[WikiEN-l] Wikipedia Leadership (was NY Times article on gender gap in Wikipedia contributors}

[Stephanie Daugherty]

How about this for starters for a leadership council. 5 members,
serving staggered 3 year terms, and possibly subject to recall, with
the following duties:
- To engage members of the community in open and frank discussions
about policy, technical, and content/style issues.
- To participate in discussions of broad-reaching issues, lending
moderation and reminding the community of it's core responsibility and
values.
- To rule on the presence or absence of consensus where it is contested.
- To occasionally impose decisions based on the advice of the
community where the consensus process cannot produce a decision, and
where the decision would reflect both a majority viewpoint and the
long-term interests of the project.
- To occasionally call referendums on technical and policy matters
after sufficient discussion has taken place, and where the wishes of
the community are not clear.
- To use the site notice and watchlist notice functions to call
attention to broad-reaching policy and technical discussions requiring
more community input.
- To impose temporary policy decisions where timeliness is critical
due to potential for disruption to the community or gross violation of
our core values.

The community would retain the ability to govern through consensus,
and would further have the ability to call referendums on any decision
imposed by the council. Overturning a council decision would be by
simple majority, so that the council would lack the ability to go
completely against the wishes of the community.


Someone take this and keep editing please :)






On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 1:03 PM, Marc Riddell <michaeldavid86 at comcast.net> wrote:
> on 2/1/11 12:43 PM, David Gerard at dgerard at gmail.com wrote:
>
>> On 1 February 2011 17:30, Marc Riddell <michaeldavid86 at comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Fred, you still haven't answered my questions. I see the term "consensus"
>>> and, especially, the term "community consensus" used in many contexts on
>>> this and other Lists. But what does it mean? And by what means is that
>>> "community consensus" measured or determined? It's a huge Community! it's
>>> like saying, "National policy is determined by a consensus of the American
>>> Community"!
>>
>>
>> Marc - it's literally true that there is no-one driving.
>>
>>
> David, yes and the road becomes more complex and hazardous with every new
> mile that is traveled. And, if that continues, then I am afraid for a
> Project and a Community that I have come to have a great deal of respect and
> affection for.
>
> Marc
>
>
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