User talk:Austin/Archive I

welcome to your second life. wait, no... that's another universe of addictive wheel wars. but welcome back to Meta. :) Sj 02:41, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

Greetings! I have been tasked by the board of the Wikimedia Foundation to select the initial membership of the newly-created Fundraising committee. Your qualifications in this area have convinced me that you would be a perfect candidate for membership. If you accept this nomination, then do nothing. If you would instead prefer to be an advisor, consultant, volunteer or not involved at all, then please move or delete your name accordingly at Fundraising committee. Thank you. --Daniel Mayer 04:13, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

Contacting you

You don't have an email address or any other means of contacting you here. If you're going to organize things, you need to have that. Thanks. 24.20.177.147 07:51, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

In the toolbar you'll find a link titled "E-mail this user"; a little deduction will also leave you with the working address <ahair@wikimedia.org>. Thanks for writing. Austin 00:19, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

Wikimedia Indonesia

Can we interpret your statement here as an approval from the Chapters committee (which required as stated at the Step 3 chapter creation guide) - since we are starting to organize our founding assembly. Thanks ^^ ~Rex^{••talk••} 10:50, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

You Will Revise?

I've put up the lyrics to I Will Revise at a page in my userspace. Let's work on it and add a second verse and then move it into the main namespace. —mako๛ 11:51, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

You will device?

I just found this photo again and remembered the smell of a certain courtyard... -- sj | help translate |+ 09:34, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

If only Germans knew about duct tape, the whole system would have worked so much better. Austin 03:42, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

WMUK

Hi Austin, could you help with this query? Thanks AndrewRT 23:12, 18 October 2008 (UTC)

CComitee

Hi!I'm a active user of pt.wiki and Meta.I want to participate for the Chapters Comitee.What do I have to do?Thanks,Tosão 21:10, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Sorry.Wrong comittee.Tosão 18:36, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Wikimedia Ukraine

Hello, A month ago on the WikiMeeting in Kyiv we initiated the process of creation of Wikimedia Ukraine chapter. On the 9th of March the draft Bylaws was published and then discussed. We have the draft translated in English. The English translation probably needs some minor changes.

The draft is already signed (electronically - so far) by 17 Ukrainian Wikipedians.

We plan to organize the next WikiMeeting in Kyiv to sign the bylaws and then submit it for the state registration. Probably I need to read the Information for Future Chapters, but I have no access to this private article.

My contact details are: cell phone +380 67 505 1201 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +380 67 505 1201      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, email: director at apitu dot org dot ua --Perohanych 18:50, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

WM-ES

Hi Austin: Unfortunately, nor Lucien leGrey, Neither me will be present at Berlin. Nevertheless, I have some news to the chapter's assembly: Today has been the last day for ellections to a provissional board of the future spanish chapter, as required by the spanish law, and the candidature has passed the poll. You can see the results here. We are also committed to end bylaws in 2 weeks, more or less. Now we are in final discussion and legal revission, as well as translation of modifications. So the bylaw draft have yet reached a wide consensus, and we don't expect major modifications. There is a list of about 60 putative associates, with a very highly active mailing list and IRC channel. So, we hope to become a chapter as soon as possible, and we are also highly committed with this goal. The initial president ellected of the future Wikimedia Spain is Lucien leGrey.

Proudly:

--Gustavocarra 22:51, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Would the Wikimedia Foundation bring the Association Amical de la Viquipèdia (the not-yet and never accepted virtual Wikimedia CAT Chapter) to court and put wikipedians in jail?

Here goes your special feathered message from the most obnoxious tiny bird (Occitanicus Lanius senator) of the Wikipedia wildlife: Capsot...

To speak overtly (this is my style, some people can tell you, I am not a really talkative person but I firmly believe in justice and equality), I don't like covert moves. My opinion and ways are not shared by the other members of Amical and the mischievous moves of some of you have threatened and damaged their structure. So now, more good news for the people who hate us (or bad news actually since I won't have to refrain to sing more of my enchanting ballads... Hey after being some kind of mockingbird I could become a songbird!), I got out of Amical. I did so since I do not appreciate at all to appear as some kind of radical, or fanatic person. Joan Gomà, its president is a really nice person -well he is Catalan, he is always trying to find some kind of compromise nicely... but I am not that kind...- (well I realized on Saturday that some people may hate me more than they hate Gomà; I am glad they do not have my picture to play darts with it; sorry about the nightmares, guys, but I am far from done!).

Joan is the kind of person that after being robbed and beaten finds some comfort and pleasure in having kept his underpants; and the rest of Amical are generally moderate and they are afraid that some unquiet or restless moves (mine in general) might bring an end to their dream to have some kind of superstructure, be it Chapter or not, that will help them promote and improve their many actions and projects (I am afraid Amical may very well prove to be more productive than many well established Chapters... with so little money and scarce official support; this may be bothersome for some of you as well, I understand...). I resigned yesterday from Amical and then I am free to fly again without constraints or boundaries.

Seriously the Movement Roles can't simply pretend they are talking to or negotiating with Amical and send them at the same moment a lawyer from the Wikimedia Foundation. I expect nothing from this, in the long run (because this process will be delayed the best some of you can...) Amical will get nothing worthwhile, minorized languages do not interest some established Chapters and even scare them because they threaten the hegemony of fundraising among other things...

Let me tell you that as time passes by, the more I am getting frustrated and annoyed by the attitudes of some parts of the Wikimedia Foundation and some of its institutions, among them especially the Chapter Committee which seems more eager to get personal power and influence, and also plot than to working on projects... After receiving some kind of juridical threat/attack (see the kind and heartwarming letter at the end of this message) that came from the newbie Spanish Chapter (it is way too strange, and sad, to witness that the first act of a newly found Chapter is to attack an Association, a lesser one, working in the same project!), Amical just received another mail from Geoffrey Brigham (man I am real sorry that your first mission after joining Wikimedia is to try to put Wikimedia CAT behind the bars... and not the nicest meaning of the word bar...), the General Counsel of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Amical's president, Gomà seemed really sad about it and was not allowed to tell the content of the mail (I guess it is the same kind of legal stuff that was used by our Spaniard friends at the end of their caring letter; see at the end of the cited letter) but well you do not need to have a PhD in Quantum Physics to understand what can be written there when you know it comes from a lawyer just a few days after the threatening mail received from Wikimedia Spain. Actually to me it's just the same as when I see a policeman; man I am quite sure he won't ask me for an autograph! Another interesting point, it is also funny in some ways to see how hypocrisy is commonplace, that an organization that fights in order to free contents sends secretive mail that cannot become public...

I am really puzzled, does the Wikimedia Foundation, and its newly appointed lawyer, have nothing more interesting to do than to annoy/attack or crush its most diminutive part, that is, a group of Wikipedians which get no funding from the Wikimedia Foundation (so corruption is really limited here!) nor possess the opaque ways of the Chapter (our people send constant reports and I wish everyone did the same...) and has a very limited power or influence (we however have a nearly total support from our community!)?

On the contrary I know that a lot of wikipedians are really upset with their Chapters (I was in Gdansk and heard Harel's intervention which was ignominiously ignored by the vast majority of the Wikimedia Foundation/Chapcom members present there who left the scene, much to my astonishment..., I thought you were here to listen to the base of the movement and cared to hear about what is going wrong, in order to try to fix it...), I can understand it too well and I have heard some rumors of really bad practices and high suspicions of some kinds of corruption... Then wouldn't it better to try to establish transparency there, to make some audits from time to time before losing time and energies (yours and ours) with us? Aren't you afraid that some Chapters might become totally independent from the Wikipedias or the Wikimedia Foundation (actually many people there do not even care to edit anymore and their sysop rights are renewed even though they had no activity)? Aren't you bothered by the fact that the Chapcom chose the husband of one of its prominent members in the Board of Trustees? Is the phrase "conflicts of interests" ignored up there? Do you need me to have it written down with its definition in the Wiktionaries, so you can read it if you find some spare time, when you are not busy editing, if you really are interested?

And well, since there is a Movement Roles supposedly trying to define new guidelines for non-Chapter organizations among other things (which would be in my opinion the visible hand which is open) and at the same time legal procedures on their way (which is the hand hidden behind the back with a butcher's knife), no need to say I do not trust the Wikimedia Foundation anymore just like I did not trust much the other inferior structures (needless to say I never trusted the Chapcom even though I think there are honest people there but they do not wield the power... and I sincerely wish they will one day for the sake of our institutions!). However allow me to say that a person like Jimmy Wales has my total confidence and allegiance for I know too well what he created out of nothing, and even though some may have discussed his role I won't... (so you see I'm not such a jerk, or bad person after all...). Criticism is always the easier part, doing and creating are way harder! Moreover I had the opportunity to see some of the Board in Gdansk and well most of them have my respect even though I am afraid they might be frightened by conflicts... Some other people, members of parallel institutions, on the contrary acted overtly in violent ways (Gomà in his positive style would say "with passion") shouting out like a female fishmonger (sorry to use an Occitan and maybe French cliché).

Up to this moment the ugly moves were really stealthy and safe and our hidden enemies could always say: "let's keep them on complaining or whining they are just a paranoid bunch". But the sheer truth always comes to light after some time, and well even though our nemesis include a supposed intelligent aquatic mammal and an alleged good mathematician I guess they are no good chess players. After being so eager to have a Spanish Chapter, mainly in order to counter the creation of Wikimedia CAT, attacks finally became blatant; if you do not believe me you can take a close look to the Spanish letter or even ask personally our Catalanophile friend Geoffrey if he did not send any mails to Amical... So where are the paranoids now?

So, my next suggestions are what should be your next, dictatorial, steps: 1) Erase this message so people won't know the current practices of the dark side of the Wikimedia Foundation 2) Block my account, and say I am a troll, so I won't bother anyone any more with my messages or worse try to send me to jail or send a hunter after me before sending me to a taxidermist and make a trophy out of this poor bird in some of the Wikimedia foundation meeting rooms (I apologize if my plumage is not colorful enough for this place...).

So, please, bring me to martyrdom and let the Catalan people know, and all these stateless minorities you are not willing to allow to get a Chapter (a huge number of Wikipedias actually...), hear the truth and realize that as long as they won't be independent they will get nothing worthwhile. However I would advise you to try to end this ridiculous playwright for the sake of the Wikipedias and each and every institution of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Who knows, maybe in the future, new countries will thank the Wikimedia Foundation (some members of the Chapcom will probably have their statue in the center of Barcelona next to Columbus) because you all happened to be an important factor in the path of Independence! Let me thank you for your brave support to the independence of the Catalan nation? Did you intervene in South Sudan previously?

I shall now finish this way too long message.You can try to keep the wind of freedom from spreading the word, but you won't stop this small bird, but a raging one, to fly up high and far away above the menacing clouds and to sing his song, for I am Capsot, the winged seeker of truth and justice!

The ominous letter from Wikimedia Spain

Your favorite and independent minority rights' fighter Capsot 20:12, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

Hi Capsot,

I understand your passion, and know that you're speaking from your heart for a cause you care deeply about. I, too, care deeply about it, which is why I work on these topics in the first place.

However, quite simply, neither the chapters committee nor the movement roles project have anything whatsoever to do with trademark enforcement.

The movement roles project has made more progress than any other effort toward recognizing Amical as the positive force in the movement that it is, and it's my sincere hope that the outcome of the new models discussion will be something everyone can be happy with.

Unfortunately, the goodwill of those who are trying to help Amical and similar organizations is hurt by the open hostility I've seen from you and your colleagues. It's said that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, and though I see that you're angry, I hope you soon come to realize that your behavior is a detriment to your cause. I do recognize that you have a valid grievance, and ask only for a little bit of patience and at least a modicum of civility.

Austin 20:44, 22 March 2011 (UTC)