[Foundation-l] Re: Official positions

Sat Apr 23 18:41:50 UTC 2005

Anthere wrote:

> Yann Forget a écrit:
> > Le Saturday 23 April 2005 14:51, Anthere a écrit :
> >
> >>Yann Forget a écrit:
> >>
> >>>Le Saturday 23 April 2005 14:07, Anthere a écrit :
> >>>
> >>>>>Spokesperson (just for the French Wikipedia?): Yann Forget
> >>>>>
> >>>>>Angela.
> >>>>
> >>>>Yes. These were handled before the board was elected and when we
> >>>>discussed official positions, these were not confirmed. Not being
> >>>>discussed, nor listed in any official place, I considered them not 
> valid
> >>>>any more. I am sorry if I misunderstood this.
> >>>>
> >>>>This said, Yann has continued to believe himself the porte parole of
> >>>>Foundation, in spite of discussion and private mention to him by 
> Jimbo
> >>>>than he was no more. He still considers he is and acts as if he is.
> >>>
> >>>That's completely false. Anthere, please stop spreading false
> >>>allegations, lies and rumors.
> >>
> >>http://www.liberation.fr/page.php?Article=283514
> >
> >
> > I never told this journalist that I was the porte-parole of the 
> Foundation.
> > That's a false allegation you continue to spread in spite of the 
> fact that I
> > already told you so several times.
> >
> > Yann
>
> You have been asked several times to be careful to restore the 
> information and to indicate which role you were holding each time you 
> talked about something. This in particular true for all topics which 
> are related to the Foundation proper.
>
> Typically, no articles about a potential agreement with Google should 
> appear in the press, with comments from you, speaking in the name of 
> the Foundation. This is not correct.
>
> Each time you let such an article go public, you feed the idea you are 
> the porte parole and has more authority to talk about this than anyone 
> else.
>
> It does not make things easier when you send our ***official*** 100 
> 000 article press release and carefully remove the names of all the 
> contacts listed in the press release. You further fuel the idea you 
> are the *only* point of contact for any press relation for wikipedia 
> and the *only* one who has authority to talk about such matters. 
> Anyone has the right to talk about wikipedia. Removing other people 
> names is again incorrect.
>
> So, as much as you told me several times you recognised you were not 
> the porte parole; I would like to ask you again to clarify in which 
> name you talk to any outside person, to remove from you CV the fact 
> you are this porte parole and to avoid sending press release without 
> any of the contacts mentionned but you only.
>
> Other than this, I have little to say on the quality of your 
> participation which is appreciated. 

As this is a squabble between two Wikipedians whose opinions and vision 
I most deeply respect there are evident misunderstandings involved.  I 
noted the phrase "porte-parole de la fondation Wikipédia pour la France" 
in the Libération, but I also have enough life experience to know that 
what appears in newspapers is often quite different from what is said to 
journalists. 

I checked Yann's CV at http://www.forget-me.net/cv.html and the only 
reference to us there now is "Secrétaire de l'association Wikimédia 
<http://wikimedia.org/> France".  I have no problems with this. If 
erroneous material was there before it is no longer there.

Giuven the high esteem in which I hold both of you, I'm sure that a 
middle path will be found to reconcile this series of misunderstandings 
and misstatements.  There are more than enough others that do the contrary.

Ec