[Foundation-l] Wikimedia movement roles project

Wed Sep 22 21:38:21 UTC 2010

Dear All,

I would just like to point out that this specific working group is dealing
with the relationship of chapters, the Foundation and possible other forms
of Wikimedia groups that have offline activities. In this sense, no outcome
of the proposal put to the Board or the Charter that should come out of the
process in a year's time would affect any editors directly -- it will,
however affect the Foundation and the chapters and to some degree the future
development of the movement.
It is indeed very important that those affected are part of the process and
are heard – this group of people, myself included, will not be the ones
doing most or even the majority of the input that goes into the charter to
be; they should be seen as the ones doing the preparational and other
background work that doesn't get done otherwise. To be innovative, it is
also very important that those not affiliated to any of the mentioned groups
participate, as well.

It is a matter of practicality of who is involved in what degree in the *
preparation* of the actual work that will begin after October and be very
open. (In comparison to other working groups, consider the current approach
a *bit* more open – oftentimes you don't hear about the preparation that
goes into establishing various new initiatives).

As for the members of the group, I think I should shed some light on actual
affiliations:
The current membership represents the above mentioned stakeholders
(chapters, WMF Board and staff), with the exception of  'other forms of
'offline Wikimedia groups'', which there aren't that many of yet. The over
representation of Chapcom is just a curious coincidence: Arne, SJ and
Bishakka are WMF Trustees and non-voting Chapcom liaisons, not involved in
the actual work of the committee.
Austin and I are indeed members of the committee, Austin being one of the
longest-serving members and thus having a huge experience in handling
WMF-chapter relations and me being a member only since this March (if I may
be so bold, I would still consider myself a relatively fresh face in WMF
comitology). The call to join the Chapters committee was public, that is how
I got in.
Morgan's and mine actual background - and also that of Lizzy and Galileo -
is being on boards of chapters.
Barry is indeed on the staff of the Foundation, his portfolio includes
global development and WMF-Chapter relations. Jon is a new employee hired
for this group in order to help the process and provide research and insight
on the organizational questions to be discussed.

In the case of the same people repeatedly showing up to these committees and
groups, I would note that these groups tend to form on some form of
self-nomination or public nomination and that anyone involved puts in his
free time and work that should not be taken lightly. Some people do amazing
and unbelievable work; their numerous group membership is a sign of their
dedication not their embeddedness into some cabal. The invitation to fresh
people is always open and I think their application is always encouraged.

I hope this clears up those questions I think I know the answer to.

Best regards,
Bence

On Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 10:45 PM, who this <whothith at gmail.com> wrote:

> why not throw in florence and aprhabhala into the mix and we can round up
> the same "advisory group" cabal.
>
> maybe they are in rotation for the next one......
>
> anyway seeing the same names over and over again irked me and I decided to
> comment on the issue which like many other editors I try to avoid.
>
> looking forward to seeing more of the same
>
> Anon
>
> On Thu, Sep 23, 2010 at 2:07 AM, who this <whothith at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Lets see..........
> >
> > Austin- chapcom member/chair
> > Arne Klempert-chapcom member
> > Bence Damokos-chapcom member
> > Samuel klein-chapcom member + many others
> >
> > Morgan Chan- communication committee(status unknown)
> >
> > bishkha datta- board member
> >
> > barry newstead-employee
> >
> > jon hugget-outside employee/contractor
> >
> > thats how I see the current "committee"
> >
> > same people already heavily involved either retired from community
> editing
> > shifting influential positions. half this working group is made of
> chapcom
> > members.
> >
> > As for joining......I didnt see an announce or any posting for this
> working
> > group like many others. they just show up, make influential decisions and
> > disappear into some other committee. No senior editors who are currently
> > active on there, same ppl who would be affected most by their decision.
> >
> > Anon
> >
> >
> >
> > On Thu, Sep 23, 2010 at 1:52 AM, Steven Walling <
> steven.walling at gmail.com>wrote:
> >
> >> Anon,
> >>
> >> The percentage of community members interested in doing meta organizing
> >> and
> >> research for the movement as a whole will always be much smaller than
> >> those
> >> interested in working on a single project (or just a single task or
> >> subject
> >> within a project). It's a fact of life when it comes to any movement,
> >> online
> >> or off, and Wikimedia is not unusual in this regard.
> >>
> >> It's important to remember that working groups such as Movement Roles
> try
> >> hard to get a diverse array of perspectives in on a project, even if
> they
> >> don't alway succeed.
> >>
> >> If you want to see some new blood involved, I would suggest either
> joining
> >> in yourself or making sure the right people know that they can join in,
> *
> >> especially* if they aren't normally the type to self-select for groups
> >> such
> >> as Movement Roles.
> >>
> >> Steven Walling
> >>
> >> On Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 1:05 PM, who this <whothith at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> > Am I the only one or do people get the feeling that its the same
> people
> >> > that
> >> > keep showing up for these communities and groups.
> >> >
> >> > I do not see new community people, mostly outsiders, someone from the
> >> > staff,
> >> > and the same old cabal.
> >> >
> >> > when you gonna get some new people in there?
> >> >
> >> > anon editor
> >> >
> >> > On Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 5:56 PM, Austin Hair <adhair at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > > The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees has commissioned a
> >> > > year-long effort to clarify the roles of various stakeholders in the
> >> > > movement, with the final goal of developing a "Wikimedia Charter"—a
> >> > > document where the roles and responsibilities within the Wikimedia
> >> > > organization are clearly defined and agreed upon by all
> >> > > stakeholders—and a plan for going forward with organizational
> >> > > development.
> >> > >
> >> > > This process will be transparent, and open to input from anyone
> >> > > interested.  It's planned to take approximately one year, with
> regular
> >> > > milestones along the way.
> >> > >
> >> > > A core group of people will be tasked with ensuring that steady
> >> > > progress is being made toward those milestones.  Although the exact
> >> > > makeup of the group may change as specific needs are reevaluated,
> this
> >> > > working group currently comprises:
> >> > >
> >> > > * Alice Wiegand
> >> > > * Arne Klempert
> >> > > * Austin Hair (facilitator and adviser)
> >> > > * Barry Newstead
> >> > > * Bence Damokos
> >> > > * Bishakha Datta
> >> > > * Galileo Vidoni
> >> > > * Jon Huggett (facilitator and adviser)
> >> > > * Morgan Chan
> >> > > * Samuel Klein
> >> > >
> >> > > The work is just getting started, with the inaugural meeting of the
> >> > > working group having taken place on 10 September; please see the
> page
> >> > > on Meta[0] to comment and participate.  Although I expect that there
> >> > > will be plenty of replies to this e-mail, it would be nice if the
> >> > > project-related discussion could take place on-wiki.
> >> > >
> >> > > This announcement is about two weeks overdue—many of you may already
> >> > > know about it, since it's no secret.  I apologize for that; my
> >> > > computer died and I didn't manage to retype the e-mail with my
> thumbs
> >> > > on my phone before I got the replacement.
> >> > >
> >> > > I personally hope to see lots of participation, and am willing to
> >> > > answer any questions about the process.
> >> > >
> >> > > Best regards,
> >> > >
> >> > > Austin Hair
> >> > >
> >> > > [0] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_roles_working_group
> >> > >
> >> > > _______________________________________________
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