Apologies for top posting, I'm on my phone... Mike, this was one of the best emails to this list I've read in a long time. As someone who has squabbled with you on mailing lists, it's even better to me.
Take care, sir. ~ Keegan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Keegan On May 29, 2014 5:53 AM, "Mike Godwin" <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, Wil (and greetings to all my Wikimedian friends here!). > > I've been catching up on the Wikimedia-L threads, and of course I've > come across your many postings and your engagement, sometimes tense, > with other posters here. I have some sympathy for your reactions and > questions: I've had some similar experiences myself, dating in > particular from the first year I served on WMF's staff as general > counsel. My own experience was colored by the fact that I knew my > intentions were good, I was reasonably certain I was a smart, even > sociable guy, and so why was it that some significant portion of what > I posted generated friction on what was supposed to be an inclusive, > Assume-Good-Faith mailing list? > > I think I realized reasonably quickly that, precisely because I > assumed my own good faith, I wasn't always alert to my cultural > missteps, even though I knew at an intellectual level that this > mailing list, unlike some others, is a community. For a community, > when a new individual appears out of "nowhere" and begins to assert > himself or herself, and launches into extended criticisms of so many > things he (or she) encounters, the natural, human reaction is not to > automatically embrace the newcomer for his or her contributions to > diversity and insight, but instead to wonder, "Hey, why hasn't he made > the effort to learn about our history and traditions and norms and > expectations?" *This phenomenon is entirely human and normal*, but it > still sometimes requires a bit of a bumpy transition, even if you know > (intellectually, at least) to expect it. > > So, what I'm suggesting is, when you respond by trying to call > attention to the friction your (comparatively) abrupt dive into this > community has generated for you, what you may be calling attention to > is not something pathological about a mailing list but instead just a > part of the human condition. If you're patient, you can take a breath > or two, maybe even a short break, and come back to the list and give > as much attention to the issues and problems for the Wikimedia > movement as you like, and over time get better reactions/reception. > > My own experience was that, over time, most Wikimedians had a chance > to observe my commitment as a Wikimedian, and in my role as WMF's > lawyer, to protect and advance the projects with the same fierceness > with which I sometimes, particularly early on, expressed my opinions > on the mailing lists and on the wikis. No doubt the potential is there > for you to have the same experience. > > There is one important, though, between your experience and mine, and > if I were in your position I would give it some thought. Specifically, > your partner is only ever going to have one first month, and only one > first year, as the new executive director of WMF. If I were in your > position, I would give her as much breathing space and community > mindshare as I could to create her own first impressions, to find her > own themes, and to set the tone for her long-term role as executive > director. I might even take a month off with regard to participating > in public discussions -- *even though I wouldn't have to, and even > though some of the reactions to what I'd written seem unfair to me* -- > just to let my partner establish her own role without any distractions > I might cause. Lila's job is tough and challenging, and she will need > all the support she can get. You may find that one way you can support > her in the very near term is to step away from tense exchanges (or > maybe all public exchanges on the lists) for a while -- even though > you may feel, with some sense of righteousness, that you shouldn't > have to do this. > > I agree that in an ideal world you shouldn't have to. But in the human > world we live in, if I were in your position, I'd give this approach a > month or so, just as an exercise, and as a way of showing support for > my partner's taking the reins of an unusually difficult, but also > culturally unique enterprise. > > You haven't solicited my advice on any of this, of course. But I hope > you appreciate that you're hearing it from someone who himself has > been outspoken on the lists, who is sometimes critical of community > responses and norms, who has been publicly criticized from time to > time, but who also has found that it's really helpful, especially in > the earliest days of engagement with a new community, to listen as > much as talk. I think of myself as a Wikimedian, and my ongoing > engagement with the movement and the community is one of general > respect and regard, even when I disagree with their consensus, as I > frequently do. > > I hope this note is taken in the spirit in which it is written. > > Thanks for your attention. > > > --Mike Godwin > Senior Legal Advisor, Global Internet Policy Project, Internews > General Counsel, Wikimedia Foundation, 2007-2010 > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > [email protected] > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe>
