Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF trustee Arnnon Geshuri and part in anticompetitive agreements in Google

[Dariusz Jemielniak]

11.01.2016 5:42 PM "SarahSV"  napisał(a):
>
>
> But a few days ago Dariusz said on this list that he wasn't aware of the
> background of Geshuri's that is causing concern, even though it was fourth
> in a Google search for Geshuri's name.

It was tenth several days ago, in Google.com. unfortunate and silly as it
may sound, it was not in top ten on Google.pl or .de / .it for that matter.
I'm not making excuses, just stating the fact.

I'm investigating with the BGC what went wrong with the whole process (that
some Board members did not have full information) and we're hoping to come
back with learning from this failure, as it was just one point of several
that were suboptimal.
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Fwd: Introducing Jaime Villagomez as our Chief Financial Officer

[Walter Gómez Segura]

¡Bienvenido, Jaime! 

Walter
Sent from/Enviado desde iPhone

> El ene 11, 2016, a las 15:28, Lila Tretikov  escribió:
> 
> Dear Wikimedians,
> 
> 
> Sharing this from our internal WMF list for your visibility...
> 
> 
> 
> I'd like to introduce Jamie Villagomez, our incoming Chief Financial
> Officer. He brings more than 20 years of experience leading finance in
> small startups and large companies, and supporting non-profits as a
> volunteer and an advisor. Jaime will be joining us February 1st, overseeing
> our Finance, Administration, and OIT teams.
> 
> Most recently, Jaime served as CFO at two startups: AnyCOMM, a smart cities
> startup, and Karum Group, which focused on extending credit services to
> underserved, unbanked communities in Mexico. Before then he was Vice
> President of Finance at Advent Software, QRS, and Northpoint
> Communications. He held senior strategy and finance roles at several large
> telecommunication companies, including AT, Lucent Technologies, and
> Pacific Bell, often acting as an ambassador to local communities they
> served.
> 
> Jaime is a first generation San Franciscan. He speaks fluent Spanish, and
> has strong connections to his extended family in Latin America. Jaime holds
> a deep appreciation for diversity, the importance of learning environments,
> and the urgency of advancing the lives of those in need. He is committed to
> bringing his experience to these issues through support for local community
> organizations and non-profits, including the Salvation Army, the San
> Francisco Conservation Corps, the San Francisco Hispanic Chamber of
> Commerce, and Arriba Juntos, a San Francisco-based educational and
> vocational training organization.
> 
> Jaime’s work gives him an important perspective on our current needs and
> future opportunities. He has experience in small companies and large global
> organizations, has planned and budgeted for major technology and
> programmatic work, has led and developed strong finance and operating
> teams, and mentored non-profits with a focus on integrity, accountability,
> authenticity, and trust. He is a great fit for our values and needs.
> 
> Jaime has a BS in electrical engineering from Stanford University and an
> MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He lives with his
> wife and their two children in Walnut Creek. He loves to spend time with
> family and friends, travel to Latin America, and support the adventures and
> passions of his children.
> 
> I would like to thank everyone involved in this search, especially Amy
> Elder and Boryana , who managed the recruiting process through a new, open
> approach. We had more than 200 candidates, interviewed 34 people, and
> followed up with six finalists. Everyone who spoke with Jaime throughout
> the process gave unanimously positive feedback (a combination of staff,
> executives and board members). Jaime will be reporting directly to me.  We
> are very excited to have him as a part of the Foundation’s leadership team.
> 
> Please join me in welcoming Jaime.
> 
> 
> 
> Lila
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF trustee Arnnon Geshuri and part in anticompetitive agreements in Google

[Nathan]

On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 5:42 PM, SarahSV  wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 10:43 AM, Matthew Flaschen <
> matthew.flasc...@gatech.edu> wrote:
>
>
> > The board had an obligation to fully research both candidates, and insist
> > on more time as needed to do so.
> >
> > Boryana Dineva, the Foundation's Vice-President of Human Resources
> ​, wrote [1] to this mailing list in October 2015:
>
> "Having narrowed down the number in several rounds of review​ ... we are
> meeting with finalists to collect more information and get acquainted over
> this week and next. After that, all finalists will interview with Lila, and
> finally with our panel comprised by the BGC ​[Board Governance Committee]
> ​(and likely also the Board Chair). The BGC will decide and present
> recommendations of chosen candidates to the whole Board. ... I am copying
> Dariusz, our BGC chair, in case he would like to add anything also."
>
> But a few days ago Dariusz said on this list that he wasn't aware of the
> background of Geshuri's that is causing concern, even though it was fourth
> in a Google search for Geshuri's name.
>
> Sarah
>
>
It sounds like Boryana and Lila manage the search until after the finalists
are vetted by staff, and then the last slate of candidates is provided for
the BGC to review. I wonder how many candidates the BGC reviewed directly -
hopefully the number was greater than two. This model suggests that the
failure of vetting rests with the staff and the reliance of the Board on
the staff.

The fact that Dariusz was unaware of the Google issue suggests that the
vetting failure wasn't in not realizing the magnitude of the problem - it
seems the staff missed it entirely. If they were doing even a cursory
review and reference check of the candidates through the very last stage,
it's hard to imagine how that could happen. Perhaps more likely is that the
staff happened upon the issue but didn't forward it to the Board?

~Nathan
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF trustee Arnnon Geshuri and part in anticompetitive agreements in Google

[SarahSV]

On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 5:29 PM, Dariusz Jemielniak 
wrote:

>
> It was tenth several days ago, in Google.com. unfortunate and silly as it
> may sound, it was not in top ten on Google.pl or .de / .it for that matter.
> I'm not making excuses, just stating the fact.
>
> I'm investigating with the BGC what went wrong with the whole process (that
> some Board members did not have full information) and we're hoping to come
> back with learning from this failure, as it was just one point of several
> that were suboptimal.
>
> ​Okay, thank you, ​
Dariusz
​, I appreciate that you're responding and trying to find out what happened.

Sarah​
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Introducing Jaime Villagomez as our Chief Financial Officer

[Michael Peel]

> Sharing this from our internal WMF list for your visibility...

Thank you, Lila, for sharing this here - this type of announcement has always 
been publicly posted on wikimedia-l in the past, so hopefully this level of 
transparency will continue in the future. :-)

> I'd like to introduce Jamie Villagomez, our incoming Chief Financial
> Officer. He brings more than 20 years of experience leading finance in
> small startups and large companies, and supporting non-profits as a
> volunteer and an advisor. Jaime will be joining us February 1st, overseeing
> our Finance, Administration, and OIT teams.

Welcome Jamie/Jaime!

> I would like to thank everyone involved in this search, especially Amy
> Elder and Boryana , who managed the recruiting process through a new, open
> approach.

Could you elaborate on the 'new, open approach', please - who did this involve, 
and where is the process documented?

Thanks,
Mike
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF trustee Arnnon Geshuri and part in anticompetitive agreements in Google

[Andreas Kolbe]

I find it amazing – alarming – unbelievable – that some board members knew,
and did not tell the others.

Andreas

On Tue, Jan 12, 2016 at 1:27 AM, SarahSV  wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 5:29 PM, Dariusz Jemielniak 
> wrote:
>
> >
> > It was tenth several days ago, in Google.com. unfortunate and silly as it
> > may sound, it was not in top ten on Google.pl or .de / .it for that
> matter.
> > I'm not making excuses, just stating the fact.
> >
> > I'm investigating with the BGC what went wrong with the whole process
> (that
> > some Board members did not have full information) and we're hoping to
> come
> > back with learning from this failure, as it was just one point of several
> > that were suboptimal.
> >
> > ​Okay, thank you, ​
> Dariusz
> ​, I appreciate that you're responding and trying to find out what
> happened.
>
> Sarah​
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] How To Recover From Having Made A Mistake [a reminder]

[Shani]

​+1
to Asaf & Yaroslav. Well put.

Shani. ​

On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 8:47 PM, Yaroslav M. Blanter 
wrote:

> On 2016-01-11 19:37, Asaf Bartov wrote:
>
>> Hello, everyone.
>>
>> It occurs to me this might be a good time to recycle this piece of advice
>> I
>> have had some past occasions to offer some newcomers to the movement:
>>
>>
> <...>
>
> Q: Are you suggesting this applies to current goings-on?
>> A: I suggest it applies to every situation involving humans.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> A.
>>
>
> That was absolutely fabulous, thanks Asaf.
>
> Cheers
> Yaroslav
>
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] How To Recover From Having Made A Mistake [a reminder]

[Yury Bulka]

Michael Peel  writes:

>> On 11 Jan 2016, at 18:47, Yaroslav M. Blanter  wrote:
>> 
>> On 2016-01-11 19:37, Asaf Bartov wrote:
>>> Hello, everyone.
>>> It occurs to me this might be a good time to recycle this piece of advice I
>>> have had some past occasions to offer some newcomers to the movement:
>> 
>> <...>
>> 
>>> Q: Are you suggesting this applies to current goings-on?
>>> A: I suggest it applies to every situation involving humans.
>>> Cheers,
>>>A.
>> 
>> That was absolutely fabulous, thanks Asaf.
>
> +1, that's a great post, Asaf! All very sensible advice. Can I suggest that 
> you put a copy on Meta somewhere, so it doesn't get (too) lost over time / 
> for easy future reference?
+1

Yury Bulka
[[User:Юрій Булка]]

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF trustee Arnnon Geshuri and part in anticompetitive agreements in Google

[SarahSV]

On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 10:43 AM, Matthew Flaschen <
matthew.flasc...@gatech.edu> wrote:


> The board had an obligation to fully research both candidates, and insist
> on more time as needed to do so.
>
> Boryana Dineva, the Foundation's Vice-President of Human Resources
​, wrote [1] to this mailing list in October 2015:

"Having narrowed down the number in several rounds of review​ ... we are
meeting with finalists to collect more information and get acquainted over
this week and next. After that, all finalists will interview with Lila, and
finally with our panel comprised by the BGC ​[Board Governance Committee]
​(and likely also the Board Chair). The BGC will decide and present
recommendations of chosen candidates to the whole Board. ... I am copying
Dariusz, our BGC chair, in case he would like to add anything also."

But a few days ago Dariusz said on this list that he wasn't aware of the
background of Geshuri's that is causing concern, even though it was fourth
in a Google search for Geshuri's name.

Sarah

[1]
https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2015-October/079583.html
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] How To Recover From Having Made A Mistake [a reminder]

[Austin Hair]

I just wanted to pile on along with the three +1s I just approved in
the moderation queue.

Austin

On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 7:37 PM, Asaf Bartov  wrote:
> Hello, everyone.
>
> It occurs to me this might be a good time to recycle this piece of advice I
> have had some past occasions to offer some newcomers to the movement:
>
> *So you've made a mistake and it's public...*
>
> Step 0:
> Understand that there is no point in pretending you have not made a mistake.
>
> Step 1:
> *Think* about the mistake you have made.  What led you to make it?  Were
> you acting on bad information? Without sufficient information? On
> intuition? Were you pressed by a deadline or by a strong opinion from
> someone else?  Were you following a broken process?  Did you act on the
> basis of circumstances you wish were the case rather than the circumstances
> that are in fact the case?
> (if it helps, consider writing down your answers to these questions,
> privately.)
>
> Then, think about what can be redressed/undone/reverted about your mistake.
>
> Step 2:
> *Think* about the prospects of making this mistake, or a mistake of its
> kind, again.  How likely is it?  Based on learning from this mistake, what
> steps are you able to take to mitigate or reduce the odds of its
> recurrence?  Of those steps, which are you *willing* to take?  Of those,
> which can you take right now, before responding in public?  Which are you
> ready to commit to, longer term?
>
> Step 3:
> Armed with your best thinking from Steps 1 and 2, write a concise(!) public
> e-mail acknowledging (as clearly and crisply as possible) --
> a. that you have made a mistake
> b. what the mistake was, as precisely as possible (e.g. not "I used bad
> judgment" but "I neglected to look at relevant data before deciding to fund
> Wikimedia Antarctica")
> c. what you have learned from making this mistake.
> d. what steps you have already taken to redress the damage or undo the
> results of your mistake.
> e. what steps you are going to take to mitigate or reduce the odds of a
> mistake of this sort recurring.  (Include timelines for specific actions,
> if possible/applicable.)
> f. invite comments on your understanding as reflected in this e-mail.
> Explicitly encourage people to tell you if they think you've missed the
> point or if one of your intended actions is inadvisable, insufficient, or
> can otherwise be improved.
>
> Step 4:
> Actually follow-through on the redressing/undoing actions and on the steps
> you've committed to taking.  Take steps to ensure follow-up on steps that
> cannot be taken at once (e.g. if one of your corrective steps is to ensure
> X gets discussed in your next Annual General Meeting, set appropriate
> reminders to make sure that you actually discuss that by the time that AGM
> happens.)
>
> Important notes:
> 1. Do not hesitate to ask for help at any step of this process.  Either
> reach out to people whose judgment (and discreetness, if necessary) you
> trust, or publicly acknowledge you're having trouble with something (e.g.
> "Hi, folks. I'm thinking about this mistake, and I have a hard time
> figuring out how to balance the need for fresh data with the amount of time
> it takes to generate and review that data.  Does anyone have some thoughts
> on how to best do that?")
>
> 2. In the public note, and throughout the process, be sure to *talk like a
> human being*.  Avoid jargon; avoid sounding like your note has been
> prepared by a Damage Control Specialist.  Just tell it like it is.  People
> know the difference.
>
> That's it.  It's not as hard as it sounds.
>
> *Q:  *(this part isn't recycled)
>
> Q: Should I really go through this whole thing every time I make a mistake?
> A: Ideally, yes.  And it doesn't have to take very long, if you are in the
> habit of being honest in your own mind.  However, as with everything, apply
> your good judgment, and use whatever abbreviated version of this you deem
> appropriate.
>
> Q: Wouldn't following this result in drama and upset the community?
> A: No.  On the contrary.  Our community understands humans are fallible,
> and responds *very well* to (what it perceives as) honest admissions of
> error, commitments to improve, and (most of all) demonstrated learning.
>
> Q: Still, there would be some drama, no?
> A: Yes, there may be some drama, in the short term.  Have we mentioned
> humans are fallible?
>
> Q: So, wouldn't it be better to silently learn the lessons and move on?
> A: No.  Sunlight is the best disinfectant, as Judge Brandeis observed.
> Proper handling of mistakes is a sterling quality in anyone, and
> particularly important in a leader or public servant of any kind.  It pays
> long-term dividends.
>
> Q: What should I do when I see someone else is making a mistake?
> A: When you see others making mistakes, help them *see* them (first of all)
> and deal with them (e.g. by recycling this text, or by independently
> offering your analysis and answers to Steps 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF trustee Arnnon Geshuri and part in anticompetitive agreements in Google

[Pete Forsyth]

On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 5:27 PM, SarahSV  wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 5:29 PM, Dariusz Jemielniak 
>



we're hoping to come back with learning 

Dariusz

​, I appreciate that you're responding and trying to find out what happened.
>
> Sarah​


+1

-Pete
[[User:Peteforsyth]]
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[Wikimedia-l] Conclusions?

[Anders Wennersten]

In the very looong discussion re actions made by the Board, I want to 
high-light two comments been made.I see them as good summaries and hope 
they can be seen as conclusions and base to look into possible 
improvement in processes


Anders

On James removal
2016-01-10 kl. 09:04, by  MZMcBride:

* evaluate whether the Wikimedia Foundation bylaws should be changed to
make it more difficult (or easier) to remove a Board of Trustees member;

* strongly urge the Board of Trustees to be more transparent and
communicative, embracing the values that keep our projects running; and

* evaluate the process for filling community-selected Board of Trustees
seats, perhaps changing the seats to be community-elected.

Obligatory reference:!



On appointment of Arnnon Geshuri
2016-01-09 kl. 22:21, by Pete Forsyth:

(1) The Board did not apparently do basic due diligence in looking into his
background
(2) Mr. Geshuri himself did not highlight the Google firing issue to the
board prior to his appointment.

This is also followed up on 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_transparency_gap re 
COI issues


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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF Conflict of Interest Policy

[Michael Maggs]

As a cross-reference it may be interesting to note here the Conflict of 
Interest and Code of Conduct policies that the Wikimedia UK board 
applies to its own trustees.  These have recently been updated to ensure 
compliance with current charity governance best practice recommendations:


Trustee Conflict of Interest policy:  
https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Trustee_Conflict_of_Interest_Policy


Trustee Code of Conduct policy: 
https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Trustee_Code_of_Conduct


Trustee commitments are based on the long-established Seven Principles 
of Public Life (the Nolan Principles) [1], but with a lot of additional 
detail.


__
Michael Maggs

Chair, Wikimedia UK


[1] 
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-7-principles-of-public-life/the-7-principles-of-public-life--2



Chris Keating wrote:

I was chair of Wikimedia UK at the time of our governance review, and yes,
the circumstances were quite different.

I also think based on that experience review of WMF governance wouldn't
give the answers I think some people want to hear. In particular no
governance expert is going to do any of;
- criticise a board for having  (and using ) the power to remove a trustee
whose presence makes it impossible for the board to do a good job
- suggest broadcasting board meetings live on the Internet
- jump down the Google rabbit hole that half of the posts on this list seem
to inhabit at the minute

Generally governance reviews are quite healthy things and WMF should
consider having one at some point. Equally the recommendations and
methodology used for Wikimedia UK are well worth reading for all movement
organisations as much of it is general. Am on my tablet at present so can't
post a link but you can Google it (so long as you declare the fact)

Regards,

Chris Keating


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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF Conflict of Interest Policy

[Chris Keating]

Ok - I would be really surprised if WMF have discussed Google in their
executive sessions either - given the difficulties around staff and
strategy they probably haven't had five minutes to mention Google, even if
they wanted to. So the most economical hypothesis is that the reason Denny
hasn't recused himself is because the subject hasn't come up.

I would agree that board members should step aside from discussions about
anything that will have a commercial impact on their employers, though I
don't quite understand how Wikidata affects Google's bottom line and so
can't work out how this might be a conflict - can anyone explain this? Or
indeed what the "Knowledge Engine" actually is?

Regards,

Chris
On 11 Jan 2016 03:17, "Anthony Cole"  wrote:

> Chris, there have been no resolutions since Denny assumed his seat that
> impact Denny's employer, as best as I can tell, unless there is an existing
> direct relationship between Google and one or both of the new trustees, and
> no one's provided evidence of that. I hope Denny will recuse from any
> decision-making that might impact his employer, not just those decisions
> that directly address his employer.
>
> I would be concerned if he were involved in *discussions* on topics that
> impact Google, not just topics where Google is named. By this I mean, but
> not only, anything touching on the Knowledge Engine and WikiData, and I'm
> not just referring to discussions related to a resolution. The executive
> session of each board meeting is secret.
>
> On Monday, January 11, 2016, Chris Keating 
> wrote:
>
> > > I am concerned that Denny may not have been recusing from discussions
> and
> > > decisions affecting Google. This strikes me as exceptional, and that
> the
> > > board doesn't find it so troubles me, and hints that you may all have
> > > something to gain from independent advice.
> >
> >
> > Out of interest, do you know of a single decision made by the WMF board
> > regarding Google while Denny has been on the Board?
> >
> > All their resolutions are public, and the members voting in favour and
> > against and absent or recused from each decision are listed. So if the
> WMF
> > has been discussing WMF's relationship with Google and Denny hasn't
> recused
> > himself this should be apparent.
> >
> > I have not checked the list of resolutions myself but I suspect that the
> > WMF board rarely, if ever, considers anything to do with any major tech
> > companies.
> >
> > Chris
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>
>
> --
> Anthony Cole
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Strategic planning

[Pine W]

Pete, thanks for bringing up this subject. May I ask you to please do a
lightning talk about this during the Wikipedia Day conference?

Pine

On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 7:21 PM, Pete Forsyth  wrote:

> All:
>
> With the expiration of the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan, many of us are
> interested in future strategic planning efforts. With that in mind (and as
> part of a series of interviews I'm doing to celebrate Wikipedia Day), I
> interviewed Eugene Eric Kim, who designed the community engagement process
> for that plan. I think the organization and the community has, probably for
> a variety of reasons, lost track of much of what was learned during that
> process, so I think a recap will be valuable. It's a 25 minute video -- and
> if I may be so bold, I think it's well worth the time investment for
> anybody interested in this stuff.
>
> Wikipedia 15 for 15: Eugene Eric Kim
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0Eq4l4KmBc=3=PLnDuxSh4Rp5gsvae2Iegcom5-fzK6nk0d
>
> And beyond this video -- what do those who participated in the last round
> (or those who have observed it) think the important lessons are? How should
> we be moving foward?
>
> -Pete
> [[User:Peteforsyth]]
>
> p.s. Yes, this is licensed CC BY, and I will be uploading the whole series
> to Commons when I get a moment!
> ___
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF trustee Arnnon Geshuri and part in anticompetitive agreements in Google

[Ruslan Takayev]

Dariusz,

On Tue, Jan 12, 2016 at 8:29 AM, Dariusz Jemielniak  wrote:
>
>
> I'm investigating with the BGC what went wrong with the whole process (that
> some Board members did not have full information) and we're hoping to come
> back with learning from this failure, as it was just one point of several
> that were suboptimal.

In your investigation it might be worthwhile noting that both Boryana
Dineva and Arnnon were at one stage Tesla employees?

My apologies if this has already been raised prior?

Ruslan

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[Wikimedia-l] Strategic planning

[Pete Forsyth]

All:

With the expiration of the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan, many of us are
interested in future strategic planning efforts. With that in mind (and as
part of a series of interviews I'm doing to celebrate Wikipedia Day), I
interviewed Eugene Eric Kim, who designed the community engagement process
for that plan. I think the organization and the community has, probably for
a variety of reasons, lost track of much of what was learned during that
process, so I think a recap will be valuable. It's a 25 minute video -- and
if I may be so bold, I think it's well worth the time investment for
anybody interested in this stuff.

Wikipedia 15 for 15: Eugene Eric Kim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0Eq4l4KmBc=3=PLnDuxSh4Rp5gsvae2Iegcom5-fzK6nk0d

And beyond this video -- what do those who participated in the last round
(or those who have observed it) think the important lessons are? How should
we be moving foward?

-Pete
[[User:Peteforsyth]]

p.s. Yes, this is licensed CC BY, and I will be uploading the whole series
to Commons when I get a moment!
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Thank you, Jan-Bart and Stu

[Domas Mituzas]

End of an era. It was a pleasure to work with JB and Stu. I'd like to echo
the amusement about them being "outsiders".
At the time when Stu was appointed, he was an editor and has been on the
foundation-l pulse for extended amount of time and was the only board
member interested in the technology/operational aspect of running whatever
we were running at the time.
Jan-Bart on the other hand bought his way in with the Kennisnet server
donation, which served as a base for our European domination. Well played
sir. :-)

Thanks for your service, you both. I doubt this Google-puppet board will
match your contributions any time soon.

Greetings from the dark side,
Domas

On Tue, Jan 5, 2016 at 11:10 PM, Lodewijk 
wrote:

> While we have long discussions on this list about board composition, we
> seem to almost ignore the fact that two long time veterans are leaving the
> Wikimedia Foundation board, as scheduled. Jan-Bart de Vreede and Stu West
> have been around longer than many regular editors nowadays, and I think
> there are not many people who can recall the days that the board didn't
> have them on it. I have never had the pleasure to serve on the board with
> them, but a little thank-you from our community side, would seem in place.
>
> Stu joined the board already in 2008 (filling Michael Davis' seat), and has
> been a solid power on the board's audit responsibilities (I believe he
> chaired the audit committee for quite a while) and was a force behind the
> accountability of movement affiliates. While we often strongly disagreed on
> affiliate issues, I appreciate the fact that he always remained
> constructive and wanted to think about solutions rather than problems. He
> served both as treasurer and vice chair.
>
> Jan-Bart was on the board even longer, since early 2007, and I recall
> already working with him through Kennisnet (a Dutch foundation for
> education and IT) before that. Jan-Bart is one of those rare people who
> went to ALL wikimania conferences, and can be easily recognised there with
> his big smile. I can't remember a theme Jan-Bart didn't work on in the past
> years (Affiliates, HR, searching a new Executive Director) and he served
> the board in many positions, including as chair.
>
> I'm sure that the WMF communications staff and/or board has a nice thankyou
> coming up - with a more accurate description of the awesome work they did,
> that I now made up from the top of my head. But in the mean time, I'd like
> to do it myself: Thank you Jan-Bart and Stu for all the time, energy and
> effort that you poured into our movement. I know that not all of us
> appreciate this as much as we perhaps should, and sometimes you may even
> have perceived us as hostile. I do sincerely hope that you had fun with us
> though, and I'm confident that you made a big dent in our impossible
> mission of sharing the sum of all knowledge with everyone.
>
> I hope to meet you again soon, at least in Italy at Wikimania, and I hope
> to see you around in our movement in many different ways.
>
> Best,
>
> Lodewijk
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF trustee Arnnon Geshuri and part in anticompetitive agreements in Google

[Kevin Gorman]

@NYB: at least one major pension fund has ongoing litigation related to the
nonsolicit, so I agree with you Arnnon is unlikely to be able to comment
publicly.

Best,
KG

On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 9:29 AM, Newyorkbrad  wrote:

> It would be great if we could have Arrnon's input and perspective on
> the events that have caused the concern raised in this thread.
> However, it's been stated that major shareholder litigation involving
> the issue is still pending.  If that is so, it is very unlikely that
> he's going to be able to make any public statement about the subject.
>
> Newyorkbrad/IBM
>
>
> On 1/10/16, Craig Franklin  wrote:
> > I don't disagree that we need an explanation not only of his actions, but
> > also on how he was selected without this being disclosed to existing
> > trustees, but even at a show trial it's usually considered necessary to
> > allow the accused to say a few words in their own defense.  I'll be
> > reserving my judgement until I hear his side of the story (or he declines
> > to provide one).
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Craig
> >
> > On 10 January 2016 at 03:51, David Gerard  wrote:
> >
> >> ... and the court papers, and the smoking gun documents, and ...
> >>
> >> This is the sort of thing that needs some serious explaining. Assume
> >> good faith, but we're starting from some pretty *startling*
> >> circumstances and evidence here.
> >>
> >>
> >> - d.
> >>
> >> On 9 January 2016 at 09:19, Craig Franklin 
> >> wrote:
> >> > Chris,
> >> >
> >> > Thanks for saying that.  I'd also add that while the situation with
> >> Arrnon
> >> > looks damning on the face of it, I'm a little disappointed that people
> >> are
> >> > breaking out the pitchforks based purely on media reports, before he
> has
> >> a
> >> > chance to present his own side of the story and before Dariusz and the
> >> > others can properly look into the matter.  I also think that some of
> the
> >> > more 'excitable' commentary on this list in the past couple of weeks
> is
> >> > more likely to push the trustees away than get us the explanations we
> >> > want.  Yes, what is happening is deeply concerning, but lets not all
> >> > lose
> >> > our heads.
> >> >
> >> > Cheers,
> >> > Craig
> >> >
> >> > On 9 January 2016 at 19:06, Chris Keating  >
> >> > wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> > I suspect they need a few days, based on past experiences. To dig
> >> >> > into
> >> >> the
> >> >> > matter, and prepare an answer
> >> >>
> >> >> Quite, and thanks for saying that Lodewijk.
> >> >>
> >> >> In my view, the WMF board's top priority has to be the issues about
> >> >> strategy, leadership and staff morale that are being made public now.
> >> It is
> >> >> in everyone's interests that these issues get sorted out and some key
> >> parts
> >> >> of the solution have to happen in private.
> >> >>
> >> >> I am sure that the Board have invested a huge amount of time and
> energy
> >> in
> >> >> these issues already. Unless you have been on the board of an
> >> organisation
> >> >> that's gone through a serious problem it's difficult to appreciate
> the
> >> >> pressure this creates. I have, and I would urge everyone to take a
> deep
> >> >> breath and  think before emailing. It's worth repeating that Board
> >> members
> >> >> are all volunteers with jobs and families and what's more are trying
> to
> >> >> coordinate between three different continents.
> >> >>
> >> >> In particular hundred-email threads on this list where everyone
> >> speculates
> >> >> and demands answers to their particular questions  (and some people
> >> >> downright stir the shit) are less than helpful - a board member who
> >> spends
> >> >> 5 hours a week on WMF business could easily spend that just reading
> all
> >> the
> >> >> emails
> >> >>
> >> >> Dariusz has said the Board is looking into the situation with Arnnon,
> >> which
> >> >> they were clearly not aware of - that is what needs to happen and yet
> >> more
> >> >> emails on this list won't mean that happens any more quickly.
> >> >>
> >> >> Regards,
> >> >>
> >> >> Chris Keating
> >> >> ___
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> >> >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> >> >> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> >> >> Unsubscribe:
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> >> >> 
> >> >>
> >> > ___
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> ,
> >> 
> >>
> > 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Fwd: Introducing Jaime Villagomez as our Chief Financial Officer

[Tanweer Morshed]

Welcome Jamie, at WMF. Congratulations for being a member of the Wikimedia
family :)


Regards,
Tanweer

On Tue, Jan 12, 2016 at 2:28 AM, Lila Tretikov  wrote:

> Dear Wikimedians,
>
>
> Sharing this from our internal WMF list for your visibility...
>
>
>
> I'd like to introduce Jamie Villagomez, our incoming Chief Financial
> Officer. He brings more than 20 years of experience leading finance in
> small startups and large companies, and supporting non-profits as a
> volunteer and an advisor. Jaime will be joining us February 1st, overseeing
> our Finance, Administration, and OIT teams.
>
> Most recently, Jaime served as CFO at two startups: AnyCOMM, a smart cities
> startup, and Karum Group, which focused on extending credit services to
> underserved, unbanked communities in Mexico. Before then he was Vice
> President of Finance at Advent Software, QRS, and Northpoint
> Communications. He held senior strategy and finance roles at several large
> telecommunication companies, including AT, Lucent Technologies, and
> Pacific Bell, often acting as an ambassador to local communities they
> served.
>
> Jaime is a first generation San Franciscan. He speaks fluent Spanish, and
> has strong connections to his extended family in Latin America. Jaime holds
> a deep appreciation for diversity, the importance of learning environments,
> and the urgency of advancing the lives of those in need. He is committed to
> bringing his experience to these issues through support for local community
> organizations and non-profits, including the Salvation Army, the San
> Francisco Conservation Corps, the San Francisco Hispanic Chamber of
> Commerce, and Arriba Juntos, a San Francisco-based educational and
> vocational training organization.
>
> Jaime’s work gives him an important perspective on our current needs and
> future opportunities. He has experience in small companies and large global
> organizations, has planned and budgeted for major technology and
> programmatic work, has led and developed strong finance and operating
> teams, and mentored non-profits with a focus on integrity, accountability,
> authenticity, and trust. He is a great fit for our values and needs.
>
> Jaime has a BS in electrical engineering from Stanford University and an
> MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He lives with his
> wife and their two children in Walnut Creek. He loves to spend time with
> family and friends, travel to Latin America, and support the adventures and
> passions of his children.
>
> I would like to thank everyone involved in this search, especially Amy
> Elder and Boryana , who managed the recruiting process through a new, open
> approach. We had more than 200 candidates, interviewed 34 people, and
> followed up with six finalists. Everyone who spoke with Jaime throughout
> the process gave unanimously positive feedback (a combination of staff,
> executives and board members). Jaime will be reporting directly to me.  We
> are very excited to have him as a part of the Foundation’s leadership team.
>
> Please join me in welcoming Jaime.
>
>
>
> Lila
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-- 
Regards,
Tanweer Morshed
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[Wikimedia-l] Fwd: Introducing Jaime Villagomez as our Chief Financial Officer

[Lila Tretikov]

Dear Wikimedians,


Sharing this from our internal WMF list for your visibility...



I'd like to introduce Jamie Villagomez, our incoming Chief Financial
Officer. He brings more than 20 years of experience leading finance in
small startups and large companies, and supporting non-profits as a
volunteer and an advisor. Jaime will be joining us February 1st, overseeing
our Finance, Administration, and OIT teams.

Most recently, Jaime served as CFO at two startups: AnyCOMM, a smart cities
startup, and Karum Group, which focused on extending credit services to
underserved, unbanked communities in Mexico. Before then he was Vice
President of Finance at Advent Software, QRS, and Northpoint
Communications. He held senior strategy and finance roles at several large
telecommunication companies, including AT, Lucent Technologies, and
Pacific Bell, often acting as an ambassador to local communities they
served.

Jaime is a first generation San Franciscan. He speaks fluent Spanish, and
has strong connections to his extended family in Latin America. Jaime holds
a deep appreciation for diversity, the importance of learning environments,
and the urgency of advancing the lives of those in need. He is committed to
bringing his experience to these issues through support for local community
organizations and non-profits, including the Salvation Army, the San
Francisco Conservation Corps, the San Francisco Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce, and Arriba Juntos, a San Francisco-based educational and
vocational training organization.

Jaime’s work gives him an important perspective on our current needs and
future opportunities. He has experience in small companies and large global
organizations, has planned and budgeted for major technology and
programmatic work, has led and developed strong finance and operating
teams, and mentored non-profits with a focus on integrity, accountability,
authenticity, and trust. He is a great fit for our values and needs.

Jaime has a BS in electrical engineering from Stanford University and an
MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He lives with his
wife and their two children in Walnut Creek. He loves to spend time with
family and friends, travel to Latin America, and support the adventures and
passions of his children.

I would like to thank everyone involved in this search, especially Amy
Elder and Boryana , who managed the recruiting process through a new, open
approach. We had more than 200 candidates, interviewed 34 people, and
followed up with six finalists. Everyone who spoke with Jaime throughout
the process gave unanimously positive feedback (a combination of staff,
executives and board members). Jaime will be reporting directly to me.  We
are very excited to have him as a part of the Foundation’s leadership team.

Please join me in welcoming Jaime.



Lila
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF trustee Arnnon Geshuri and part in anticompetitive agreements in Google

[Robert Rohde]

Can someone on the Board comment on the Board's general approach to vetting
Trustee candidates?

I would hope that someone neutral is explicitly responsible for reviewing
candidates and providing at least a cursory report to the Board on their
background, qualifications, and any potential liabilities.  Such a
responsible person might be WMF staff, though an independent HR agency
might be even better.

It wouldn't have taken a lot effort to identify and highlight the potential
issues with Arrnon.  The fact that some people are now expressing a degree
of ignorance about these issues suggests that the recent candidates didn't
receive much in the way of scrutiny.

Obviously one hopes each member of the board would also take the time to
learn about each candidate and make an informed decision before voting on a
new appointment.  However, Board members are busy people which is one of
the reasons why also having a third-party report seems worthwhile.

If the Board knew about Arrnon's past and made an informed decision to
appoint him anyway, then that is at least a decision that could be argued
and defended.  However, if the Board is overlooking such things due
primarily to a lack of scrutiny then that suggests the process of vetting
Board candidates is in serious need of improvement.

-Robert Rohde


On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 6:43 PM, Matthew Flaschen <
matthew.flasc...@gatech.edu> wrote:

> On 01/08/2016 12:43 PM, Dariusz Jemielniak wrote:
>
>> On Fri, Jan 8, 2016 at 3:16 PM, Pine W  wrote:
>>
>> Dariusz, you said in your statement that was published in the Wikimedia
>>> Blog that WMF "considered dozens of candidates from all over the world,
>>> with not-for-profit and technology experience, and the highest
>>> professional
>>> standards.” I would be interested to hear how you reconcile "highest
>>> professional standards" with the prior actions of Arnnon,
>>>
>>>
>> I have read about these allegations today, and I am going to follow up on
>> that.
>>
>
> WMF doesn't have the excuse of ignorance, or that the case is in
> progress.  When you appointed him:
>
> 1. The documents were unsealed.
> 2. The Department of Justice case was fully complete.
> 3. The civil case by employees was fully complete and payouts had either
> started or were fully complete.
>
> Saying you learned about this *after* voting to appoint him is incredibly
> frustrating and disappointing.
>
> Being ignorant of the allegations is even worse than coming up with some
> dubious reason why we should forgive him, and he's still high-integrity
> enough to represent a non-profit backing movement with strong values.
>
> The board had an obligation to fully research both candidates, and insist
> on more time as needed to do so.
>
> There is nothing to wait for (the shareholder lawsuit will probably also
> be settled, but there is no need to wait for it given the released
> documents and fully complete cases above).
>
> See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Tech_Employee_Antitrust_Litigation
> for details (though I'm sure someone has linked this from the list).
>
> Matt Flaschen
>
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF trustee Arnnon Geshuri and part in anticompetitive agreements in Google

[Newyorkbrad]

It would be great if we could have Arrnon's input and perspective on
the events that have caused the concern raised in this thread.
However, it's been stated that major shareholder litigation involving
the issue is still pending.  If that is so, it is very unlikely that
he's going to be able to make any public statement about the subject.

Newyorkbrad/IBM


On 1/10/16, Craig Franklin  wrote:
> I don't disagree that we need an explanation not only of his actions, but
> also on how he was selected without this being disclosed to existing
> trustees, but even at a show trial it's usually considered necessary to
> allow the accused to say a few words in their own defense.  I'll be
> reserving my judgement until I hear his side of the story (or he declines
> to provide one).
>
> Cheers,
> Craig
>
> On 10 January 2016 at 03:51, David Gerard  wrote:
>
>> ... and the court papers, and the smoking gun documents, and ...
>>
>> This is the sort of thing that needs some serious explaining. Assume
>> good faith, but we're starting from some pretty *startling*
>> circumstances and evidence here.
>>
>>
>> - d.
>>
>> On 9 January 2016 at 09:19, Craig Franklin 
>> wrote:
>> > Chris,
>> >
>> > Thanks for saying that.  I'd also add that while the situation with
>> Arrnon
>> > looks damning on the face of it, I'm a little disappointed that people
>> are
>> > breaking out the pitchforks based purely on media reports, before he has
>> a
>> > chance to present his own side of the story and before Dariusz and the
>> > others can properly look into the matter.  I also think that some of the
>> > more 'excitable' commentary on this list in the past couple of weeks is
>> > more likely to push the trustees away than get us the explanations we
>> > want.  Yes, what is happening is deeply concerning, but lets not all
>> > lose
>> > our heads.
>> >
>> > Cheers,
>> > Craig
>> >
>> > On 9 January 2016 at 19:06, Chris Keating 
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >> > I suspect they need a few days, based on past experiences. To dig
>> >> > into
>> >> the
>> >> > matter, and prepare an answer
>> >>
>> >> Quite, and thanks for saying that Lodewijk.
>> >>
>> >> In my view, the WMF board's top priority has to be the issues about
>> >> strategy, leadership and staff morale that are being made public now.
>> It is
>> >> in everyone's interests that these issues get sorted out and some key
>> parts
>> >> of the solution have to happen in private.
>> >>
>> >> I am sure that the Board have invested a huge amount of time and energy
>> in
>> >> these issues already. Unless you have been on the board of an
>> organisation
>> >> that's gone through a serious problem it's difficult to appreciate the
>> >> pressure this creates. I have, and I would urge everyone to take a deep
>> >> breath and  think before emailing. It's worth repeating that Board
>> members
>> >> are all volunteers with jobs and families and what's more are trying to
>> >> coordinate between three different continents.
>> >>
>> >> In particular hundred-email threads on this list where everyone
>> speculates
>> >> and demands answers to their particular questions  (and some people
>> >> downright stir the shit) are less than helpful - a board member who
>> spends
>> >> 5 hours a week on WMF business could easily spend that just reading all
>> the
>> >> emails
>> >>
>> >> Dariusz has said the Board is looking into the situation with Arnnon,
>> which
>> >> they were clearly not aware of - that is what needs to happen and yet
>> more
>> >> emails on this list won't mean that happens any more quickly.
>> >>
>> >> Regards,
>> >>
>> >> Chris Keating
>> >> ___
>> >> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
>> >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
>> >> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
>> >> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
>> >> 
>> >>
>> > ___
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>> 
>>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF Conflict of Interest Policy

[Newyorkbrad]

As a "non-technical" Wikimedian, I too would welcome a discussion,
starting with the basics, of what the project formerly known as the
"Knowledge Engine" is, or might become, and the pros and cons of the
WMF focusing major resources on it.

(Perhaps best to put have that discussion in a new thread, though?)

Regards,
Newyorkbrad/IBM

On 1/11/16, Chris Keating  wrote:
> Ok - I would be really surprised if WMF have discussed Google in their
> executive sessions either - given the difficulties around staff and
> strategy they probably haven't had five minutes to mention Google, even if
> they wanted to. So the most economical hypothesis is that the reason Denny
> hasn't recused himself is because the subject hasn't come up.
>
> I would agree that board members should step aside from discussions about
> anything that will have a commercial impact on their employers, though I
> don't quite understand how Wikidata affects Google's bottom line and so
> can't work out how this might be a conflict - can anyone explain this? Or
> indeed what the "Knowledge Engine" actually is?
>
> Regards,
>
> Chris
> On 11 Jan 2016 03:17, "Anthony Cole"  wrote:
>
>> Chris, there have been no resolutions since Denny assumed his seat that
>> impact Denny's employer, as best as I can tell, unless there is an
>> existing
>> direct relationship between Google and one or both of the new trustees,
>> and
>> no one's provided evidence of that. I hope Denny will recuse from any
>> decision-making that might impact his employer, not just those decisions
>> that directly address his employer.
>>
>> I would be concerned if he were involved in *discussions* on topics that
>> impact Google, not just topics where Google is named. By this I mean, but
>> not only, anything touching on the Knowledge Engine and WikiData, and I'm
>> not just referring to discussions related to a resolution. The executive
>> session of each board meeting is secret.
>>
>> On Monday, January 11, 2016, Chris Keating 
>> wrote:
>>
>> > > I am concerned that Denny may not have been recusing from discussions
>> and
>> > > decisions affecting Google. This strikes me as exceptional, and that
>> the
>> > > board doesn't find it so troubles me, and hints that you may all have
>> > > something to gain from independent advice.
>> >
>> >
>> > Out of interest, do you know of a single decision made by the WMF board
>> > regarding Google while Denny has been on the Board?
>> >
>> > All their resolutions are public, and the members voting in favour and
>> > against and absent or recused from each decision are listed. So if the
>> WMF
>> > has been discussing WMF's relationship with Google and Denny hasn't
>> recused
>> > himself this should be apparent.
>> >
>> > I have not checked the list of resolutions myself but I suspect that the
>> > WMF board rarely, if ever, considers anything to do with any major tech
>> > companies.
>> >
>> > Chris
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Anthony Cole
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [REMINDER] StrepHit IEG project kick-off seminar

[Marco Fossati]

Here is the link for the online streaming:
https://youtu.be/uvfd_HmPOrc

Cheers,

Marco

2016-01-11 16:11 GMT+01:00 Marco Fossati :

> Dear all,
>
> This is a kind reminder for the upcoming StrepHit IEG project kick-off
> seminar.
> Schedule: 15 January 2016, 11:00 am
>
> **Important update:** the location has moved to downtown Trento.
> **New location:** Aula Grande - Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Via S.Croce 77,
> Trento, Italy - http://www.openstreetmap.org/way/67197096
>
> The seminar will be streamed online, a link will be shared as soon as it
> is available.
>
> See you in Trento!
> Cheers,
>
> Marco
>
> 2015-12-23 17:03 GMT+01:00 Marco Fossati :
>
>> [Begging pardon if you read this multiple times]
>>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> I would like to announce with great pleasure the StrepHit IEG project
>> kick-off seminar.
>> Of course, you are all invited to attend.
>>
>> The event will be held in a special day: Wikipedia's birthday!
>>
>> Below you can find the details.
>>
>> Schedule: 15 January 2016, 11:00 am, Luigi Stringa Conference Room
>> Location: Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Via Sommarive 18, Povo, Trento, Italy
>> - http://www.openstreetmap.org/way/28933739
>>
>> Abstract: We kick-off StrepHit, a project funded by the Wikimedia
>> Foundation through the Individual Engagement Grants program.
>> StrepHit is a Natural Language Processing pipeline that understands human
>> language, extracts facts from text and produces Wikidata statements with
>> reference URLs.
>> It will enhance the data quality of Wikidata by suggesting references to
>> validate statements, and will help Wikidata become the gold-standard hub of
>> the Open Data landscape.
>>
>> Link:
>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/StrepHit:_Wikidata_Statements_Validation_via_References
>>
>> Speaker's bio: Marco Fossati is a researcher with a double background in
>> Natural Languages and Information Technologies. He works at the Data and
>> Knowledge Management (DKM) research unit at Fondazione Bruno Kessler,
>> Trento, Italy. He is member of the DBpedia Association board of trustees,
>> founder and representative of its Italian chapter. He has interdisciplinary
>> skills both in linguistics and in programming. His research focuses on
>> bridging the gap between Natural Language Processing techniques and Large
>> Scale Structured Knowledge Bases in order to drive the Web of Data towards
>> its full potential.
>>
>> See you in Trento and long live Wikipedia!
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Marco
>>
>
>
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[Wikimedia-l] How To Recover From Having Made A Mistake [a reminder]

[Asaf Bartov]

Hello, everyone.

It occurs to me this might be a good time to recycle this piece of advice I
have had some past occasions to offer some newcomers to the movement:

*So you've made a mistake and it's public...*

Step 0:
Understand that there is no point in pretending you have not made a mistake.

Step 1:
*Think* about the mistake you have made.  What led you to make it?  Were
you acting on bad information? Without sufficient information? On
intuition? Were you pressed by a deadline or by a strong opinion from
someone else?  Were you following a broken process?  Did you act on the
basis of circumstances you wish were the case rather than the circumstances
that are in fact the case?
(if it helps, consider writing down your answers to these questions,
privately.)

Then, think about what can be redressed/undone/reverted about your mistake.

Step 2:
*Think* about the prospects of making this mistake, or a mistake of its
kind, again.  How likely is it?  Based on learning from this mistake, what
steps are you able to take to mitigate or reduce the odds of its
recurrence?  Of those steps, which are you *willing* to take?  Of those,
which can you take right now, before responding in public?  Which are you
ready to commit to, longer term?

Step 3:
Armed with your best thinking from Steps 1 and 2, write a concise(!) public
e-mail acknowledging (as clearly and crisply as possible) --
a. that you have made a mistake
b. what the mistake was, as precisely as possible (e.g. not "I used bad
judgment" but "I neglected to look at relevant data before deciding to fund
Wikimedia Antarctica")
c. what you have learned from making this mistake.
d. what steps you have already taken to redress the damage or undo the
results of your mistake.
e. what steps you are going to take to mitigate or reduce the odds of a
mistake of this sort recurring.  (Include timelines for specific actions,
if possible/applicable.)
f. invite comments on your understanding as reflected in this e-mail.
Explicitly encourage people to tell you if they think you've missed the
point or if one of your intended actions is inadvisable, insufficient, or
can otherwise be improved.

Step 4:
Actually follow-through on the redressing/undoing actions and on the steps
you've committed to taking.  Take steps to ensure follow-up on steps that
cannot be taken at once (e.g. if one of your corrective steps is to ensure
X gets discussed in your next Annual General Meeting, set appropriate
reminders to make sure that you actually discuss that by the time that AGM
happens.)

Important notes:
1. Do not hesitate to ask for help at any step of this process.  Either
reach out to people whose judgment (and discreetness, if necessary) you
trust, or publicly acknowledge you're having trouble with something (e.g.
"Hi, folks. I'm thinking about this mistake, and I have a hard time
figuring out how to balance the need for fresh data with the amount of time
it takes to generate and review that data.  Does anyone have some thoughts
on how to best do that?")

2. In the public note, and throughout the process, be sure to *talk like a
human being*.  Avoid jargon; avoid sounding like your note has been
prepared by a Damage Control Specialist.  Just tell it like it is.  People
know the difference.

That's it.  It's not as hard as it sounds.

*Q:  *(this part isn't recycled)

Q: Should I really go through this whole thing every time I make a mistake?
A: Ideally, yes.  And it doesn't have to take very long, if you are in the
habit of being honest in your own mind.  However, as with everything, apply
your good judgment, and use whatever abbreviated version of this you deem
appropriate.

Q: Wouldn't following this result in drama and upset the community?
A: No.  On the contrary.  Our community understands humans are fallible,
and responds *very well* to (what it perceives as) honest admissions of
error, commitments to improve, and (most of all) demonstrated learning.

Q: Still, there would be some drama, no?
A: Yes, there may be some drama, in the short term.  Have we mentioned
humans are fallible?

Q: So, wouldn't it be better to silently learn the lessons and move on?
A: No.  Sunlight is the best disinfectant, as Judge Brandeis observed.
Proper handling of mistakes is a sterling quality in anyone, and
particularly important in a leader or public servant of any kind.  It pays
long-term dividends.

Q: What should I do when I see someone else is making a mistake?
A: When you see others making mistakes, help them *see* them (first of all)
and deal with them (e.g. by recycling this text, or by independently
offering your analysis and answers to Steps 1 and 2 above).

Remember you make mistakes too, and be tolerant of the time it may take
people to accept that they have made a mistake. (But you don't need to
allow them to insist they have not made a mistake.)

Q: But isn't it true that organization/individual X made a mistake and
didn't follow this process at all?
A: Yes, it's true.  And how did that 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF trustee Arnnon Geshuri and part in anticompetitive agreements in Google

[Matthew Flaschen]

On 01/08/2016 12:43 PM, Dariusz Jemielniak wrote:

On Fri, Jan 8, 2016 at 3:16 PM, Pine W  wrote:


Dariusz, you said in your statement that was published in the Wikimedia
Blog that WMF "considered dozens of candidates from all over the world,
with not-for-profit and technology experience, and the highest professional
standards.” I would be interested to hear how you reconcile "highest
professional standards" with the prior actions of Arnnon,



I have read about these allegations today, and I am going to follow up on
that.


WMF doesn't have the excuse of ignorance, or that the case is in 
progress.  When you appointed him:


1. The documents were unsealed.
2. The Department of Justice case was fully complete.
3. The civil case by employees was fully complete and payouts had either 
started or were fully complete.


Saying you learned about this *after* voting to appoint him is 
incredibly frustrating and disappointing.


Being ignorant of the allegations is even worse than coming up with some 
dubious reason why we should forgive him, and he's still high-integrity 
enough to represent a non-profit backing movement with strong values.


The board had an obligation to fully research both candidates, and 
insist on more time as needed to do so.


There is nothing to wait for (the shareholder lawsuit will probably also 
be settled, but there is no need to wait for it given the released 
documents and fully complete cases above).


See 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Tech_Employee_Antitrust_Litigation 
for details (though I'm sure someone has linked this from the list).


Matt Flaschen

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] How To Recover From Having Made A Mistake [a reminder]

[Yaroslav M. Blanter]

On 2016-01-11 19:37, Asaf Bartov wrote:

Hello, everyone.

It occurs to me this might be a good time to recycle this piece of 
advice I

have had some past occasions to offer some newcomers to the movement:



<...>


Q: Are you suggesting this applies to current goings-on?
A: I suggest it applies to every situation involving humans.

Cheers,

A.


That was absolutely fabulous, thanks Asaf.

Cheers
Yaroslav

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] How To Recover From Having Made A Mistake [a reminder]

[Michael Peel]

> On 11 Jan 2016, at 18:47, Yaroslav M. Blanter  wrote:
> 
> On 2016-01-11 19:37, Asaf Bartov wrote:
>> Hello, everyone.
>> It occurs to me this might be a good time to recycle this piece of advice I
>> have had some past occasions to offer some newcomers to the movement:
> 
> <...>
> 
>> Q: Are you suggesting this applies to current goings-on?
>> A: I suggest it applies to every situation involving humans.
>> Cheers,
>>A.
> 
> That was absolutely fabulous, thanks Asaf.

+1, that's a great post, Asaf! All very sensible advice. Can I suggest that you 
put a copy on Meta somewhere, so it doesn't get (too) lost over time / for easy 
future reference?

Thanks,
Mike


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Re: [Wikimedia-l] How To Recover From Having Made A Mistake [a reminder]

[Andy Mabbett]

On 11 January 2016 at 18:37, Asaf Bartov  wrote:

> It occurs to me this might be a good time to recycle this piece of advice I
> have had some past occasions to offer some newcomers to the movement

That's very good, Is there a version (perhaps generic, rather than
with Wikimedia context) online, that can be linked to
from elsewhere?

-- 
Andy Mabbett
@pigsonthewing
http://pigsonthewing.org.uk

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] How To Recover From Having Made A Mistake [a reminder]

[Asaf Bartov]

On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 11:33 AM, Andy Mabbett 
wrote:

> On 11 January 2016 at 18:37, Asaf Bartov  wrote:
>
> > It occurs to me this might be a good time to recycle this piece of
> advice I
> > have had some past occasions to offer some newcomers to the movement
>
> That's very good, Is there a version (perhaps generic, rather than
> with Wikimedia context) online, that can be linked to
> from elsewhere?
>

Emboldened by these first few responses, I have posted it as an essay on
Meta:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/So_you%27ve_made_a_mistake_and_it%27s_public...

Now that it's on a wiki, I encourage editing and improving this, of course.
:)

   A.

-- 
Asaf Bartov
Wikimedia Foundation 

Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!
https://donate.wikimedia.org
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] How To Recover From Having Made A Mistake [a reminder]

[Marc A. Pelletier]

On 2016-01-11 1:37 PM, Asaf Bartov wrote:

"I neglected to look at relevant data before deciding to fund
Wikimedia Antarctica"


But, but... the editathon at McMurdo Station was a resounding success!

-- Marc

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] How To Recover From Having Made A Mistake [a reminder]

[Pierre-Selim]

2016-01-11 20:58 GMT+01:00 Philippe Beaudette :

> On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 11:41 AM, Marc A. Pelletier  >
> wrote:
>
> > On 2016-01-11 1:37 PM, Asaf Bartov wrote:
> >
> >> "I neglected to look at relevant data before deciding to fund
> >> Wikimedia Antarctica"
> >>
> >
> > But, but... the editathon at McMurdo Station was a resounding success!
> >
> > -- Marc
>
>
> Plus I know of at least one donation made from Antarctica, that year i ran
> the fundraiser...  If that isn't enough to justify chapter creation
>
>
Even commercial airline flies out there <
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/2015/11/30/boeing-757-lands-onantarctica-ice-runway/
>
We should do a Wikimania there.

Back on the topic, thanks for this Email Asaf.
It made me remember a very good workshop we had in Berlin at the #wmcon
last year about not being ashame of our failure, and try to learn from it.


> ​
> --
>
>
> Philippe Beaudette
>
> phili...@beaudette.me
> 415-691-8822
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>



-- 
Pierre-Selim
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] How To Recover From Having Made A Mistake [a reminder]

[Andrew Gray]

On 11 January 2016 at 19:58, Philippe Beaudette  wrote:

> Plus I know of at least one donation made from Antarctica, that year i ran
> the fundraiser...  If that isn't enough to justify chapter creation

And, of course, after much prodding from Lodewijk, in 2013 we had:

http://wikilovesmonuments.aq/

(September is not a good monument-hunting month, so I think all
contributors had given us pictures from their existing collections...)

Asaf: wonderful piece as always.

-- 
- Andrew Gray
  andrew.g...@dunelm.org.uk

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] How To Recover From Having Made A Mistake [a reminder]

[Philippe Beaudette]

On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 11:41 AM, Marc A. Pelletier 
wrote:

> On 2016-01-11 1:37 PM, Asaf Bartov wrote:
>
>> "I neglected to look at relevant data before deciding to fund
>> Wikimedia Antarctica"
>>
>
> But, but... the editathon at McMurdo Station was a resounding success!
>
> -- Marc


Plus I know of at least one donation made from Antarctica, that year i ran
the fundraiser...  If that isn't enough to justify chapter creation
​

​
-- 


Philippe Beaudette

phili...@beaudette.me
415-691-8822
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