Session 7 - Ames

Welcome, daily announcements and overview (Ropes Gray) Break Mitch Kapor: I'd Like to Have an Argument: Inspiration from the Wikipedia about Collaborative Advocacy and Politics

Hobbit v. Africa slide of diff - with a no on top

What has this to do with politics?

Slide show about global warming

Politics is usually broken - though american centric view money - special interests - and soundbites

democracy, self-governance is at risk

Wikipedia is existence truth

slide: Wikipedia as inspiration for political activism?

Key attributes: - participatory - product and process intertwined - aspiration to high standard of respectful dialog - citizens of equal stature with experts

slide: Is this absurd? slide: A new political movement ... not talk but do slide: shovelpic slide: big red octangular stop sign

GerardM asks a question "putting your money where your mouth is"

mr long hair: ignorance and ... is there a question? no

historian: role model for gay students that is not a question

second live? virtual online world?

it is a richer media ...

on key attributes ... lower barriers to participation

what strategy? we hire the vp of marketing later ...

Florence Devouard: Wikimedia Foundation: building in diversity

Florence=Anthere, she is boardmember she introduces Bob (applaud) slide:WMF: Building in diversity remembering Wikimania 2005 regrets angela stepts down elections: expansion of the board +4 Four things 1 timeline 2 goals, chapters 3 4 problems currently meeting

1 Timeline slide : 2001 Wikipedia.com later dot org

shared with bomis.com

one employee larry sanger

fork in spanish community due to advertisement

servers from one to three, brion came

organization WMF, first year nothing happened

tim shell is here

jimmy operated the org

the great big crash december 2003

emergency fund raising, 31 k$ +10 servers

trademark issue,

first created 2004

org very informal - no trace of decisions

first chapter just before elections

Wikimania 2005 in Germany, things painful

Jimbo famous: moving, travelling

Michael Davis, treasurer, very serious accounting problem

how we could organize better, quarter brainstorming

all amateur board members, laymen

resolution system, committees, january 2006

Brad was hired as interim executive director

slide: Board, five people

Staff: five people also: committees, staffed with volunteers half of the committees active, other half failed OTRS, dozens of people answer mails six chapters, and two not official chapters slide: Committees are not menat to replace the community (has 4 points)

slide: A resolution is ... mysterious: what happens: " A written formal statement " agreed to by a vote by the board of Trustees Current system: all had to sign, was a disaster - now by three approval

slide: picture of Danny by Brad

slide: Foundations original mission statement - encourage - maintain - distribute common with all local chapters slide: Later, it became a little bit more complex "Imagine a world in ..." "we make the internet not suck"

slide: "People think .... Linus" mission is to go further ... slide: "the ideal board" slide: "so the ideal board member..." slide: Photos slide: "specific skills for an efficient board" 1 contextual dimension: see the big picture 2 us-based wmf but, international communities 3 projects are independent 4 the organization does not own the content 5 balance appointed and elected members deciced to have an advisory board - in october a meeting in Europe

slide 2 Educational dimension: being well-informed problems: number of contact in the outside world, jimbo is bottleneck, limited reporting overall, one board meeting in 2006 Solutions: =- IRL meetings with .. leaders presentations - seek help from professional - study other organizations - a - committees

slide: 3 inter-personal dimension: being a team - some have the time, others not - less and less meetings - little discussions on resolutions or on ...general strategy - few resolutions are proposed

some vote, others not indecisivity (

solutions: - expansion of board with active members - limitation of term - approving an advisory board - hiring a ceo - setting up committees - votin - share the workload

slide 4: political dimension: avoiding win-lose situations - relation foundation chapters is a problem - chapters are not a branch, are independent, different goals, common goal - chapters need to use logo, and agreement on logo use - german dvd two years ago - wmf is too centralised, with a bottleneck, we need a flatter organization, and delegation - problem of competition of money and revenue, for chapter of for foundation

slide: advantages of local chapters - ability to coordinate international activities - ties local with local institutions

slide: analytical dimension: stepping back - resolution system doesn't work - committees do not work - problem: no agenda - slide: Case study: committees not explained what to do; extension of the board, share workload

slide: strategic dimension: " the board should ..." trying to separate work of the board with the work of the executive

slide : So where do we go?

She asks GerardM

- what are we supporting - we are not sharing - WiktionaryZ / support by others already - WMF lead or not?

Anthere commemorates three Wikipedians.