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

[Sheldon Rampton]

Jimmy Wales wrote:

> Well, Sheldon, this assumes that the Foundation has authority  
> *over* the
> community, which the Foundation more or less denies.  So whatever
> corporate powers I have or don't have are likely quite different from
> whatever powers our community traditions give me.
>
> Several board members have made it quite clear that they don't  
> intend to
> interfere with that one way or the other.

Again, turning to the bylaws: "The majority of the Board shall be  
elected or appointed from within the community," but "'Community' as  
used in the Bylaws, shall be defined by the Board, consistent with  
the mission statement."

This seems to say that the ultimate power in Wikipedia resides with  
the community, as you stated. Somewhat paradoxically, however, the  
Board has the power to define the community. In theory this could  
lead to a situation where the board defined the community in such a  
way as to manipulate the outcome of elections to produce  
unrepresentative outcomes. In practice it most likely means that  
ultimate power now resides with a broad-based community of  
Wikipedians who elect the board to represent them.

The fact that the current board assents to the current definition of  
Jimbo's powers does not mean that future boards will continue to do  
so. It's possible (again in theory, and I see no sign of it  
happening) that the community could elect board members who choose to  
do otherwise.

For the record, I'm not in any way advocating that they do so. The  
point here is simply to define from whence your powers derive.

As for the question of whether the Foundation has authority over the  
community, of course the Foundation doesn't have any ability to tell  
any of us what to do. However, it *does* control the physical assets  
of Wikipedia, including the servers. If it chose to do so, it could  
shut the site down and fire the staff, and the community would have  
to try to reconstitute itself elsewhere.

Again, I'm not advocating that this happen, nor do I think that it is  
even remotely likely.

The main point here (on which I think you and I agree) is that  
Stevertigo's description of you as a "monarch" with "unlimited  
powers" is no longer accurate. Whether your powers derive from the  
board or from "community traditions," they now derive from some  
source other than actual ownership of Wikipedia. Moreover, if your  
powers derive from community traditions, it is paradoxical (to put it  
politely) for Stevertigo to suggest that the community should refrain  
from publicly discussing how your powers are defined. Is he just  
being a troll, or what?

--------------------------------
|  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
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