Indeed, the proposed changes do not seem to be an improvement at all, for the reasons stated in the talk page.
Paulo Chris Keating <[email protected]> escreveu no dia sábado, 8/12/2018 à(s) 09:46: > Same here! > > TL:DR – This might not be a great idea, because it’s not what User Groups > were designed for. And shouldn’t the WMF Board be thinking more broadly > than this sort of fiddling round the edges? > > Chris > > Sent from Mail for Windows 10 > > From: Lane Rasberry > Sent: 07 December 2018 17:13 > To: Wikimedia Mailing List > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Proposed changes to the Wikimedia Foundation > Bylaws > > Hello, > > I posted some comments and questions to the talk page. > < > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2018_-_Affiliate-selected_trustees,_term_limits,_and_diversity > > > > I would appreciate anyone else jumping in to comment, fill in information > gaps, or advance the conversation in any way. > > Thanks - > > > On Fri, Dec 7, 2018 at 10:46 AM María Sefidari <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > Dear all, > > > > The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees is considering amending the > > Wikimedia Foundation Bylaws. Nataliia Tymkiv, Chair of the Board > Governance > > Committee, is leading this process. She has posted the proposed changes > on > > Meta for discussion > > < > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2018_-_Affiliate-selected_trustees,_term_limits,_and_diversity > > > > > prior to our vote on them during the Board meeting scheduled for January > > 23, 2019. We invite you to comment on the proposal's talk page. As usual > in > > these cases, two weeks are provided for community comment, from December > 7 > > to December 21. > > > > By making the proposed changes to the Bylaws, the Board intends to > achieve > > three goals: > > > > *1. Include User Groups in the trustee selection process* > > > > Though User Groups have existed as a model of affiliation within the > > Wikimedia movement for a number of years, they have not been included > > together with Chapters and Thematic Organizations as participants in > > selecting Wikimedia Foundation trustees. There are now over 100 > recognized > > User Groups, many of which represent emerging communities within the > > Wikimedia movement. The Board believes that the perspectives of User > Groups > > combined with those of Chapters and Thematic Organizations will lead to > the > > selection of the best trustee candidates. > > > > The Board acknowledges that the ongoing Wikimedia movement strategy > process > > may result in changes to many aspects of the Wikimedia movement, > including > > the structure of movement affiliates. As a result, any changes we make > now > > to the Foundation Bylaws regarding the role of affiliates in the trustee > > selection process may need to be modified again in the future, in turn > > requiring additional amendments to the Bylaws. However, the Board did not > > want to delay providing User Groups with a voice in the upcoming 2019 > > trustee selection process. > > > > *2. Raise term limits for trustees from two to three consecutive terms* > > > > Term limits for trustees were added to the Bylaws in 2015. At the time, > > there was a desire on the Board to bring in new voices and specific > > skill-sets needed for the growth and development of Wikimedia projects. > The > > changes made at that time have resulted in some notable successes in that > > regard. The Board remains committed to seeking out new voices, and > > providing the community with ample opportunities to promote such voices > as > > candidates for the Board. > > > > As the Wikimedia movement and the Wikimedia Foundation think forward > > further to the future, the Board will need to oversee the Foundation in > > setting, following through on, and achieving longer-term goals. The Board > > believes it will be better able to fulfill its role if it allows for the > > potential of a longer time on the Board for individual trustees who bring > > essential expertise and insight to the Board. The possibility of serving > > one additional term on the Board also reduces the amount of time the > Board > > and Foundation staff spend on trustee recruitment and onboarding. Raising > > the maximum number of consecutive terms a trustee may serve from two to > > three terms achieves these goals, and is also consistent with the > practice > > of many other boards. Raising the maximum number of terms that can be > > served consecutively does not change the fact that the community, > including > > affiliates, will continue to be able to determine every three years > whether > > or not to re-elect currently serving trustees or whether to elect new > > candidates - just as is the case now. > > > > *3. Reaffirm the Board’s commitment to diversity* > > > > The Wikimedia movement is global, built on a vision of reaching every > > single human being and working toward a strategic goal of knowledge > equity > > for all. The Board believes that it can best serve the Wikimedia > Foundation > > and the movement by reflecting a wide range of human experiences. We want > > to underscore and codify this belief in the Bylaws by adding express > > language affirming our commitment to diversity and inclusion of all > voices, > > throughout our communities - new, older and emerging. > > > > Kind regards, > > > > María Sefidari > > Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board > > _______________________________________________ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > > New messages to: [email protected] > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> > > > > -- > Lane Rasberry > user:bluerasberry on Wikipedia > 206.801.0814 > [email protected] > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > New messages to: [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 and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > New messages to: [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 and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe>
