[Foundation-l] Wikimedia main office

[Ray Saintonge]

Daniel Mayer wrote:

>--- Robin Shannon <robin.shannon at gmail.com> wrote:
>  
>
>>Is this the first time a CEO has been proposed? what on earth would be
>>the point of having one? I ask if this is the first time it has been
>>asked because i would like to see any wikipages or archeived email
>>threads to see what the arguments are for having one.
>>    
>>
>We have been talking about this for at least a couple years; the last time we did so publicly was
>just mentioned and linked to by Erik. The reason why this is necessary is due to the fact that we
>long ago reached the limit on what volunteers alone can accomplish. We have therefore been missing
>out on many different potential opportunities (for getting grants, very large donations and to
>reach our ultimate goals) simply because we have not had proper staffing. And a staff needs a
>person to manage them and the daily aspects of running the organization. Simply put, we are
>transitioning from the amateur football club model to a professional organization. Staff are an
>investment.
>
What you seem to forget is that Wikipedia's strength rests with its 
amateurs.  While there may be evident need for some amount of 
administrative staff it is as important to avoid pretensions of being a 
professional organization.  If you look at staff as an investment you 
are assuming an economic model that runs contrary to Wikipedia's free 
nature.

Ec