Well, I'm not sure about that, Anthony. By "consulted", I would mean
something to the effect of "We're looking at applying to XX for a grant of
$YYY to do ZZZ" and asking the Board if they would be likely to agree to
accept such a grant if the application is successful. The grant
application, evaluation and approval process is costly in both time and
resources, and for both the applicant and the grantmaker. Being informed
that a grant has been approved sounds more like a fait accompli situation
for the Board - they look petty and ungrateful if they say no, even if they
don't think it was a reasonable grant application. In this case, we're
only dealing with $250,000. What if this was $1 million? $10 million?
I think it is healthier for everyone if the Board is properly consulted
before the application is submitted. (And again, I note that we don't know
how much was actually requested in this case, only what was granted.)
Risker/Anne
On 12 February 2016 at 21:23, Anthony Cole <ahcoleecu(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Anne, regarding:
"Since the Board must approve acceptance of any donations over $100,000
USD, it seems to be obvious that they should be consulted and possibly
should actively approve any grant applications where the dollar value
sought is higher than that amount."
I'm not sure that the board should be *consulted* ahead of such
applications' or should prior-approve all such applications. That seems a
bit like micromanagement. But it makes sense to me for the board to be
*advised
*of such applications and when they're being actively contemplated or
prepared.
Anthony Cole
On Fri, Feb 12, 2016 at 9:11 PM, Risker <risker.wp(a)gmail.com> wrote:
I'm sorry to hear that you feel this way,
Gerard. I personally would like
to feel more assured that the WMF is looking into the longer future and
actively plannning for the day that donations no longer support a large
staff doing lots of things.
I am concerned today that the team specifically tasked to work closely
with
so many elements of the community has lost 7% of
its staff, and 30% of
its
leaders, in a single week. This should be a
concern in any organization.
With respect to the Knight grant - I know that many times grant
applications are made for considerably more than is given, and I am
interested to know how much the WMF requested in the first place. I
would
also like to know whether or not the Board was
formally advised of the
request before it was submitted. Since the Board must approve acceptance
of any donations over $100,000 USD, it seems to be obvious that they
should
be consulted and possibly should actively approve
any grant applications
where the dollar value sought is higher than that amount. I don't
believe
the current policies require advance approval or
even advance
notification,
though.
Risker/Anne
On 12 February 2016 at 03:54, Gerard Meijssen <gerard.meijssen(a)gmail.com
wrote:
> Hoi,
> I am not complaining. I point out that all this huha does not get us
> anywhere. I am not afraid to give an opinion and I am not afraid to be
a
contrarian when I think it makes sense. Yes, things happened that were
not
> beautiful. They are not what upset me. What upsets me is that people
like
Siko and
Anna are leaving. Because they are part of "my" Wikimedia
Foundation. What upsets me is that I routinely use Magnus's tool and
process hundreds of thousands of records and am to understand that
official
> query is stunted and does not allow for this "because it was not in the
> design" and it is then pointed out that it takes money to solve this...
>
> My point is that baying for blood is not what helps us forward. What I
do
> know is that when sheer negativity is not
coupled with an ability to
stop
> and move forward, we will get in a downward
spiral. I fault Pine for
not
> being able to stop. What I wish for is for
people like Anna and Siko
and
money for
our environment and not for an endowment.
Thanks,
GerardM
On 12 February 2016 at 09:35, Michel Vuijlsteke <wikipedia(a)zog.org>
wrote:
>
> > Gerard,
> >
> > I was waiting for this mail. For me personally, your complaining is
> > achieving exactly the opposite of what you think.
> >
> > It sounds as if you'd much rather prefer to stick your head in the
sand
and
> hope things will blow over. "Move along, nothing to see here -- oh
look!
> something positive over there!" is not
going to solve anything.
>
> Michel
>
> On 12 February 2016 at 09:24, Gerard Meijssen <
gerard.meijssen(a)gmail.com
> >
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Hoi,
> > > Pine as you are talking about "self inflicting wounds" I take it
you
are
> > not talking in your personal capacity. When is it enough for you?
When
> are
> > you going to talk about positive things, things that will move us
> forward.
> > Why ask for blood and more blood? What is it that you hope to
achieve?
> > >
> > > Who do you represent in this unending litany of negativity and what
> have
> > > you achieved in this way? When Lila was engaged in her role, she
was
to
> > direct in a different direction and she
is doing that. You may not
like
> > it
> > > and that is ok.
> > > Thanks,
> > > GerardM
> > >
> > > On 12 February 2016 at 08:43, Pine W <wiki.pine(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Dariusz, thanks for continuing to engage here. Besides the good
> > questions
> > > > that others have asked, I'll add a few:
> > > >
> > > > 1. If the Knowledge Engine is such an important project, why is
it
not
> > > mentioned in
> > >
>
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2015-16
> > > ?
> > > >
> > > > 2. I realize that as a percentage of the WMF budget, $250k is a
> > > relatively
> > > > small number. As others have said, this is not a reason for
opacity
about
> > it, nor a reason for not having a conversation with the community
about
> > > something so strategically important as a decision to explore the
> > question
> > > of "Would users go to Wikipedia if it were an open channel beyond
an
> > > > encyclopedia?" It's one thing to have a blue-sky exercise
thinking
> > about
> > > > possibilities, and another thing to take a $250k step in that
> > direction,
> > > > especially without consulting the community.
> > > >
> > > > 3. I am getting tired about seeing bad news in general about WMF
> > > > governance, planning, and turnover. I am curious how you plan to
> > address
> > > > those issues. Like you, I would rather that we be talking about
our
> >
> movement plans for the next 10 years. However, it's difficult to
have
> > > those
> > > > conversations when WMF is making so many self-inflicted wounds.
The
> >
recent
> > > round of resignations is of respectable people from the WMF staff
is
> > making
> > > the situation that much more concerning and that much more
difficult
to
> > > recover from. It seems to me that WMF leadership has lost control
of
> > this
> > > > situation, and I'd like to hear what the recovery plan is.
> Personally,
> > I
> > > > feel that we need leadership that can build good relationships
with
the
> > staff and community, is transparent by
default, and is capable of
> restoring
> > the credibility of the organization's planning, execution, and
goodwill.
> I
> > think that we may need new leadership to make that happen. I am
> interested
> > to hear your thoughts.
> >
> > Pine
> >
> >
> >
> > On Thu, Feb 11, 2016 at 7:32 PM, Dariusz Jemielniak <
darekj(a)alk.edu.pl
> >
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > 11.02.2016 10:23 PM "SarahSV"
<sarahsv.wiki(a)gmail.com>
napisał(a):
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >>
> > > > > > Hi
> > > > > > Dariusz,
> > > > > >
> > > > > > T
> > > > > > he grant application doesn't restrict the search engine
to
> > Wikimedia
> > > > > projects. It says that the "Knowledge Engine by Wikipedia
[is
a]
>
system
> > > for
> > > > discovering reliable and trustworthy public information on the
> > Internet.
> > > >
> > > > My understanding is that the top range could potentially be all
> > > open/public
> > > > resources, but this is the far stretched total goal, and still
not
a
> > > general search engine of all
content including commercial one.
> > >
> > > And a rrasonable realistic outcome can be just improving our
searches
> > > > across projects.
> > > >
> > > > I can't comment on the initial ideas or goals, as I was not on
the
>
Board
> > > before August 2015, but this is what I understand we build now.
> > >
> > > .
> > > >
> > > > The document says the "Search Engine by Wikipedia" budget
for
> 2015–2016
> > > ($2.4 million) was approved by the board. Can you point us to
which
> > board
> > > meeting approved it and what was discussed there?
> > > >
> > >
> > > I dont recall this specifically, and I'm going to elude this
question
> by
> > > going to sleep (and hoping someone better informed may pick).
> > >
> > > Good night!
> > >
> > > Dj
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