikimedia Board Elections

[Gerard Meijssen]

Jimmy Wales wrote:
> It is very very important that everyone vote.
>
> I personally strongly strongly support the candidacies of Oscar and 
> Mindspillage.
>
> Oscar is an amazing Dutch Wikipedian with strong support from that 
> community but who does not have broad exposure in the English 
> Wikipedia... I hope we can change that by introducing him to people.
>
> Mindspillage is Mindspillage.  We all know and love her.  Give her some 
> votes.
>
> There are other candidates, some good, but at least some of them are 
> entirely unacceptable because they have proven themselves repeatedly 
> unable to work well with the community.
>
> Please, everyone, vote... and vote for people who you can know and trust 
> and care about as human beings.
>
> I invite an open discussion here of the candidates.  This is your 
> community, speak openly of who you trust and why.
>
> --Jimbo
Hoi,
Where you assume that Oscar needs introduction because of him being 
little known in the English Wikipedia, the same is true for 
Mindspillage. She is not well known outside of the English Wikipedia. 
You did both Oscar and Mindspillage a disservice by not properly 
introducing either.

Where you state that some are "entirely unacceptable", you forget that 
democracy is about the electorate choosing it's champions. It is said 
that an electorate gets the representation that it deserves. It is for 
the people that are elected and who are not elected to work together. 
When this is entirely unacceptable, the notion of people being elected 
and being able and allowed to make a difference in that role will not be 
fulfilled. It will be a mockery of democracy.

When a person is to be chosen for the board of the Wikimedia Foundation, 
it has been said that it is extremely important that the notion of the 
WMF being about the English Wikipedia is a false notion. I am afraid 
that you damaged Mindspillage by portraying her as an English Wikipedia 
person. I think all candidates that focus on Wikipedia in their 
statements disqualify themselves as the Wikimedia Foundation is NOT 
about Wikipedia.

Thanks,
    GerardM