[WikiEN-l] Just what *is* Jimbo's role anyway?

[Sheldon Rampton]

Stevertigo wrote:

> But the
> fact is that until Jimbo decides otherwise, he is the reigning
> monarch.

He already HAS decided otherwise, by creating the Wikimedia  
Foundation and transferring the assets of Wikipedia from his private  
company to the foundation. The Wikimedia Foundation's bylaws clearly  
state, "All corporate powers shall be exercised by or under the  
authority of, and the business and affairs of the Foundation shall be  
managed under, the direction of the Board of Trustees. ... The act of  
the majority of the Trustees present at a meeting at which a quorum  
is present shall be the act of the Board of Trustees." Moreover, "Any  
Trustee may be removed by a majority vote of the full membership of  
the Board."

In short, Jimbo's powers only exist insofar as they are granted to  
him by the full board of directors of the Wikimedia Foundation, on  
which he only holds one seat. Moreover, the other trustees could  
remove him from the board if they so chose. If it were their desire  
to do so, in fact, they could impose limits on his powers up to and  
including banning him entirely from editing Wikipedia.

This does not mean, of course, that he has no powers. It merely means  
that his powers are derived from (and therefore limited by) the  
consent of the full board of the foundation, which chooses to grant  
him certain powers based on the trust he has accumulated through his  
history as a leader of the project. If, however, a dispute were to  
arise over the question of who has ultimate power, there is little  
doubt that a court of law would rule in favor of the board.

In short: The king is dead. Long live Jimbo!

--------------------------------
|  Sheldon Rampton
|  Research director, Center for Media & Democracy (www.prwatch.org)
|  Author of books including:
|     Friends In Deed: The Story of US-Nicaragua Sister Cities
|     Toxic Sludge Is Good For You
|     Mad Cow USA
|     Trust Us, We're Experts
|     Weapons of Mass Deception
|     Banana Republicans
|     The Best War Ever
--------------------------------
|  Subscribe to our free weekly list serve by visiting:
|  http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/subscribe_sotd.html
|
|  Donate now to support independent, public interest reporting:
|  https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=1118
--------------------------------