"My perspective is that the 2015 board was not particularly responsive to community (or WMF employees') questions or input, including questions and input regarding human resources and governance matters. (For example, I still haven't seen a good explanation of why WMF shouldn't undergo a governance review in the wake of Doc James' dismissal; WMF has appeared to try to brush that issue under the rug rather than address it with the level of transparency and rigor that I feel it deserves.)"
Have to agree with Pine here. Some members like Dariusz Jemielniak went out of their way to attempt to address community concerns, but as a whole their response to the craziness of the last year seems to be silence and platitudes. On Tue, Dec 20, 2016 at 10:14 PM, Pine W <wiki.p...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Christophe, > > I wish it was true that the Board is required to answer the community's > questions, but that isn't the case. WMF isn't a membership organization, > there isn't a policy that requires the Board to be responsive to community > input and questions, and the community has limited ability to influence the > Board (though I think it is wise for the Board to listen). > > My perspective is that the 2015 board was not particularly responsive to > community (or WMF employees') questions or input, including questions and > input regarding human resources and governance matters. (For example, I > still haven't seen a good explanation of why WMF shouldn't undergo a > governance review in the wake of Doc James' dismissal; WMF has appeared to > try to brush that issue under the rug rather than address it with the level > of transparency and rigor that I feel it deserves.) Thankfully the level of > responsiveness has improved since 2015, but it's incorrect to say that the > Board is required to respond to community questions. > > The vague nature of the resolution as MZMcBride quotes it makes me > uncomfortable. I would suggest revising the language of this resolution so > that it is clearer which kinds of changes the Board will require the > Executive Director to submit to the WMF Board for approval. I realize that > it may seem expedient to grant the Executive Director wide latitude, but I > feel that the Board should provide more specificity, particularly given > what happened when the Board was apparently so lax with the supervision of > the previous Executive Director. > > Thanks, > > Pine > > > On Tue, Dec 20, 2016 at 12:48 AM, Christophe Henner <chen...@wikimedia.org > > > wrote: > > > Hey, > > > > Basically it's making the legal team life's easier when they need to do > > small and/or quick changes. They don't have to go through the whole > > resolution process to change a comma. > > > > We're still informed and are talking with staff about those changes. > > > > As for responsibility, we decided to delegate responsibility, but at the > > end of the day we still will have to answer the community's question :) > > > > Have a good day > > > > Christophe > > > > > > > > Le 20 déc. 2016 6:50 AM, "MZMcBride" <z...@mzmcbride.com> a écrit : > > > > This is probably of interest to this list. > > > > https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Delegation_of_policy- > making_authority > > > > --- > > Delegation of policy-making authority > > > > This was approved on December 13, 2016 by the Board of Trustees. > > > > Whereas, the Board of Trustees has traditionally approved certain global > > Wikimedia Foundation policies (such as the Privacy Policy and Terms of > > Use) as requested during the July 4, 2004 Board meeting > > <https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Meetings/July_4,_2004>; > > > > Whereas, the Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director has authority to > > conduct the affairs of the Wikimedia Foundation, which includes adopting > > and implementing policies; > > > > Resolved, the Board hereby delegates the authority to adopt, alter, and > > revoke policies to the Executive Director, who may further delegate such > > authority to Wikimedia Foundation staff as they deem appropriate; > > > > Resolved, the Board may continue to review and approve policies for the > > Wikimedia Foundation upon request to the Executive Director or as > required > > by law. > > > > Approve > > > > Christophe Henner (Chair), Maria Sefidari (Vice Chair), Dariusz > > Jemielniak, Kelly Battles, Guy Kawasaki, Jimmy Wales, Nataliia Tymkiv, > > and Alice Wiegand > > --- > > > > I wonder how much of this resolution is formalizing what was already > > happening and how much of this is moving the Wikimedia Foundation in a > new > > direction. After a very tumultuous year at the Wikimedia Foundation, this > > is certainly a notable development. > > > > I also wonder in what ways this abrupt change will alter the relationship > > between the editing communities and the Board of Trustees. The Wikimedia > > Foundation Board of Trustees seems to be committing itself to downsizing > > its role and responsibilities. The concern is that a change like this > will > > reduce accountability when policies are set, unset, and changed by > someone > > overseeing a large staff that regularly comes in conflict with an even > > larger set of editing communities. The Executive Director, of course, is > > unelected and has been a central point of repeated controversies > recently. > > It's been less than a year since the previous Executive Director resigned > > after being forced out by her staff. In the context of the recent > history, > > this resolution is all the more puzzling. > > > > MZMcBride > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/%0Awiki/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 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 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 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>
