Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimania 2017 Montreal - scooped by Signpost

On 4 October 2015 at 18:48, Pavel Richter <mail(a)pavelrichter.de> wrote: ... BACKGROUND Well, yes Pavel, of course "we" are going to move on. It's the old overused mantra of every time there is a blunder "it's in the past community, move along now". The problem is we should be able to also *see* measurable non-subjective changes and improvement to the way things are done, increasing transparency and putting the volunteer at the center of decision making, even if resources and most of the work are paid positions. I really liked the early reply and effective apology by Florence: https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2015-October/079256.html But I found the response by the current Chair of the committee unconvincing. The attempt to change thread title and move to a far less subscribed email group, shows how the strategy is a quick political "nothing to see here" rather than leadership that shows active learning and openness: https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2015-October/079273.html CONCLUSION It would be super if Florence would consider temporarily taking over as Chair, or starting a public process to ensure some new faces in the next few months, including a change of the Chairman. This would show the Committee recognizes this was a real serious failure which should see proportionate changes of roles on the Committee. If everything stays exactly the same for the next six months, then this would show the Committee is more interested in protecting itself, than ensuring that the unpaid volunteer and community consensus is central to the way this process *should* be seen to work, and in line with the original mandate for the Committee itself. P.S. were I the current Chair, I think I would publicly apologise to Montreal before stepping down. The way this has been stitched up behind closed doors is probably an very unfair way for their hosting of Wikimania to be seen to start off. Most unfortunate. Thanks, Fae -- faewik(a)gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae