[Foundation-l] Call for nominations: chapter-appointed seats on the WMF Board of Trustees

[Risker]

On 1 February 2012 18:17, Theo10011 <de10011 at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 4:06 AM, Risker <risker.wp at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > In what way do chapter-selected seats improve the running of the WMF,
> > Thomas?  The Board has no say in who is being selected, and there is no
> > basis in fact to say that those appointed by the chapters are any more
> > effective or helpful in meeting the Board's goals or running the WMF than
> > would community-elected Wikimedians.
>
>
> Risker, you know the point applies to appointed members of the board as
> well. They are selected through even a more private process for seemingly
> unlimited terms, they make up the other half of the board. I am surprised
> why questions about their interest and representation aren't raised on
> every new appointment?
>
> The chapter selected member, at least go through a vetting and a voting
> process that is open to several chapters and thousand of members.
>
>

The appointed members of the Board are chosen for their specific expertise
and skill-set.  The Board does publicly identify the slots it is trying to
fill when looking for appointees, and the qualifications that they
require.

The chapter-selected seats...nobody knows what criteria are being used,
what specific expertise is being sought, what skill-set is being selected
for.  The end result, as best I can see from the first two rounds, is "the
same people who could easily have run for election, because they're well
known and widely active in the community".

Risker/Anne