The page at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/2016-2017 makes it clear that there are two stages to the strategy consultation being planned by the WMF: up to December the work is to define the process; from January the work is to execute that process. It has been a matter of some disappointment that the process definition is very largely by a closed consultation with WMF Staff and Board members, which does not seem a good way of discovering what works well or badly from the point of view of the Community. Indeed, I posted some comments to that effect at the talk page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Strategy/2016-2017
I was surprised and disappointed to discover that the response from the WMF was to add a header to the page stating "*the Wikimedia Foundation staff will not be able to properly monitor discussions right now" *That reads to me like a clear snub to the community: their input to the planning of the consultation is not wanted and will not be heard. It is perhaps revealing that while the "Listening and Learning" part of the process concentrates on a narrow set of stakeholders, the "Community Engagement" in this planning stage is all about talking to the community, not about engaging with it in any real sense. The people WMF are currently listening to are people deeply involved in the WMF and the current ways of doing things, and with a likely predisposition to the continuation of doing the same things and in the same way. As an explicitly distinct activity, the notion of engagement with the community in this phase is telling them things. This is not a model of community engagement; it is not the way to develop an effective, innovative and engaging process; and it is not the way to develop a consensus around the results of that process. "Rogol" _______________________________________________ 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>
