Strong +1 to Risker.
Collecting ideas to work more on as we move forward: YES. Keeping the
constructive attitude and opened comm channels I've seen here and and among
staff internally: YES.
But let's be deliberate, and considerate. We do have to learn and process
before we implement anything.
That all said I think I'm approaching my monthly list message quota, so I'm
probably going to quiet down on list for a bit as I talk to people in SF. :)
I'll be making public-side notes on meta under my user page.
-- brion
On Feb 26, 2016 4:59 PM, "Risker" <risker.wp(a)gmail.com> wrote:
I think in fairness that it is not just staff who are
feeling this is all
moving too fast. The overwhelming majority of community members, and in
particular community members who don't read and speak English fluently, are
likely to be pretty overwhelmed right now too.
I am concerned that what we are seeing right now are a whole pile of
solutions when we haven't yet worked out what the actual problems are.
This is actually quite a bad thing, because it creates a climate where
people come to a conclusion about what to do before they have worked out
whether or not it is solving a problem, creating a different problem,
"fixing" a non-existent problem, or immaterial to the actual problems.
Let's work out what went wrong before we really start pushing what we think
will make things right. The foundation is not a wiki where quick and easy
corrections are considered the norm; in fact, based on the concerns of some
that strategy changed practically on a quarterly basis, some slow
considered thinking is probably called for. The Wikimedia movement has not
had time to catch up with current events and certainly doesn't need
solutions before it's barely worked out why there's a trainwreck on the
mailing list. And...perhaps most importantly.... we are talking about real
people here. The board and executives, the staff, the community
members....we're all people. Moving too fast without figuring out what the
actual issues are is harmful to the human beings here.
The collective "we" have not had time to understand the problems. Quite a
few of the "solutions" I've seen on this list in the last 24-48 hours are
nothing much more than personal wishlists; almost all of them are proposing
to solve problems that may or may not even exist.
Let's work more on problem identification first.
Risker/Anne
On 26 February 2016 at 19:44, Pete Forsyth <peteforsyth(a)gmail.com> wrote:
To Oliver and Keegan -- I hear you guys loud and
clear, and I am very
aware
that the trauma of the last few months has taken
this kind of toll.
Although there is of course much I don't know, I have been talking with a
number of staff, board, etc. for many months now about this. So to
whatever
degree it's possible to empathize without
"being there," I do.
However, I'm not trying to push things forward at a pace that's
comfortable
*for me*, I'm trying to focus on things that
will impact *what it's
possible to do*.
The prospect of a drawn-out, even multi-year search for the next
long-term
Executive Director is not a good one. The way the
organization rebuilds
itself and sets expectations will have a huge impact on that. The impact
on
fund-raising will be felt, as well; high-profile
contention around a
grant
is being discussed throughout the philanthropy
world, and will impact the
way individual donors respond to banners, as well.
I am confident that the Board is already turning its attention to issues
like these. Many things need to be done whenever an executive director
leaves an organization, and there are many reasons to attend to them in a
timely fashion -- without rushing through and making bad decisions.
Individual Trustees have expressed interest and gratitude for the ideas
under discussion, and I appreciate knowing that they are considering
input.
This list may not be the best way to reach the
board, but it's a good
place
to see whether there is consensus around certain
ideas.
That's what I'm trying to do. I know that forging ahead while exhausted
sucks, and I am not trying to push anybody faster than they want to go.
But
I also think that this moment for careful
deliberation shouldn't be
missed;
some of the opportunities will pass by very
quickly if nothing is done.
-Pete
[[User:Peteforsyth]]
_______________________________________________
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe:
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
<mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
_______________________________________________
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe:
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
<mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>