[Foundation-l] information sharing

Mon Jun 27 11:59:00 UTC 2005

A noble subject line.

Angela wrote :
> ...with simple text based reports from the Board given monthly inaddition to the reports 
> I already make at http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Meetings ? When I say simple, 
> I mean the report would be on one page, not split across various wikisand various 
> templates. These reports could be limited to what actually happened, rather than 
> opinions on that...

I would welcome short textual monthly reports.  That would be quite
helpful for any quarterly publication. Wikimedia does not currently
suffer from a surplus of regular reports.

As for Quarto publication, quarterly seems a natural period for
requesting reports of various committees and groups.  As the projects
grow, there is pressure from writers to publish *more* frequently.  It
would be interesting to rearrange the current workflow to produce a
steady stream of short, massively-translated reports; which are later
assimilated into compilations like the Quarto.

> * The Quarto. It is supposed to be four issues per year. Though, I suspect only probably
> three this year. 

Four issues a year, make no doubt about it.  The Q2 edition will be
released, with a Wikimania inset, this summer. We have special plans
for that...

>               As you mention, it is not meant to be done in a timely fashion, but rather
< ... a "state of the projects" at a given time. The main disadvantage
is that it is slow.

The idea is certainly to be a 'state of the projects'; an accurate
historical snapshot of what was occuring across the Foundation's
projects each quarter.  Speed should slowly improve, though events
from the start of a reporting period will always be at least [three
months] old at publication time.  As we settle into a publishing
rhythm, synchronizing with other efforts (such as board and financial
reports and project statistics), we can move release dates closer to
the end of the reporting period.

> As a side comment, the Quarto is essentially done by the community. Not by the board. > Only two pages or the 8 items are focusing on the board... 
< Page 2 is letters from Jimbo and the board. Page 3 is a report about
Foundation activity.

The Quarto *is* intended to be a channel for the Board to communicate,
first and foremost.  If you recall, the original proposal for such a
newsletter allocated an extra page to writing by the Board.  However,
the Board has ben politic, and reticent about making any kind of
public statement beyond the formal results of meetings.

> Last point. It would be correct that information be openly and spontaneously 
> provided by officers. I am thinking of possibly suggesting that something like a 
> monthly report or something similar ...

This would be excellent.

--SJ