Revision as of 11:04, 17 June 2007

----> New question? - Nouvelle question? - Neue Frage? - Nieuwe vraag? <-----

Candidacy Questions

Board election?

[This question originally posted at User talk:Oscar#User_talk:Oscar#Board_election.3F.] Will you be appointed, or stand for election? IV.3 is not clear. -- Jeandré, 2007-06-03t10:47z

i was appointed like kat for 6 months, on one of the two seats with which the board expanded last december, in the future open for elected candidates for a regular two years term. we are to remain appointed board members until the same date as ends the term of the elected member erik moeller, who was elected for 9 months to complete the term of angela after her resignation. it was kat and i who were appointed since we came in as nrs 2 and 3 after erik in the results of the elections of 2006. all three of us have incomplete terms therefore, ending at the same moment.

i will stand for re-election as well, since the work we did in the last 6 months needs to be continued and taken into its next phase, personally i hope by the exact same people; this board has grown into a diverse yet efficient team by now. best regards, oscar 23:11, 3 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ads, branding, business dev.

[These question originally posted at User_talk:Oscar#Board_election.3F.]

~~I'm busy creating an article for the Wikipedia Signpost about the board election candidates' positions on certain topics~~, and was wondering if you'd like to answer some questions:

Will you vote for ads on Wikimedia sites?
1. yes
  1. pop-ups/flash/banners/graphics
  2. flash/banners/graphics in skin whitespace or at bottom
  3. company logos in site notices
  4. prominent text ads
  5. company names in site notices
  6. text ads in skin whitespace or at bottom
  7. opt out
  8. opt in
  9. other
2. only for a huge amount of money
3. only during budget emergencies
4. only if editors support it
5. never
6. other
What are your thoughts on Wikimedia branding?
What are your thoughts on the foundation's hiring of a business developer? -- Jeandré, 2007-06-04t19:14z

dear jeandré, i will try to answer your questions in a concise way, as clear as possible. if you have any further questions, please let me know.

Will you vote for ads on Wikimedia sites?
- it depends a bit on style and context but personally i do not like advertisements in general, i tend to even avoid looking at them, avoid listening to them, when i can. more important for me in this respect however is that wikimedia retains her independence and freedom. for this, economic independence is required, which means generating some kind of an income out of our potential. with the amount of traffic the wikimedia projects currently attract, other income generating activities are perfectly possible, even though its advertising potential is enormous. oscar 09:24, 7 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
What are your thoughts on Wikimedia branding?
- an essential area to consider: i will answer on the topics/questions presented there over the weekend. oscar 09:24, 7 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  - Done best regards, oscar 14:46, 14 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
What are your thoughts on the foundation's hiring of a business developer?
- i am very happy we are starting to have the essential jobs of wikimedia-staff being perfomed by more than one person only, in collaboration with the community of course. business development in my opinion is a crucial task. oscar 09:24, 7 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Many thanks for answering. -- Jeandré, 2007-06-08t12:47z

These answers won't be part of an article on Signpost. -- Jeandré, 2007-06-13t11:09z

GHGs.

One more question: How would you vote on the board about the foundation reducing or offsetting anthropogenic greenhouse gases, e.g. power used by hardware, flights, etc.? -- Jeandré, 2007-06-08t12:58z

there are many such things which intentions i would certainly support in general but that i think just do not belong to our core mission as an organization. david attenborough's state of the planet mentions a core list of 5 of these global environmental problems, not just the emission of greenhouse gases. i quote attenborough: "today, we have the ability to make a difference, and what the human species does to the planet over the next 50 to 100 years will determine the future of all life on earth." and "somehow, we must find ways of reducing the pressures we're putting on the planet." i share these concerns and worries.
attenborough in fact lists the following basic problems:

over-harvesting
the introduction of alien species
the destruction of habitats
the piecemeal destruction of populations caused by islandisation of habitat
pollution of the atmosphere (especially global warming that results from human activities that pump carbon dioxide into the atmosphere)

although i certainly share these concerns, and feel that where feasible, all of us should indeed very much contribute to a better environment where possible, not just by reducing pollution, yet i also think that these matters simply do not, nor should they, make part of our core mission as wikimedia. oscar 11:04, 17 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Non-free images and other media

Hi Oscar. What are your opinions on the use of non-free images and other non-free media on Wikimedia Foundation projects? Should they be used at all, or disallowed completely? (Unlike the other candidates I'm asking, I'm already pretty sure of your opinions on the 23 March board resolution regarding licensing, based on the fact that you voted in favor. Am I correct that you continue to support it?) Picaroon (Talk) 20:15, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

yes i continue to support it, especially in view of the special cases made possible by an EDP, as formulated in this recently adopted resolution. i believe we have to be consequent with our licensing policy to make sure we live up to our mission regarding the dissemination of freely licensed educational content. best regards, oscar 10:05, 13 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Change

Hi Oscar,

What is the top 3 things you want to have changed in the current strategy of the foundation? Thanks, Effeietsanders 21:11, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

i think we are already developing along this path, but this is my idea of important things to work on in the coming time; among and in addition to the things which are already under development i would like to mention especially:

develop further more effective strategic communication between wmf/office/board and communities/chapters (e.g. lately in the absence of an ed the board has been overworking imho), and revise committee-structure where needed. personally i still believe in the possibility and necessity of forming (what i call) an advisory council (link is still red, yes, see also search results with frankfurt retreat links) with (elected) community-representatives from all over the projects/planet, so different from the advisory board;
set up a system of statistics to improve the management information system wmf needs to facilitate further development of regular income by business development, apart from fundraising a.o. also through branding, expanding effective use of trademarks etc.;
develop further more effective strategic communication between the community of editors and developers.

best regards, oscar 10:58, 13 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Added Value

Hi Oscar,

What kind of value do you add to the current set of boardmembers in the area of Legal, Financial, Accounting etc expertise? (In your case: to the other current boardmembers ;-) ) Thanks, Effeietsanders 21:11, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

i am perhaps rather a generalist than a specialist; apart from my added value as a creative person being a professional artist, having been an interim manager i have expertise in the financial and organisatory areas as well. best regards, oscar 11:22, 13 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Project autonomy

To what degree do you feel the foundation should get involved in the running of different projects? Do you lean towards the near-complete autonomy most projects are given today or a more hands on approach? Also, what would be your position on a Wikimedia-wide arbcom and how do you see the other Wikipedias (and other projects too, I suppose) in contrast to the English Wikipedia? Should they all basically be built upon the same main principles (let's say we disregard the inclusionist vs. deletionist part) and if so, what can\should the foundation do to ensure this? Yonatanh 01:44, 13 June 2007

autonomy means self-government, and the wmf is not a governing but a facilitating organisation. i strongly believe in the autonomy of the projects, and in that of the chapters as well, for that matter (all within the scope of our mission and within the boundaries set by the law of course); it is the only construction that scales with our growth. the idea of a wikimedia-wide arbcom makes me think of the international court of justice or perhaps rather the international criminal court; such bodies may perhaps be needed at some point in the future (i hope: *not*, in any case the communities themselves should have a large voice in such a decision), but then mainly to ensure the autonomy, coherence and quality of the projects is not permanently endangered by concerted abuse, in my humble opinion. best regards, oscar 11:51, 13 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ads

What are you views on advertisements on Wikimedia projects? Would you support a resolution that forced Wikimedia projects to use ads? Would you support a resolution that gave projects the right to vote on the use of advertisements? Would you support a resolution that forbid the user of advertisements? Mets501 02:27, 13 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Flagged revisions

What is your view on the use of flagged revisions to help prevent vandalism from appearing before it is reverted and the extension's possible use to mark "quality" versions which would display by default even instead of the stable (non-vandalized) version? — The preceding unsigned comment was added by Mets501 (talk)

Office evolution

In what way do you forsee the office (and staff) evolving under your tenure as a board member, should you be elected? i.e. would you be in favor of expansion, contraction, status quo, more interns, new positions, less, what?Swatjester 01:08, 15 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Lesser-known projects

What is your opinion on some of the projects that are not as well-known as Wikipedia? Would you favour a situation where attempts are made to nurture these projects rather than almost-solely concentrate on the one that has the highest profile? --Brian McNeil / ^talk 14:41, 15 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Membership

Last December, the Wikimedia Foundation revised its bylaws to change itself from a membership organization to a non-membership organization. In a membership organization, the trustees are directly responsible to the membership; in a non-membership organization, the trustees are ultimately responsible only to one another (and indirectly to donors, who presumably will not donate if they feel the trustees are not being responsible). Do you feel that the Foundation, constituted as it is as a non-membership organization, provides sufficient structural checks and balances to ensure that the trustees observe their fiduciary responsibilities appropriately? Would a return to a membership structure, with the ability of members to bring policy proposals themselves at the annual meeting or by other methods, to remove board members by appropriate vote, and to sue the Foundation under certain conditions limit the ability of the Trustees to do what they need to do? If you do support a return to a membership structure, how would you determine who the voting members are? Kelly Martin 18:42, 16 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

advisory council

Can you explain why the "now dormant special projects committee" is dormant? Is there any other person/system/structure of the WFM that has taken over the work of the special projects committee? How would an "advisory council" avoid the same kind of collapse that has plagued past committees? --JWSurf 03:53, 17 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 ==GHGs.==
 ::::One more question: How would you vote on the board about the foundation [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2007-June/030687.html reducing or offsetting anthropogenic greenhouse gases], e.g. power used by hardware, flights, etc.? -- [[User:Jeandré du Toit|Jeandré]], 2007-06-08[[User talk:Jeandré du Toit|t]]12:58z
+there are many such things which intentions i would certainly support in general but that i think just do not belong to our core mission as an organization. david attenborough's  ''state of the planet'' mentions a core list of 5 of these global environmental problems, not just the emission of greenhouse gases. i quote attenborough: "today, we have the ability to make a difference, and what the human species does to the planet over the next 50 to 100 years will determine the future of all life on earth." and "somehow, we must find ways of reducing the pressures we're putting on the planet." i share these concerns and worries.<br>
+attenborough in fact lists the following basic problems:
+#''over-harvesting''
+#''the introduction of alien species''
+#''the destruction of habitats''
+#''the piecemeal destruction of populations caused by islandisation of habitat''
+#''pollution of the atmosphere'' (especially global warming that results from human activities that pump carbon dioxide into the atmosphere)
+although i certainly share these concerns, and feel that where feasible, all of us should indeed very much contribute to a better environment where possible, not just by reducing pollution, yet i also think that these matters simply do not, nor should they, make part of our [[Mission|core mission]] as wikimedia. {{:User:Oscar/Sig}} 11:04, 17 June 2007 (UTC)
 == Non-free images and other media ==