[Wikimedia-l] Your support is wanted: The WMF Board of Trustees is looking for a new Board member

[Jan-Bart de Vreede]

Hey

(have cut some items to focus on main points)


On Feb 18, 2013, at 11:22 PM, cyrano <cyrano.fawkes at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> if there is a divergence you can (s)elect different people for those five seats. The appointed seats are intended to help add specific skills/expertise to the board to make sure that it can perform its governance tasks effectively….
>> 
>>> Now, if the Board of Trustees sets requirements, or pays the people who will recommend the candidates, it immediately breaks the guaranty that there is something else than people in power keeping their power structure intact. It doesn't mean it is happening, but it can't guaranty it's not, which defeats the point of having Trustees.
>> Simply don't agree with that reasoning. The point of trustees it to provide governance and direction to the WMF.
> Of course they must provide governance and direction, but with the greater priority of representing the values of the community, in order to deserve the alleged trust.

I think that governance is the greatest priority, and community comes into it as an integral part.




>>  If you cannot trust them to select the right people, how can you trust them to do anything?
> Exactly my point.
> 
But if no one is likely to trust the (s)elected board members, why not simply have a completely appointed board? You don't trust them anyway? In my view the (s)elected seats are the core of the board (see below) and they are the link to the community.

> 
>> 
>> 
>>> Personally, I think the main function of the Board of Trustees should be to increase the trust of the community, thanks to a rigorous and transparent scrutiny of its internal processes.
>>> 
>> I, and most of the non-profit world (not to mention the law ;)  respectfully disagree and would argue that the main function of any board of trustees is more governance related.
> You should not leave the community out the equation. I agree that the internal function of the Board of Trustees is governance related. But from the community's perspective, WMF should not exist by itself and for itself, and that's why there are trustees: to *guaranty *that the main reason of its existence is something else that getting money, prestige or any other personal leverage. That's where the trust comes from.
> WMF exists to empower the community and its cause, and all the governance's decisions are subsumed by this principle.

I am not leaving them out, I simply view governance as the main priority of the board.

> 
>>  For a good summary of what our Board of Trustees' function is I would refer you to:
>> 
>> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_board_manual#Roles_and_responsibilities
> Thank you for the link. I understand now why you think that five seats belong to the community, the article is twice misleading: by saying that Chapters ARE the community, and by saying that five out of ten is a majority.

I simply don't agree. 
a) Chapters are part of the community
b) Whenever a vote comes up for an appointed seat that seat obviously does not vote, therefore the (s)elected seats have a majority vote on any appointed seat (5 our of 9 votes) Apart from that I would say that Jimmy's seat is a community seat, but recognise that not all share that viewpoint.

Jan-Bart