I was speaking in support of keeping the current policy which allows WMF staff to vote even if they do not meet the eligibility guidelines with a volunteer account.
The issue of allowing staff in affiliated organizations who are not volunteers vote is more complex because they could have minimal involvement with the larger movement, and in some cases already have the ability to select WMF BoT.
But, I would be inclined to encourage more voices to be heard by inviting everyone who is part of the wikimedia movement to vote in the WMF BoT elections.
This could happen by the affiliate organizations encouraging all staff to become volunteers by giving them time to edit in a volunteer capacity several hours a month,
or by allowing affiliated organizations to identify a list of staff who are not on site volunteers but who are part of the wikimedia movement.
Additionally, a strong effort to get more volunteer community members running for positions as well as voting.
Sydney
Sydney Poore User:FloNight Wikipedian in Residence at Cochrane Collaboration
On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 1:22 PM, Aleksey Bilogur aleksey.bilogur@gmail.com wrote:
Frankly, I think such views are naive idealism. There is a political reality that would come about as a result of such a change, one at the highest level, that need to be understood and addressed. I do not even believe that this is a discussion that should occur at the community level. This is a discussion that should occur at the board level.
A former Wikimedian in Residence was recently blocked for constant copyright violations on the English Wikipedia. I do not want such people voting on a body which will determine their level of monetary and non-monetary support---especially now that the requirements for incorporation as a user-group are dipping still lower.
On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 12:11 PM, Marc A. Pelletier marc@uberbox.org wrote:
On 15-04-22 11:54 AM, Sydney Poore wrote:
I fully support allowing our talented and dedicated WMF staff to have
the
opportunity to choose the people who guide the direction of the WMF.
I'd like to add to this that the (pretty small) set of staffers that would not otherwise have had eligibility to vote are generally in administrative, finance and legal positions - all of which bring other perspectives to evaluation of the candidates that may be valuable.
But, more importantly, they share our values and commitment to the ideals behind the movement. They wouldn't be working at the Foundation if they didn't because our internal culture is - literally - all about the mission.
Disclaimer: I'm staff myself, but eligible to vote as a volunteer.
-- Marc
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