Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMDE update after the General Assembly

[Sebastian Moleski]

Hi Itzik,

I'm not Tim but I can maybe give some insight here. In 2014, Wikimedia
Deutschland conducted a governance review in order to reconsider its
structure in light of the increasing complexity of the organization. One of
the outcomes was a recommendation to have appointed seats on the board in
order to ensure expert knowledge within the board's overall composition.

The board and the members followed that recommendation and replaced three
formerly elected board seats with two appointed seats. That change took
effect last weekend with the election of the new board. One of its tasks
will be to determine which additional expertise is needed and find suitable
candidates to augment the seven elected board members. I expect that
process to start rather soon.

The reduction from 10 to 9 members overall was based both on the reflection
that the last board of 9 worked very well (the 10th board member resigned
one day after the election), that group coordination grows exponentially,
that common wisdom recommends a cut at 8 or 9 before needing to divide in
order to be effective, and a wish to have an odd number of board members to
ensure majorities.

I hope that helps. Let me know if you have further questions about this
change.

Best,

Sebastian Moleski
Schatzmeister / Treasurer
-
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24
10963 Berlin

Telefon 030 - 219 158 26-0
www.wikimedia.de

Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 Nz. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207.

On Wed, Nov 30, 2016 at 7:39 PM, Itzik - Wikimedia Israel <
it...@wikimedia.org.il> wrote:

> Congratulations to the re-elected and warm welcome to Johanna.
>
> Tim, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like WEDE reduced the size of
> the advisory board. Can you explain why?
>
>
>
> *Regards,Itzik Edri*
> Chairperson, Wikimedia Israel
> +972-54-5878078 | http://www.wikimedia.org.il
> Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
> sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment!
>
>
> On Mon, Nov 28, 2016 at 8:00 PM, Tim Moritz Hector <
> tim-moritz.hec...@wikimedia.de> wrote:
>
> > Dear fellow Wikimedians,
> >
> > Over the weekend, Wikimedia Deutschland held its General Assembly and
> > elections for the supervisory board as well as for the auditors.
> >
> > The newly elected board consists of seven members:
> >
> > * Tim Moritz Hector (Chair, re-elected)
> > * Sebastian Moleski (Treasurer, re-elected)
> > * Sabria David (re-elected)
> > * Kurt Jansson (re-elected)
> > * Lukas Mezger (re-elected)
> > * Harald Krichel (re-elected)
> > * Johanna Niesyto
> >
> > The board has met for its first meeting on Sunday and elected Sabria
> David
> > and Kurt Jansson as Deputy Chair.
> >
> > Johanna is new to the board, so please join me in welcoming her to the
> > board of WMDE. I would also like to thank our former board members
> Nikolas
> > Becker, Jürgen Friedrich and Catrin Schoneville wholeheartedly for the
> > great work and their commitment to Wikimedia Deutschland in the past
> years.
> >
> > Lena Stammler and Daniel Baur (re-elected) are our two recently-elected
> > auditors, and I am extending my congratulations to them.
> >
> > At the GA, the board furthermore presented the final report on the
> > WMDE-Governance-Review and how we handled the recommendations of the
> > report. Moreover, the members approved the annual plan for 2017.
> >
> > The board will meet in January to discuss the goals for our term in the
> > next two years and I am very much looking forward to working together
> with
> > this team.
> >
> > Best regards,
> > Tim Moritz Hector
> >
> >
> > --
> > Tim Moritz Hector
> > Chair of the Board
> > Wikimedia Deutschland e. V.
> > ___
> > 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,
> > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/
> wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> New mess

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Why are we so boring?

[Sebastian Moleski]

On Tue, Dec 8, 2015 at 1:47 PM, Anders Wennersten 
wrote:

> Do you imply boring is a bad thing?
>
> In a world more and more focusing on show and 10 seconds fame, I am proud
> and glad to be part of another type of society, where truth, reflection and
> serious discussions are at focus
>
> Donald Trump is one of the least boring people just now, but I would be
> seriously unhappy if our movement was dominated with Donald Trump clones
>

Well, perhaps there's some room between the extremes of "regional branch of
German Social Democratic Party" and Donald Trump. Actually, I severely hope
so.

Indeed, I would agree with Milos here. I'd like for many of our events to
become more approachable by and relatable to the non-nerdy general public.
We've built something that hundreds of millions of people are using. Yet,
more often than not, we act more like an obscure/niche open source project
(nothing wrong with them - but they neither aim nor will every reach a
similar impact).

Cheers,

Sebastian Moleski
Schatzmeister / Treasurer
-
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24
10963 Berlin

Telefon 030 - 219 158 26-0
www.wikimedia.de

Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 Nz. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 
<mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>

Re: [Wikimedia-l] A transition and a new chapter.

[Sebastian Moleski]

Thanks Erik, for everything. I can't imagine the great things you will be
up to next.

Come say hi next time you're in Berlin.

Cheers and best wishes,

Sebastian Moleski
Schatzmeister / Treasurer
-
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24
10963 Berlin

Telefon 030 - 219 158 26-0
www.wikimedia.de

Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 Nz. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.

On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 8:12 PM, Erik Moeller  wrote:

> Hi all --
>
> As Lila noted, since January 2008 I've worn many hats at the Wikimedia
> Foundation, and in the six years before that I was a Wikipedian,
> MediaWiki developer, and member of the WMF board of trustees. I became
> involved in Wikipedia when I was 22 years old. :) The Wikimedia
> movement has accomplished amazing things, but I believe it's time now
> for me to do something different and new.
>
> It's been a long and incredible journey, and one I am privileged to
> have helped to shape. When I joined the Foundation in December 2007 we
> were a staff of a dozen people, with barely enough funds to keep the
> lights on. Since then, we've tackled challenges of a complexity and
> scale faced by few other organisations. In doing so, we’ve been
> generously supported by people all over the world who are grateful for
> the gift of free knowledge.
>
> I’m proud of and happy with what we've achieved. Reaching people on
> mobile. Pioneering new approaches working with universities.
> Painstakingly building a visual editing experience on top of wikitext.
> :) I’m glad we’ve taken a stand when it matters (SOPA blackout, NSA
> lawsuit) and that we don’t shy away from complex issues such as
> community health and diversity.
>
> I’m excited that Wikidata is growing in leaps and bounds with the help
> of Wikimedia Germany, and that more and more powerful tools and
> services are being built on the basis of Wikimedia APIs and data. I’ve
> always believed that Wikimedia chapter and affiliate organizations are
> key to the success of the movement, and I hope they are going to truly
> thrive in years to come.
>
> But it's time. As the leadership team begins to coalesce under Lila, I
> want to open up space for the organization to learn and explore anew
> -- and I’d like to rediscover for myself what it means to tackle
> challenges outside of my areas of comfort and familiarity.
>
> I’m very interested in the technical challenges of federated
> collaboration, and am looking forward to getting my hands dirty in
> that domain. I also want to explore how to make patterns of ethics,
> policy, and self-governance more accessible and re-usable for
> communities. In short, I’m itching to immerse myself in new problem
> spaces and new ideas.
>
> Lila, Damon, Terry, myself and others in the org have been discussing
> how to organize product going forward to set the org up for success in
> the years to come, and we’ll have an update on that very soon. This is
> a very natural point for me to pursue something new.
>
> What Wikimedia does in the world is wonderful & important. I’m sure I
> will continue to cross paths with many of you in future as I continue
> to move in free culture circles, and I very much look forward to it.
>
> I’ll continue to be @ WMF full-time through April, and will make
> myself available as necessary afterwards, for when the org needs human
> institutional memory that surpasses digital archives. I wish you all
> success and joy :-)
>
> Love,
>
> Erik
> --
> Erik Möller
> VP of Product & Strategy, Wikimedia Foundation
>
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
>
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 
<mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Why WMF should reconsider the 3-month gender gap project-related decision

[Sebastian Moleski]

Hi Matt,

as thorough as your characterization of the issue at hand is, as
misguided it is as well. The main point of the gender debate isn't the
physical differences between men and women and some purported
difference in authorship flowing from that. That would rightfully be
considered absurd and thus isn't really seriously promoted by anyone.

The gender gap debate is rather an acknowledgment that only a
surprisingly small subset of half the population contribute to
Wikipedia - and the systemic bias that stems from that. In fact, it
seems rather obvious that an encyclopedia that aspires to represent
all of human knowledge must necessarily be written by a representative
subset of humanity - or at least a representative subset of the
scientific community. We, so far, spectactularly fail at that with
respect to gender but also geography, language, and professional
backgrounds and expertise. As a result, it's more than sensible to try
to address that with the gender gap as the most prominent failure.

I also find your argument that focusing on increasing female
participation is devaluing the contribution of the prevalent majority
highly dubious. It's unfortunately a rather unoriginal argument as it
has been used many many times before in the political arean to combat
initiatives aimed at increasing diversity and decreasing
discrimination. The incessant fault of the argument is the premise
that the value of a particular contribution is dependent on the value
of all other contributions rather than viewing it in its own right. To
give an example: when someone writes an outstanding article on the
Great Wall of China and someone else writes an outstanding article on
Jacques Chirac, the value of each of these contributions is completely
separate from one another as well as from the fact whether one of the
authors was "recruited" through a drive to increase female
participation. They've both made excellent additions to Wikipedia and
should be lauded for that. Making moves to increase female
participation does not in any way devalue male participation.

While I have no knowledge whether this focused approach to
grant-making will indeed lead to increased female participation, I
find it sensible to at least try it out. We'll see in the end whether
it was succesful.

Best regards,

Sebastian Moleski
Schatzmeister / Treasurer
-
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24
10963 Berlin

Telefon 030 - 219 158 26-0
www.wikimedia.de

Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 Nz. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.

___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 
<mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Organizational effectiveness tool (for Wikimedia organizations)

[Sebastian Moleski]

Hi Anasuya,

Is there by any chance a public list of the questions asked in the
survey? I've just clicked through a few pages and noticed that some
questions need a little preparation to answer truthfully. It would be
helpful if the questions could be looked up in advance.

Thank you for your help,

Sebastian

___
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 

[Wikimedia-l] End of term

[Sebastian Moleski]

Hi everyone,

Today, my term as President of Wikimedia Deutschland is coming to an end.
After five years on the board, I've decided to no longer seek re-election.
I did this because I think it's important that organizations regularly
allow "fresh blood" with new ideas, new perspectives, and new initiatives.
Every post is temporary, and so is the one I've held since 2009.

As one consequence, I will soon be leaving these mailing lists. I wish all
of you the best of luck in the future and hope that you will every day find
the courage and perseverance needed to make a difference through your work.

My personal commitment to our commone idea, to creating a world where
everyone everywhere can freely share in sum of all knowledge, has not
wavered. I will continue to support Wikimedia and am sure I will stay in
touch with many of you.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who has made the last five years truly
amazing. The progress that has been made since 2007 would not have been
possible without the inspiring, seemingly endless commitment shown by so
many outstanding individuals. Wikimedia shows what great truth lie in
Margaret Mead's famous words: "Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only
thing that ever has."

Take care,

Sebastian Moleski
President

-- 
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V.
Obentrautstr. 72
10963 Berlin

Telefon 030 - 219 158 26-0
www.wikimedia.de

Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list
Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l

[Wikimedia-l] Declaring my candidacy

[Sebastian Moleski]

 if elected.

I hope I have your support. I have copied this statement to Meta for
further discussion, questions, and criticism:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Chapters_Association/Secretary-General/Candidacy_sebmol

Best regards,

Sebastian Moleski
___
Wikimedia-l mailing list
Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l