On 22 November 2010 07:26, MZMcBride <[email protected]> wrote: > David Gerard wrote:
>> What are some examples of particular current problems that you feel >> this position would fix? > I'm not sure I agree that this position is designed to fix any current > problems. The task of fixing the problems lies with those currently in power > at the Wikimedia Foundation. However, in order to address problems, problems > must be clearly defined. That can be the role of an ombudsman. Like most > ombudsman positions, the task inside the Wikimedia Foundation would be to > point out the problems and encourage discussion of them (cf. National Public > Radio Ombudsman's blog). OK, no particular current problems, but you think that it might be worth putting into place in general. I was thinking in terms of "if there's no particular problems in need of solving, then there's no reason to create a new position." But as you point out, there are working examples in other nonprofits that make media, which does make the idea seem more likely to be a useful one. >> Why is this particular proposed position the tool to fix them? > > Sometimes it's best to look at how other organizations have addressed an > issue and take lessons away from them. There isn't a need to always reinvent > the wheel, so to speak. It seems like an accepted practice among reputable > organizations to implement an ombudsman position. That's a plausible purpose, yes. > Is there a reason you think an ombudsman position would not work at > Wikimedia? Not that springs to mind. >> How do you envision this tool working in your example problems? > One proposed idea is to have a "Wikimedia fellow" fill the position. There > are other solutions for implementing this idea, but there are issues of cart > and horse order, I think. Looking at existing models would probably be the first thing to do. MOVED: Mzmcbride to assemble report. ;-p > The original e-mail was asking if there had been past discussion about this > idea or if there any virtue to it. You seem to have not answered either > question. :-) I couldn't think of any and I didn't know of any, hence asking for more detail on what you were thinking of. _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
