Erik - thank you for your years of service to the movement! I agree with much of what others have said - you will be missed - but hopefully not actually gone from the movement. :)
-greg On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 9:31 PM, Robert Rohde <raro...@gmail.com> wrote: > Erik, thank you for everything you have contributed to Wikimedia over the > years. It has made an immeasurable impact, and whatever future projects > you turn to will be lucky to have you. > > I have often thought that Erik held a somewhat special place in the WMF as > the highest ranking staff member who began their career as a major editor > on the projects themselves. Hence, I have tended to imagine that he would > be there to provide the outside hires with valuable insights into the > functioning and feelings of the editor community. Not a flawless process > for sure, but still an important one. > > Out of curiosity, with Erik's departure, who will be the highest ranking > staff member(s) with extensive editing experience (say >5000 edits, or > something like that)? I skimmed the WMF bios, and I don't think there is > anyone left in a VP or C-level position that grew out of the community. It > is the nature of the beast that many of the best talents will come to > Wikimedia from outside of the community, and consequently they will have to > learn what the community is all about. However, I am a little surprised > that there aren't more identifiable community members among the top level > staff. I would think that having that background and experience would be > valuable for some of the roles. > > With Erik's departure it feels like we've passed some sort of milestone in > the evolution of Wikimedia. We've moved toward a more professional staff, > but also a staff that is more distant from the roots of Wikimedia. > > Anyway, best wishes Erik. Your contributions and eloquence will be missed. > (Though I won't be shy in reminding you that you can still participate in > the WMF projects as a volunteer, should you get that itch. ;-) ) > > -Robert Rohde > > P.S. Some of the senior staff bios could really use some cleanup and > expansion (e.g. Lisa Seitz-Gruwell). > > > On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 4:41 PM, Johan Jönsson <brevlis...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > > Thank you, Erik, for the time and effort you've spent on the Wikimedia > > projects (and will continue spending, I hope, in some capacity). > > > > Best of luck in your future endeavours. > > > > //Johan Jönsson > > -- > > > > 2015-04-13 20:12 GMT+02:00 Erik Moeller <e...@wikimedia.org>: > > > > > 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> > > > _______________________________________________ > 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>
