Re: [Wikimedia-l] Resolution to pause Movement Brand Project through March 2021

[Essie Zar]

Hello Lodewijik,

Thank you for your feedback.


In regards to some people being confused about the survey question
phrasing, we heard this too. The raw questions are available on MetaWiki
[1] to reference if needed.


I hope you have a nice weekend.

Essie


[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/Wikimedia_brands/2030_movement_brand_project/Naming_convention_proposals/Survey_text

On Thu, Oct 8, 2020 at 1:43 AM effe iets anders 
wrote:

> Hi Samir,
>
> First of all, thank you for sharing the detailed analysis and for
> publishing the raw data after a review. I appreciate the efforts made on
> that front.
>
> I wanted to quickly acknowledge (as you are undoubtly aware from open
> question responses) that there were a number of reports of people being
> confused about the question phrasing, and that they realized after
> submitting that their answers would probably be interpreted wrong because
> of the phrasings. It might be helpful if you can publish at least the raw
> questionnaire structure along the presentation.
>
> Unrelatedly, it's a bit painful to read things like "Refine: Demonstrate
> how elevating one project can support the others and help reduce
> confusion." and "Refine: Further develop and assess the foreseen legal
> concerns so affiliates can have a greater understanding of Wikipedia
> centered name." which suggests that you're convinced that this is mostly a
> matter of better explaining how this is a good idea, than that you
> appreciate the fundamental disagreement that seems to be here, that this is
> a good idea. This may be a simple matter of unfortunate phrasing though, or
> maybe I'm reading too much into the sentences with the previous
> conversations and presentations in mind.
>
> Best,
>
> Lodewijk
>
> On Tue, Oct 6, 2020 at 9:24 AM Samir Elsharbaty  >
> wrote:
>
> > Hi everyone
> >
> > I wanted to follow up on Zack’s email with an update and links to the
> > naming survey resources published today:
> >
> > The naming survey report is now available.[1] Thank you to everyone who
> > provided feedback. To learn more about what naming elements should be
> > removed, refined and recombined please view the full report.[2]
> >
> > We are looking forward to collaborating with you again next year.
> >
> > Samir and the Brand Project Team
> >
> >
> > [1]
> >
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/Wikimedia_brands/2030_movement_brand_project/Naming_survey_feedback_report
> >
> > [2]
> >
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brand_Project_Naming_Survey_Feedback_Report.pdf
> >
> > Samir Elsharbaty (he/him)
> >
> > Brand Associate
> >
> > Wikimedia Foundation 
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Oct 2, 2020 at 11:43 PM Olga Lidia Paredes Alcoreza <
> > olga.l...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Thank U!
> > >
> > > El mié., 30 de septiembre de 2020 15:55, Zack McCune <
> > > zmcc...@wikimedia.org>
> > > escribió:
> > >
> > > > Thank you María!
> > > >
> > > > Following this Board resolution, the Brand Project team will be
> > updating
> > > > the project hub. [1]  We will also release the Naming Survey results
> as
> > > > both a report and as the anonymized data by October 6. The
> publication
> > of
> > > > those materials will be shared on the project hub and announced here.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Cheers,
> > > >
> > > > - Zack, Essie, and Samir (the Brand Project team)
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > [1]
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/Wikimedia_brands/2030_movement_brand_project
> > > >
> > > > On Wed, Sep 30, 2020 at 12:51 PM Galder Gonzalez Larrañaga <
> > > > galder...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Thanks for hearing the voices, María and members of the board.
> > > > >
> > > > > Defining common goals is the best practice for reaching to the best
> > > > > solution.
> > > > >
> > > > > Sincerely,
> > > > >
> > > > > Galder
> > > > > 
> > > > > From: Wikimedia-l  on
> > behalf
> > > of
> > > > > María Sefidari 
> > > > > Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2020 9:47 PM
> > > > > To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org <
> wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > >
> > > > > Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Resolution to pause Movement Brand Project
> > > through
> > > > > March 2021
> > > > >
> > > > > Hi everyone,
> > > > >
> > > > > The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, following the
> > > recommendation
> > > > of
> > > > > staff, has resolved to pause the Movement Brand Project until the
> > next
> > > > > calendar year.[1] We recognize that much of the Wikimedia
> movement’s
> > > > > activities, events, and key collaborations have been put on hold or
> > > > > restructured due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have received
> > formal
> > > > > requests to pause Movement Brand Project activities to reflect this
> > > > > need.[2]
> > > > >
> > > > > The Board remains persuaded that there is potential value in making
> > > > change
> > > > > to our branding system in 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Board of Trustees elections, membership, quorum, and

[effe iets anders]

I would like to suggest to move away from the 'membership organization'
question, and possibly bring that to a dedicated thread. It's a huge topic.

Lodewijk

On Thu, Oct 8, 2020 at 1:37 PM Michael Peel  wrote:

> That the WMF *isn’t* a membership organisation already is rather weird. It
> may be specific to US organisations (in which case, references please), but
> it really isn’t normal on an international basis, nor within the Wikimedia
> movement (most/all affiliates have members).
>
> Having to provide legal names and addresses may be a problem for some, but
> definitely not all Wikimedians. Similar with membership fees, particularly
> if it is set to a nominal value, and if there are ways of waving the fees
> if needed.
>
> Governance issues definitely change - e.g., if you worry about an
> organisational take-over, then it’s no longer the board you have to worry
> about but the membership - but you have larger numbers of membership.
> However, it wouldn’t prevent things like movement-wide elections, they
> would just have to be ratified by a membership rather than the board.
>
> It’s something that is worth thinking more about.
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
>
> > On 8 Oct 2020, at 18:55, Risker  wrote:
> >
> > Functionaries (checkusers, oversighters, stewards, OTRS members, and
> people
> > with similar advanced permissions) have not been required to provide
> their
> > personal information - name, DOB, address - for years.  They simply sign
> > off a type of confidentiality agreement with their username.
> >
> > Risker/Anne
> >
> > On Thu, 8 Oct 2020 at 13:52, Todd Allen  wrote:
> >
> >> Well, you could always do a nominal membership contribution, like a
> penny,
> >> or sponsorships for those who wish to join but don't have the money.
> Since
> >> WMF makes its money primarily from donations, there's really no need
> for it
> >> to actually sustain itself from membership fees.
> >>
> >> So far as requiring non-pseudonymous membership, I don't think there's
> any
> >> requirement that such member lists be made public. So it would work a
> lot
> >> like functionaries giving their information for the private access
> policy;
> >> they are required to verify their identity, but that will be held
> privately
> >> and not available to the public. So for all intents and purposes,
> >> pseudonymous membership would still be possible.
> >>
> >> Todd
> >>
> >> On Thu, Oct 8, 2020 at 11:46 AM Risker  wrote:
> >>
> >>> Without needing to go into further detail, it is because to be a
> >> membership
> >>> organization, pseudonyms aren't acceptable; all members must provide
> >> their
> >>> full legal names and addresses.  I also cannot think of a membership
> >>> organization that does not charge a membership fee, although I suppose
> it
> >>> is possible; but anything requiring a financial contribution would
> limit
> >>> the membership to those who have the money to pay to join, which is
> >>> antithetical to the movement's philosophy.
> >>>
> >>> Risker/Anne
> >>>
> >>> On Thu, 8 Oct 2020 at 13:41, Todd Allen  wrote:
> >>>
>  Why would we "not want it to be a membership organization"? In fact,
> >> many
>  of us want exactly that, since the WMF seems to think it can lord it
> >> over
>  the communities instead of fulfilling its role of serving them.
> 
>  The new Board rules basically say that the Board itself gets to say
> how
> >>> the
>  community-based members are selected, instead of having actual bylaws
> >> as
> >>> to
>  how it happens. I'd like to see it done very simply: Those eight seats
>  (forming a majority) on the Board should be elected (not nominated,
>  elected) by the community, with the Board having no veto power over
> the
>  results of the election.
> 
>  Todd
> 
>  On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 12:45 PM Brad Patrick 
> >>> wrote:
> 
> > This is a very, very old and tired argument. If you do not understand
> > United States non-profit corporations, go educate yourself about
> >> those
> > first. If your perspective is non-US based, you may have a different
>  frame
> > of mind which is irreconcilable with the way WMF is. Take all the
> >> time
>  you
> > need to see the differences before attacking WMF for (a) what it is
> >> and
>  (b)
> > why it isn't what you want it to be.
> >
> > WMF exists legally, and has as its foundation organizational
> >> principle,
> > authority vested in a Board. WMF is not a membership organization.
> >> You
> > would not want it to be a membership organization (as a matter of
> >> law).
> >
> > Please temper your criticism accordingly.
> >
> > Brad Patrick
> > Former WMF General Counsel
> >
> > On 10/7/20, 12:47 PM, "Wikimedia-l on behalf of Paulo Santos
> >> Perneta"
> >>> <
> > wikimedia-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org on behalf of
> > paulospern...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >I knew they are theoretically 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Board of Trustees elections, membership, quorum, and

[Michael Peel]

That the WMF *isn’t* a membership organisation already is rather weird. It may 
be specific to US organisations (in which case, references please), but it 
really isn’t normal on an international basis, nor within the Wikimedia 
movement (most/all affiliates have members).

Having to provide legal names and addresses may be a problem for some, but 
definitely not all Wikimedians. Similar with membership fees, particularly if 
it is set to a nominal value, and if there are ways of waving the fees if 
needed.

Governance issues definitely change - e.g., if you worry about an 
organisational take-over, then it’s no longer the board you have to worry about 
but the membership - but you have larger numbers of membership. However, it 
wouldn’t prevent things like movement-wide elections, they would just have to 
be ratified by a membership rather than the board.

It’s something that is worth thinking more about.

Thanks,
Mike

> On 8 Oct 2020, at 18:55, Risker  wrote:
> 
> Functionaries (checkusers, oversighters, stewards, OTRS members, and people
> with similar advanced permissions) have not been required to provide their
> personal information - name, DOB, address - for years.  They simply sign
> off a type of confidentiality agreement with their username.
> 
> Risker/Anne
> 
> On Thu, 8 Oct 2020 at 13:52, Todd Allen  wrote:
> 
>> Well, you could always do a nominal membership contribution, like a penny,
>> or sponsorships for those who wish to join but don't have the money. Since
>> WMF makes its money primarily from donations, there's really no need for it
>> to actually sustain itself from membership fees.
>> 
>> So far as requiring non-pseudonymous membership, I don't think there's any
>> requirement that such member lists be made public. So it would work a lot
>> like functionaries giving their information for the private access policy;
>> they are required to verify their identity, but that will be held privately
>> and not available to the public. So for all intents and purposes,
>> pseudonymous membership would still be possible.
>> 
>> Todd
>> 
>> On Thu, Oct 8, 2020 at 11:46 AM Risker  wrote:
>> 
>>> Without needing to go into further detail, it is because to be a
>> membership
>>> organization, pseudonyms aren't acceptable; all members must provide
>> their
>>> full legal names and addresses.  I also cannot think of a membership
>>> organization that does not charge a membership fee, although I suppose it
>>> is possible; but anything requiring a financial contribution would limit
>>> the membership to those who have the money to pay to join, which is
>>> antithetical to the movement's philosophy.
>>> 
>>> Risker/Anne
>>> 
>>> On Thu, 8 Oct 2020 at 13:41, Todd Allen  wrote:
>>> 
 Why would we "not want it to be a membership organization"? In fact,
>> many
 of us want exactly that, since the WMF seems to think it can lord it
>> over
 the communities instead of fulfilling its role of serving them.
 
 The new Board rules basically say that the Board itself gets to say how
>>> the
 community-based members are selected, instead of having actual bylaws
>> as
>>> to
 how it happens. I'd like to see it done very simply: Those eight seats
 (forming a majority) on the Board should be elected (not nominated,
 elected) by the community, with the Board having no veto power over the
 results of the election.
 
 Todd
 
 On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 12:45 PM Brad Patrick 
>>> wrote:
 
> This is a very, very old and tired argument. If you do not understand
> United States non-profit corporations, go educate yourself about
>> those
> first. If your perspective is non-US based, you may have a different
 frame
> of mind which is irreconcilable with the way WMF is. Take all the
>> time
 you
> need to see the differences before attacking WMF for (a) what it is
>> and
 (b)
> why it isn't what you want it to be.
> 
> WMF exists legally, and has as its foundation organizational
>> principle,
> authority vested in a Board. WMF is not a membership organization.
>> You
> would not want it to be a membership organization (as a matter of
>> law).
> 
> Please temper your criticism accordingly.
> 
> Brad Patrick
> Former WMF General Counsel
> 
> On 10/7/20, 12:47 PM, "Wikimedia-l on behalf of Paulo Santos
>> Perneta"
>>> <
> wikimedia-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org on behalf of
> paulospern...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>I knew they are theoretically self-appointed, but was under the
> impression
>that at least until now an appearance of democracy and legitimacy
> towards
>the community has been respected, which no longer seems to be the
 case.
>I wonder what would be the legitimacy of a self-appointing body
>> in
 the
> eyes
>of the Wikimedia Movement, and all the communities which are part
>>> of
> it?
> 
>Regards,

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Call for feedback about Wikimedia Foundation Bylaws changes and Board candidate rubric

[Samuel Klein]

Excellent points, Yair, I hadn't noticed that.  (which suggests the page
showing proposed changes

can be more clear)

Perhaps it would make more sense to do this in two stages:
1) Set a date for the next community election (per the current bylaws)
   * If necessary, because the most suitable date is next year, make a
small bylaws change that addresses only this variance.

2) Discuss and implement the larger changes.
  * address board expansion, changes in selection process, and combining or
streamlining the different modes of community selection.

Trying to do everything at once seems guaranteed to take longer than
anticipated, and may be misconstrued.

On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 5:03 PM Yair Rand  wrote:

> I am alarmed.
>
> While the page on Meta page on the bylaws changes highlights only
> additions, a direct comparison with the current bylaws shows some
> significant deletions. Some issues:
> * The line "(G) Board Majority. A majority of the Board Trustee positions,
> without counting the Community Founder Trustee position, shall be selected
> or appointed from the Affiliates collectively and the community." has been
> simply deleted, with no replacement or equivalent. (This is unmentioned in
> the summary.) This would allow the board to be entirely self-perpetuating.
> This is made even more problematic with the change from
> elections/nominations being "every three years" to "according to a schedule
> determined by the Board of Trustees", and also the change from specifying a
> precise number of community seats towards having just a maximum of "As many
> as eight (8) Trustees...". The Board appears to be under no obligation to
> continue having community-sourced seats at all, under the proposed bylaws.
> * All mention of community voting has been eliminated, replaced with an
> ambiguous "community nomination process". (Previously, the bylaws said
> "Three Trustees will be selected from candidates approved through community
> voting.")
>
> There are currently zero members of the board that are fulfilling
> community-elected terms. Their terms (which were, for two of them, required
> to be their final terms before they changed the term limits) were all
> supposed to have ended on September 1. I don't think there would ever be a
> good time for the board to remove its own obligations to the community, but
> doing it while the Board is very much lacking in legitimacy, is especially
> problematic.
>
> (Another minor point: The change from the description of the appointed
> seats from "non-community-selected, non-chapter-selected" to
> "non-community-sourced" seems to imply that the Board is prohibited from
> filling these seats with any community members. Previously, there have been
> community members in these seats.)
>
> -- Yair Rand
>
>
> ‫בתאריך יום ד׳, 7 באוק׳ 2020 ב-11:12 מאת ‪Nataliia Tymkiv‬‏ <‪
> ntym...@wikimedia.org‬‏>:‬
>
> > Dear all,
> >
> > Today the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees starts two calls for
> > feedback: on changes to our Bylaws[1] mainly to increase the Board size
> > from 10 to 16 members, and on a trustee candidate rubric[2] to introduce
> > new, more effective ways to evaluate new board candidates. These
> proposals
> > are part of the governance improvement process announced on 28 April[3].
> >
> > The Foundation’s work is wide-ranging, focused on areas including product
> > development, technical infrastructure maintenance, community support,
> > grantmaking, public policy advocacy, and fundraising.  In addition, the
> > Foundation is charged with administering the operations of an
> international
> > nonprofit organization responsible for a more than 500-person paid
> > workforce and an annual budget of over US$100 million. Its ambitious
> > mission is to support the sharing of knowledge amongst every single human
> > being in partnership with Wikimedia communities across the globe.
> >
> > To provide sufficient strategic guidance and oversight over such a broad
> > scope of work and constituents, Board members should reflect a similarly
> > broad scope of expertise, experience, and backgrounds. Expanding the
> number
> > of board seats from 10 to 16 will move us closer to this goal, supported
> by
> > a Board candidate rubric that will help us all evaluate potential
> trustees
> > and ensure that they can provide what the Board, Foundation, and movement
> > need. The Foundation will work with the broader movement to formalize
> this
> > rubric. Currently, trustees have to serve on more than one Board
> committee
> > (as voting members, alternates or liaisons). This overlap is a
> significant
> > burden, as it limits the amount of work that can be done—and the
> volunteer
> > trustees are overworked.
> >
> > == Bylaws revisions ==
> >
> > We have published the planned revisions to the bylaws on Meta-Wiki and we
> > welcome your comments through 26 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Board of Trustees elections, membership, quorum, and

[Risker]

Functionaries (checkusers, oversighters, stewards, OTRS members, and people
with similar advanced permissions) have not been required to provide their
personal information - name, DOB, address - for years.  They simply sign
off a type of confidentiality agreement with their username.

Risker/Anne

On Thu, 8 Oct 2020 at 13:52, Todd Allen  wrote:

> Well, you could always do a nominal membership contribution, like a penny,
> or sponsorships for those who wish to join but don't have the money. Since
> WMF makes its money primarily from donations, there's really no need for it
> to actually sustain itself from membership fees.
>
> So far as requiring non-pseudonymous membership, I don't think there's any
> requirement that such member lists be made public. So it would work a lot
> like functionaries giving their information for the private access policy;
> they are required to verify their identity, but that will be held privately
> and not available to the public. So for all intents and purposes,
> pseudonymous membership would still be possible.
>
> Todd
>
> On Thu, Oct 8, 2020 at 11:46 AM Risker  wrote:
>
> > Without needing to go into further detail, it is because to be a
> membership
> > organization, pseudonyms aren't acceptable; all members must provide
> their
> > full legal names and addresses.  I also cannot think of a membership
> > organization that does not charge a membership fee, although I suppose it
> > is possible; but anything requiring a financial contribution would limit
> > the membership to those who have the money to pay to join, which is
> > antithetical to the movement's philosophy.
> >
> > Risker/Anne
> >
> > On Thu, 8 Oct 2020 at 13:41, Todd Allen  wrote:
> >
> > > Why would we "not want it to be a membership organization"? In fact,
> many
> > > of us want exactly that, since the WMF seems to think it can lord it
> over
> > > the communities instead of fulfilling its role of serving them.
> > >
> > > The new Board rules basically say that the Board itself gets to say how
> > the
> > > community-based members are selected, instead of having actual bylaws
> as
> > to
> > > how it happens. I'd like to see it done very simply: Those eight seats
> > > (forming a majority) on the Board should be elected (not nominated,
> > > elected) by the community, with the Board having no veto power over the
> > > results of the election.
> > >
> > > Todd
> > >
> > > On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 12:45 PM Brad Patrick 
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > > This is a very, very old and tired argument. If you do not understand
> > > > United States non-profit corporations, go educate yourself about
> those
> > > > first. If your perspective is non-US based, you may have a different
> > > frame
> > > > of mind which is irreconcilable with the way WMF is. Take all the
> time
> > > you
> > > > need to see the differences before attacking WMF for (a) what it is
> and
> > > (b)
> > > > why it isn't what you want it to be.
> > > >
> > > > WMF exists legally, and has as its foundation organizational
> principle,
> > > > authority vested in a Board. WMF is not a membership organization.
> You
> > > > would not want it to be a membership organization (as a matter of
> law).
> > > >
> > > > Please temper your criticism accordingly.
> > > >
> > > > Brad Patrick
> > > > Former WMF General Counsel
> > > >
> > > > On 10/7/20, 12:47 PM, "Wikimedia-l on behalf of Paulo Santos
> Perneta"
> > <
> > > > wikimedia-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org on behalf of
> > > > paulospern...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > I knew they are theoretically self-appointed, but was under the
> > > > impression
> > > > that at least until now an appearance of democracy and legitimacy
> > > > towards
> > > > the community has been respected, which no longer seems to be the
> > > case.
> > > > I wonder what would be the legitimacy of a self-appointing body
> in
> > > the
> > > > eyes
> > > > of the Wikimedia Movement, and all the communities which are part
> > of
> > > > it?
> > > >
> > > > Regards,
> > > > Paulo
> > > >
> > > > Adam Wight  escreveu no dia quarta,
> > > > 7/10/2020 à(s)
> > > > 17:20:
> > > >
> > > > > Greetings, this is a semiautomated response pointing out that
> the
> > > > > Wikimedia Foundation Board is not elected, it's
> self-appointing.
> > > The
> > > > > so-called "elections" are in fact nominations to be considered
> by
> > > the
> > > > > Board.  Therefore, the Bylaws have not been broken.
> > > > >
> > > > > This is an unfortunate arrangement, please see [1] for some
> > > > background
> > > > > about the conversion from a membership organization to a
> > > > non-membership
> > > > > organization which is no longer legally required to hold
> > elections.
> > > > >
> > > > > Regards,
> > > > >
> > > > > Adam W.
> > > > > [[mw:User:Adamw]]
> > > > >
> > > > > [1]
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Board of Trustees elections, membership, quorum, and

[Todd Allen]

Well, you could always do a nominal membership contribution, like a penny,
or sponsorships for those who wish to join but don't have the money. Since
WMF makes its money primarily from donations, there's really no need for it
to actually sustain itself from membership fees.

So far as requiring non-pseudonymous membership, I don't think there's any
requirement that such member lists be made public. So it would work a lot
like functionaries giving their information for the private access policy;
they are required to verify their identity, but that will be held privately
and not available to the public. So for all intents and purposes,
pseudonymous membership would still be possible.

Todd

On Thu, Oct 8, 2020 at 11:46 AM Risker  wrote:

> Without needing to go into further detail, it is because to be a membership
> organization, pseudonyms aren't acceptable; all members must provide their
> full legal names and addresses.  I also cannot think of a membership
> organization that does not charge a membership fee, although I suppose it
> is possible; but anything requiring a financial contribution would limit
> the membership to those who have the money to pay to join, which is
> antithetical to the movement's philosophy.
>
> Risker/Anne
>
> On Thu, 8 Oct 2020 at 13:41, Todd Allen  wrote:
>
> > Why would we "not want it to be a membership organization"? In fact, many
> > of us want exactly that, since the WMF seems to think it can lord it over
> > the communities instead of fulfilling its role of serving them.
> >
> > The new Board rules basically say that the Board itself gets to say how
> the
> > community-based members are selected, instead of having actual bylaws as
> to
> > how it happens. I'd like to see it done very simply: Those eight seats
> > (forming a majority) on the Board should be elected (not nominated,
> > elected) by the community, with the Board having no veto power over the
> > results of the election.
> >
> > Todd
> >
> > On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 12:45 PM Brad Patrick 
> wrote:
> >
> > > This is a very, very old and tired argument. If you do not understand
> > > United States non-profit corporations, go educate yourself about those
> > > first. If your perspective is non-US based, you may have a different
> > frame
> > > of mind which is irreconcilable with the way WMF is. Take all the time
> > you
> > > need to see the differences before attacking WMF for (a) what it is and
> > (b)
> > > why it isn't what you want it to be.
> > >
> > > WMF exists legally, and has as its foundation organizational principle,
> > > authority vested in a Board. WMF is not a membership organization. You
> > > would not want it to be a membership organization (as a matter of law).
> > >
> > > Please temper your criticism accordingly.
> > >
> > > Brad Patrick
> > > Former WMF General Counsel
> > >
> > > On 10/7/20, 12:47 PM, "Wikimedia-l on behalf of Paulo Santos Perneta"
> <
> > > wikimedia-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org on behalf of
> > > paulospern...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > I knew they are theoretically self-appointed, but was under the
> > > impression
> > > that at least until now an appearance of democracy and legitimacy
> > > towards
> > > the community has been respected, which no longer seems to be the
> > case.
> > > I wonder what would be the legitimacy of a self-appointing body in
> > the
> > > eyes
> > > of the Wikimedia Movement, and all the communities which are part
> of
> > > it?
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Paulo
> > >
> > > Adam Wight  escreveu no dia quarta,
> > > 7/10/2020 à(s)
> > > 17:20:
> > >
> > > > Greetings, this is a semiautomated response pointing out that the
> > > > Wikimedia Foundation Board is not elected, it's self-appointing.
> > The
> > > > so-called "elections" are in fact nominations to be considered by
> > the
> > > > Board.  Therefore, the Bylaws have not been broken.
> > > >
> > > > This is an unfortunate arrangement, please see [1] for some
> > > background
> > > > about the conversion from a membership organization to a
> > > non-membership
> > > > organization which is no longer legally required to hold
> elections.
> > > >
> > > > Regards,
> > > >
> > > > Adam W.
> > > > [[mw:User:Adamw]]
> > > >
> > > > [1]
> > > >
> > >
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_membership_controversy
> > > >
> > > > On 10/7/20 5:55 PM, Paulo Santos Perneta wrote:
> > > > > The terms of 3 BoT members expired last month, and the BoT
> itself
> > > decided
> > > > > to extend them? What is the legitimacy of that? And why is a
> BoT
> > > which is
> > > > > expected to be in a mere interim management waiting for
> > elections,
> > > > > presenting profound changes to its Bylaws [1]?
> > > > >
> > > > > [1] -
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Board of Trustees elections, membership, quorum, and

[Risker]

Without needing to go into further detail, it is because to be a membership
organization, pseudonyms aren't acceptable; all members must provide their
full legal names and addresses.  I also cannot think of a membership
organization that does not charge a membership fee, although I suppose it
is possible; but anything requiring a financial contribution would limit
the membership to those who have the money to pay to join, which is
antithetical to the movement's philosophy.

Risker/Anne

On Thu, 8 Oct 2020 at 13:41, Todd Allen  wrote:

> Why would we "not want it to be a membership organization"? In fact, many
> of us want exactly that, since the WMF seems to think it can lord it over
> the communities instead of fulfilling its role of serving them.
>
> The new Board rules basically say that the Board itself gets to say how the
> community-based members are selected, instead of having actual bylaws as to
> how it happens. I'd like to see it done very simply: Those eight seats
> (forming a majority) on the Board should be elected (not nominated,
> elected) by the community, with the Board having no veto power over the
> results of the election.
>
> Todd
>
> On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 12:45 PM Brad Patrick  wrote:
>
> > This is a very, very old and tired argument. If you do not understand
> > United States non-profit corporations, go educate yourself about those
> > first. If your perspective is non-US based, you may have a different
> frame
> > of mind which is irreconcilable with the way WMF is. Take all the time
> you
> > need to see the differences before attacking WMF for (a) what it is and
> (b)
> > why it isn't what you want it to be.
> >
> > WMF exists legally, and has as its foundation organizational principle,
> > authority vested in a Board. WMF is not a membership organization. You
> > would not want it to be a membership organization (as a matter of law).
> >
> > Please temper your criticism accordingly.
> >
> > Brad Patrick
> > Former WMF General Counsel
> >
> > On 10/7/20, 12:47 PM, "Wikimedia-l on behalf of Paulo Santos Perneta" <
> > wikimedia-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org on behalf of
> > paulospern...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I knew they are theoretically self-appointed, but was under the
> > impression
> > that at least until now an appearance of democracy and legitimacy
> > towards
> > the community has been respected, which no longer seems to be the
> case.
> > I wonder what would be the legitimacy of a self-appointing body in
> the
> > eyes
> > of the Wikimedia Movement, and all the communities which are part of
> > it?
> >
> > Regards,
> > Paulo
> >
> > Adam Wight  escreveu no dia quarta,
> > 7/10/2020 à(s)
> > 17:20:
> >
> > > Greetings, this is a semiautomated response pointing out that the
> > > Wikimedia Foundation Board is not elected, it's self-appointing.
> The
> > > so-called "elections" are in fact nominations to be considered by
> the
> > > Board.  Therefore, the Bylaws have not been broken.
> > >
> > > This is an unfortunate arrangement, please see [1] for some
> > background
> > > about the conversion from a membership organization to a
> > non-membership
> > > organization which is no longer legally required to hold elections.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > >
> > > Adam W.
> > > [[mw:User:Adamw]]
> > >
> > > [1]
> > >
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_membership_controversy
> > >
> > > On 10/7/20 5:55 PM, Paulo Santos Perneta wrote:
> > > > The terms of 3 BoT members expired last month, and the BoT itself
> > decided
> > > > to extend them? What is the legitimacy of that? And why is a BoT
> > which is
> > > > expected to be in a mere interim management waiting for
> elections,
> > > > presenting profound changes to its Bylaws [1]?
> > > >
> > > > [1] -
> > > >
> > >
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/October_2020_-_Proposed_Bylaws_changes
> > > >
> > > > Best,
> > > > Paulo
> > > >
> > > > Nataliia Tymkiv  escreveu no dia quarta,
> > > 7/10/2020
> > > > à(s) 16:49:
> > > >
> > > >> Hello,
> > > >>
> > > >> I can answer a few of the questions raised in this thread.
> > > >>
> > > >> When the Board postponed the community selection of trustees, we
> > also
> > > >> extended the terms of the trustees in the affected seats (María
> > > Sefidari,
> > > >> Dariusz Jemielniak, and James Heilman)[1]. Their terms were
> > originally
> > > set
> > > >> to expire last month, but because of that term extension they
> are
> > still
> > > >> serving as trustees, and as such María remains the Board Chair
> and
> > > Dariusz
> > > >> and James continue on as Committee Chairs[2].
> > > >>
> > > >> Raju Narisetti and Esra'a Al Shafei have been reappointed to the
> > Board
> > > for
> > > >> an 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Board of Trustees elections, membership, quorum, and

[Todd Allen]

Why would we "not want it to be a membership organization"? In fact, many
of us want exactly that, since the WMF seems to think it can lord it over
the communities instead of fulfilling its role of serving them.

The new Board rules basically say that the Board itself gets to say how the
community-based members are selected, instead of having actual bylaws as to
how it happens. I'd like to see it done very simply: Those eight seats
(forming a majority) on the Board should be elected (not nominated,
elected) by the community, with the Board having no veto power over the
results of the election.

Todd

On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 12:45 PM Brad Patrick  wrote:

> This is a very, very old and tired argument. If you do not understand
> United States non-profit corporations, go educate yourself about those
> first. If your perspective is non-US based, you may have a different frame
> of mind which is irreconcilable with the way WMF is. Take all the time you
> need to see the differences before attacking WMF for (a) what it is and (b)
> why it isn't what you want it to be.
>
> WMF exists legally, and has as its foundation organizational principle,
> authority vested in a Board. WMF is not a membership organization. You
> would not want it to be a membership organization (as a matter of law).
>
> Please temper your criticism accordingly.
>
> Brad Patrick
> Former WMF General Counsel
>
> On 10/7/20, 12:47 PM, "Wikimedia-l on behalf of Paulo Santos Perneta" <
> wikimedia-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org on behalf of
> paulospern...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I knew they are theoretically self-appointed, but was under the
> impression
> that at least until now an appearance of democracy and legitimacy
> towards
> the community has been respected, which no longer seems to be the case.
> I wonder what would be the legitimacy of a self-appointing body in the
> eyes
> of the Wikimedia Movement, and all the communities which are part of
> it?
>
> Regards,
> Paulo
>
> Adam Wight  escreveu no dia quarta,
> 7/10/2020 à(s)
> 17:20:
>
> > Greetings, this is a semiautomated response pointing out that the
> > Wikimedia Foundation Board is not elected, it's self-appointing. The
> > so-called "elections" are in fact nominations to be considered by the
> > Board.  Therefore, the Bylaws have not been broken.
> >
> > This is an unfortunate arrangement, please see [1] for some
> background
> > about the conversion from a membership organization to a
> non-membership
> > organization which is no longer legally required to hold elections.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Adam W.
> > [[mw:User:Adamw]]
> >
> > [1]
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_membership_controversy
> >
> > On 10/7/20 5:55 PM, Paulo Santos Perneta wrote:
> > > The terms of 3 BoT members expired last month, and the BoT itself
> decided
> > > to extend them? What is the legitimacy of that? And why is a BoT
> which is
> > > expected to be in a mere interim management waiting for elections,
> > > presenting profound changes to its Bylaws [1]?
> > >
> > > [1] -
> > >
> >
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/October_2020_-_Proposed_Bylaws_changes
> > >
> > > Best,
> > > Paulo
> > >
> > > Nataliia Tymkiv  escreveu no dia quarta,
> > 7/10/2020
> > > à(s) 16:49:
> > >
> > >> Hello,
> > >>
> > >> I can answer a few of the questions raised in this thread.
> > >>
> > >> When the Board postponed the community selection of trustees, we
> also
> > >> extended the terms of the trustees in the affected seats (María
> > Sefidari,
> > >> Dariusz Jemielniak, and James Heilman)[1]. Their terms were
> originally
> > set
> > >> to expire last month, but because of that term extension they are
> still
> > >> serving as trustees, and as such María remains the Board Chair and
> > Dariusz
> > >> and James continue on as Committee Chairs[2].
> > >>
> > >> Raju Narisetti and Esra'a Al Shafei have been reappointed to the
> Board
> > for
> > >> an additional three-year term[3][4].
> > >>
> > >> The current members of the Board of Trustees are listed on the
> Wikimedia
> > >> Foundation website[5].
> > >>
> > >> We do not currently have a shortage of trustees on the Board, and
> we
> > have
> > >> had a quorum for every decision we have made this year. We have
> > published
> > >> some outstanding Board records, many of which were just approved
> at our
> > >> recent meeting in September[6][7].
> > >>
> > >> I have just sent an email to this list, as well as posted an
> update to
> > >> Meta-Wiki, with a request for feedback on matters related to the
> > >> Foundation’s Bylaws and trustee selection[8]. That announcement
> contains
> > >> more information about the 

[Wikimedia-l] CIS-A2K impact report 2019-2020

[Bodhisattwa Mandal]

Hi,

Impact report of CIS-A2K for the year 2019–2020 is submitted and may be
seen here:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/Proposals/2018-2019_round_2/The_Centre_for_Internet_and_Society/Impact_report_form
Thanks to the communities for support.

Regards,
Bodhisattwa
Wikidata co-ordinator, CIS -A2K
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Korea annual report submission

[Biyanto Rebin]

Congratulations, Gu!

I'm looking forward to hearing more good news from Wikimedia Korea.

Best,


Pada tanggal Rab, 7 Okt 2020 pukul 04.12 Eun-ae Gu 
menulis:

> Dear Wikimedians
>
> We, Wikimedia Korea just submitted our activity/financial reports for
> 2019. We are glad that we can share our reports with you after being
> approved as a Wikimedia Chapter.:) Links to the documents are below.
>
> 2019 Activity Report
>
> https://w.wiki/fAx
>
> 2019 Financial Report
>
> https://w.wiki/fAw
>
> Best,
>
> Gu Eun-ae
> Director of Wikimedia Korea
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[Wikimedia-l] Invitation for Wikimedia Research Team Office hours October 13, 2020

[Martin Gerlach]

Hi all,

Join the Research Team at the Wikimedia Foundation [1] for their monthly
Office hours on 2020-10-13 at 16:00-17:00 PM UTC.

To participate, join the video-call via this Wikimedia-meet link [2]. There
is no set agenda - feel free to add your item to the list of topics in the
etherpad [3] (You can do this after you join the meeting, too.), otherwise
you are welcome to also just hang out. More detailed information (e.g.
about how to attend) can be found here [4].

Through these office hours, we aim to make ourselves more available to
answer some of the research related questions that you as Wikimedia
volunteer editors, organizers, affiliates, staff, and researchers face in
your projects and initiatives. Some example cases we hope to be able to
support you in:

   -

   You have a specific research related question that you suspect you
   should be able to answer with the publicly available data and you don’t
   know how to find an answer for it, or you just need some more help with it.
   For example, how can I compute the ratio of anonymous to registered editors
   in my wiki?
   -

   You run into repetitive or very manual work as part of your Wikimedia
   contributions and you wish to find out if there are ways to use machines to
   improve your workflows. These types of conversations can sometimes be
   harder to find an answer for during an office hour, however, discussing
   them can help us understand your challenges better and we may find ways to
   work with each other to support you in addressing it in the future.
   -

   You want to learn what the Research team at the Wikimedia Foundation
   does and how we can potentially support you. Specifically for affiliates:
   if you are interested in building relationships with the academic
   institutions in your country, we would love to talk with you and learn
   more. We have a series of programs that aim to expand the network of
   Wikimedia researchers globally and we would love to collaborate with those
   of you interested more closely in this space.
   -

   You want to talk with us about one of our existing programs [5].


Hope to see many of you,
Martin (WMF Research Team)

[1] https://research.wikimedia.org/team.html

[2] https://meet.wmcloud.org/ResearchOfficeHours

[3] https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/Research-Analytics-Office-hours

[4] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Research/Office_hours
[5] https://research.wikimedia.org/projects.html


-- 
Martin Gerlach
Research Scientist
Wikimedia Foundation
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Join Wikinobel tomorrow at 08:00 UTC

[Jon Harald Søby]

Yes, sorry I forgot to link it! The page is at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikinobel , it is not super-informative at
the moment, but it's there.
I also just now noticed a parsing problem in my initial e-mail (some spaces
missing). The link for the Google Meet is https://wikitreff.wikimedia.no/

(Replying with my volunteer account because my work account has digest mode
on, which messes up the list archives.)

tor. 8. okt. 2020 kl. 12:19 skrev Anton Protsiuk <
anton.prots...@wikimedia.org.ua>:

> Hi Jon,
>
> Thanks for the announcement, great initiative. Is there an onwiki page
> somewhere I can point potential participants to?
>
> Best Regards
> Anton Protsiuk
> Project Manager at Wikimedia Ukraine
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 8, 2020 at 9:58 AM Jon Harald Søby 
> wrote:
>
> > Hello everyone,
> >
> > Every year since 2014, Wikimedia Norge has hosted an editathon dubbed
> > "Wikinobel" from the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo on the date of the
> > announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize. Due to 2020 being 2020, it will be
> > held fully online this year, and we invite everyone to join us to help
> > update Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects' coverage of the new peace
> > prize laureate(s). We have set up a Telegram group at
> > https://t.me/wikinobel,
> > and will be meeting via Google Meet at https://wikitreff.wikimedia.no/
> > from10:00 –14:00 CEST
> > (08:00–12:00 UTC). Feel free to join us any time! (If
> > you do, keep our safe space policy
> > <
> >
> https://no.wikimedia.org/wiki/Retningslinjer_for_inkluderende_m%C3%B8ter/en
> > >
> > in
> > mind.)
> >
> > --
> > *Jon Harald Søby*
> > Prosjektleder / Prosjektleiar / Prošeaktajođiheaddji / Project Manager
> > Wikimedia Norge / Wikimedia Noreg / Wikimedia Norga
> >
> > +47 977 67 510
> > jhs...@wikimedia.no
> > ___
> > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
> > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > 
> >
> ___
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>


-- 
mvh
Jon Harald Søby
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Join Wikinobel tomorrow at 08:00 UTC

[Anton Protsiuk]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for the announcement, great initiative. Is there an onwiki page
somewhere I can point potential participants to?

Best Regards
Anton Protsiuk
Project Manager at Wikimedia Ukraine


On Thu, Oct 8, 2020 at 9:58 AM Jon Harald Søby  wrote:

> Hello everyone,
>
> Every year since 2014, Wikimedia Norge has hosted an editathon dubbed
> "Wikinobel" from the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo on the date of the
> announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize. Due to 2020 being 2020, it will be
> held fully online this year, and we invite everyone to join us to help
> update Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects' coverage of the new peace
> prize laureate(s). We have set up a Telegram group at
> https://t.me/wikinobel,
> and will be meeting via Google Meet at https://wikitreff.wikimedia.no/
> from10:00 –14:00 CEST
> (08:00–12:00 UTC). Feel free to join us any time! (If
> you do, keep our safe space policy
> <
> https://no.wikimedia.org/wiki/Retningslinjer_for_inkluderende_m%C3%B8ter/en
> >
> in
> mind.)
>
> --
> *Jon Harald Søby*
> Prosjektleder / Prosjektleiar / Prošeaktajođiheaddji / Project Manager
> Wikimedia Norge / Wikimedia Noreg / Wikimedia Norga
>
> +47 977 67 510
> jhs...@wikimedia.no
> ___
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>
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[Wikimedia-l] Join Wikinobel tomorrow at 08:00 UTC

[Jon Harald Søby]

Hello everyone,

Every year since 2014, Wikimedia Norge has hosted an editathon dubbed
"Wikinobel" from the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo on the date of the
announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize. Due to 2020 being 2020, it will be
held fully online this year, and we invite everyone to join us to help
update Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects' coverage of the new peace
prize laureate(s). We have set up a Telegram group at https://t.me/wikinobel,
and will be meeting via Google Meet at https://wikitreff.wikimedia.no/
from10:00–14:00 CEST (08:00–12:00 UTC). Feel free to join us any time! (If
you do, keep our safe space policy

in
mind.)

-- 
*Jon Harald Søby*
Prosjektleder / Prosjektleiar / Prošeaktajođiheaddji / Project Manager
Wikimedia Norge / Wikimedia Noreg / Wikimedia Norga

+47 977 67 510
jhs...@wikimedia.no
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