Dear subscribers I reply to comments in this thread: To Scott Bibby (Russavia): Thank you for your in-principle support; your argument was compelling and well expressed. However, I find the personal attack in public belittling and hurtful. Please note the recent Australian court judgement in which a schoolboy was ordered to pay his former school teacher $110,000 in damages for what he said about her on the internet. Calling me an "a-grade twit" on a public list exposes you to the risk of legal action. It's interesting that Steven Zhang, as an administrator of the mailing list, chose to let this attack pass without mention, while at the same time accusing me of having "engaged in repeated personal attacks on a number of individuals". No evidence of personal attacks by me has been provided. I am careful not to insult or belittle anyone in public. Accusing the committee of neglect or wrongdoing in their official capacity is quite a different matter—if we try to censor criticism of legal propriety and governance, we're better off in Putin's Russia, and we certainly don't deserve to use the WMF trademark. So where exactly are the are the "personal attacks" I've made on this mailing list, aside from raising uncomfortable questions about governance and transparency? I, too, would like to know who the WMF staff member was. Did Zhang explain the actual situation to them properly? Was I maligned in communications with them? For the Foundation to support what amounts to the maladministration of one of its mailing lists needs to be investigated. Transparency is required in the way the WMAU committee does business. I raised several issues concerning governance and transparency in the post that seems to have prompted Steven Zhang to ban my email address from the list. Rather than responding to the issues I raised, there was a blunt refusal to do discuss them. This should be of concern to all members of the WMF movement. There is an implicit expectation that the ways in which $80,000 in donors' money is spent should be open and accountable. What recent spending decisions have been made? Are all members of the committee consulted about financial decision-making? Was Andrew Owen legally a member of the chapter when he stood for election last November? Did he pay his renewal fee "in advance on or before 1 July" as required by chapter by-law 4(12)? If not, was his cessation of membership recorded on the members' register by 14 July, as required by section 56(3) of the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012? Did the committee "approve" his application for membership that was made just before the November election in which he stood for the position of secretary? (Formal approval is required under chapter by-laws 4(5) and 4(6).) If not, I believe that neither his membership nor his position on the committee is legal. Tony
----- Original Message ----- From: "Wikimedia Australia Chapter" To:"Wikimedia Australia Chapter" Cc: Sent:Sun, 16 Mar 2014 17:23:18 +0800 Subject:Re: [Wikimediaau-l] Apparently corrupt administration of this list https://enwikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Mailing_lists [1] "Please respect Wikiquette [2] and avoid personal attacks [3] on the mailing lists, especially in the subject header as this is likely to be repeated by those replying." It's in black and white. kindest regards Andrew On 16 March 2014 17:18, K. Peachey wrote: On 16 March 2014 17:50, Steven Zhang wrote: 2. … but actively disrupting the list is against both the rules and spirit of the list, and always has been. … [Citation Needed], I see no rules http://www.wikimedia.org.au//wiki/Mailing_list [6] or https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaau-l [7]. And what and which foundation staff members where involved in this? _______________________________________________ Wikimediaau-l mailing list [email protected] [8] https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaau-l [9] Links: ------ [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Mailing_lists [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Etiquette [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_personal_attacks [4] mailto:[email protected] [5] mailto:[email protected] [6] http://www.wikimedia.org.au//wiki/Mailing_list [7] https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaau-l [8] mailto:[email protected] [9] https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaau-l
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