Hello Erik, best wishes on your new journey and Thanks to you for
everything.
Hasive
On Tue, Apr 14, 2015 at 2:29 PM, Jan-Bart de Vreede <jdevreede(a)wikimedia.org
wrote:
> Dear Erik,
>
> Not sure where to begin :(
>
> Because words cannot begin how important your contribution to Wikimedia so
> far has been. When I started on the board in 2007 you were a little
> impatient with your new fellow board member for simply “not getting it”
> (fair comment, some would argue that 8 years later I still don’t get it so
> there). In the following months I learned to admire not just your expertise
> but also your unwavering belief in our mission. You made clear what “being
> bold” meant on several occasions. Sue could not have picked a better deputy
> to help her set up the foundation in San Francisco and you deserve a large
> part of the credit for what we have achieved (as it witnessed in this
> thread).
>
> But there are two things that have always impressed me beyond all others:
>
> 1) Knowing what the “right thing” to do is in terms of our movement and
> mission. I have sought you out many times for advice, and have not
> regretted it once. Even if I did not agree your perspective always got me
> thinking and helped me form a better opinion.
> 2) Your ability to always be frank, but also take the time to reach out
> and spend the time to explain things when needed (and take the criticism
> for it). Several emails to this mailing list are proof of that.
>
> But I can understand your decision that “the time has come”. I might not
> agree, but I am not sure I will ever agree with it…. working with you has
> made me a better person and hopefully we will have the chance to do so
> again somewhere in the future.
>
> As a very small consolation: I am excited to find out what cause you will
> actively support next, and I am sure that your path and that of our
> community will continue to cross regularly.
>
> From the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU!
>
> Jan-Bart “your henchman” de Vreede
>
>
>
>
> > On 13 Apr 2015, at 20:12, Erik Moeller <erik(a)wikimedia.org
wrote:
> >
> > Hi all --
> >
> > As Lila noted, since January 2008 I've worn many hats at the Wikimedia
> > Foundation, and in the six years before that I was a Wikipedian,
> > MediaWiki developer, and member of the WMF board of trustees. I became
> > involved in Wikipedia when I was 22 years old. :) The Wikimedia
> > movement has accomplished amazing things, but I believe it's time now
> > for me to do something different and new.
> >
> > It's been a long and incredible journey, and one I am privileged to
> > have helped to shape. When I joined the Foundation in December 2007 we
> > were a staff of a dozen people, with barely enough funds to keep the
> > lights on. Since then, we've tackled challenges of a complexity and
> > scale faced by few other organisations. In doing so, we’ve been
> > generously supported by people all over the world who are grateful for
> > the gift of free knowledge.
> >
> > I’m proud of and happy with what we've achieved. Reaching people on
> > mobile. Pioneering new approaches working with universities.
> > Painstakingly building a visual editing experience on top of wikitext.
> > :) I’m glad we’ve taken a stand when it matters (SOPA blackout, NSA
> > lawsuit) and that we don’t shy away from complex issues such as
> > community health and diversity.
> >
> > I’m excited that Wikidata is growing in leaps and bounds with the help
> > of Wikimedia Germany, and that more and more powerful tools and
> > services are being built on the basis of Wikimedia APIs and data. I’ve
> > always believed that Wikimedia chapter and affiliate organizations are
> > key to the success of the movement, and I hope they are going to truly
> > thrive in years to come.
> >
> > But it's time. As the leadership team begins to coalesce under Lila, I
> > want to open up space for the organization to learn and explore anew
> > -- and I’d like to rediscover for myself what it means to tackle
> > challenges outside of my areas of comfort and familiarity.
> >
> > I’m very interested in the technical challenges of federated
> > collaboration, and am looking forward to getting my hands dirty in
> > that domain. I also want to explore how to make patterns of ethics,
> > policy, and self-governance more accessible and re-usable for
> > communities. In short, I’m itching to immerse myself in new problem
> > spaces and new ideas.
> >
> > Lila, Damon, Terry, myself and others in the org have been discussing
> > how to organize product going forward to set the org up for success in
> > the years to come, and we’ll have an update on that very soon. This is
> > a very natural point for me to pursue something new.
> >
> > What Wikimedia does in the world is wonderful & important. I’m sure I
> > will continue to cross paths with many of you in future as I continue
> > to move in free culture circles, and I very much look forward to it.
> >
> > I’ll continue to be @ WMF full-time through April, and will make
> > myself available as necessary afterwards, for when the org needs human
> > institutional memory that surpasses digital archives. I wish you all
> > success and joy :-)
> >
> > Love,
> >
> > Erik
> > --
> > Erik Möller
> > VP of Product & Strategy, Wikimedia Foundation
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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--
*Hasive **Nurunnaby Chowdhury** :: **নুরুন্নবী চৌধুরী **হাছিব*
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