User:Eloquence

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Unless otherwise stated, any edit to Wikimedia projects by me is an act of a regular member of the community and administrator, not a legal or official action of the Deputy Director of the Wikimedia Foundation.

My name is Erik Möller. I am the current Deputy Director of the Wikimedia Foundation in San Francisco (since January 2008). Prior to that, I was a Wikipedia/Wikimedia volunteer in various roles starting in December 2001, including a member of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees (2006-2007). Before working for Wikimedia, I made a living as a journalist and author, public speaker, software engineer, and technology project manager. I have long been involved in online communities and the evolving free culture sphere.

What I do

As Deputy Director, my job is to support the Wikimedia Foundation's Executive Director, Sue Gardner, in her day-to-day work: by working directly with her on key organizational responsibilities such as fundraising, budgeting, and strategic planning, by acting on her behalf when delegated to do so, and by managing the implementation of specific priority projects. Sue has also delegated oversight of all of Wikimedia's technical operations and activities to me, i.e., the Chief Technical Officer reports to me. See also the current Organization Chart.

What I believe

My personal beliefs are subject to change, but broadly speaking, I am a socially liberal secular humanist and an optimist. I believe that effective collaboration is essential to the growth and survival of our species, and hope to learn and share ideas about collaboration through my work. I have concluded that certain memes (ideas) are destructive to society, including: the idea that strong intellectual monopoly rights are required to develop a rich and expressive culture, the idea that abortion is murder, the idea that physical pleasure and affection is an inherently dangerous or corrupting influence, and virtually any totalitarian/dogmatic belief system. I consider myself highly pragmatic about the present, and highly aspirational about the future.

Symbols I identify with include the "happy human" , an international symbol of secular humanism, and the "Eye of Sauron" , the logo of the Definition for Free Cultural Works.