Hi Everyone,

As today is the day that Ting's resignation from the Board of Trustees becomes 
effective I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for the tremendous 
contribution he has made to the board over the past five years. I did not know 
Ting when he joined our board but from what I heard we were lucky that the 
community elected him. And that certainly proved to be the case. In my opinion 
a board functions best when there are many divergent opinions at the table who 
are able to discuss matters in a sensible and constructive way in order to come 
to creative solutions. Ting certainly contributed his uniqueness to that mix 
over the past five years, and I am grateful that he was able to make as much 
time available as he did in order to remain on the board for such a long time. 
Apart from being a really really nice person Ting has a lot of wisdom 
(something which he will probably deny ;)

As some of you might know I ran against Ting for the Chair position of the 
Board of Trustees in 2010 and lost. At that time I thought that I was 
definitely the better candidate but the following two years proved me wrong. I 
was happy to serve as his vice chair during the second year. His diligent way 
of going about things made sure that a lot of things got done during his tenure 
as chair and also ensured that all the voices at the table got heard. Ting was 
always willing to go and visit a local chapter or a Wikimedia event in order to 
represent the board and Foundation. His unwavering principles and spirited way 
of discussing topics about which he is passionate (of which there are several) 
are an inspiration. At the same time he was more than willing to listen to all 
the different viewpoints and able to change his mind if others presented valid 
arguments (something which sounds simple but with which a lot of people, 
including myself, have difficulty with ;) During several different discussions 
Ting managed to convince me of the fact that his viewpoint was the correct one, 
and I will miss his input in the future.

As is tradition Ting will attend the next Wikimania (Hong Kong here we come!) 
and we will take that opportunity to formally thank him for his efforts for the 
Wikimedia Board of Trustees. I hope you will all join me in this :)

Thank you Ting! I am not sure how or when, but I hope that our paths will cross 
again in the coming years!

Jan-Bart de Vreede
Vice Chair Board of Trustees
Wikimedia Foundation



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