Hi Steven Walling, I would say your tone might have been a bit abrasive from the beginning but I am assuming good faith.
I absolutely love Michael Snow's take on the situation, I hope that the staff members are reading it too. On Sat, Feb 5, 2011 at 2:20 AM, Steven Walling <steven.wall...@gmail.com>wrote: > I would agree with you Birgitte, except that MZ talked to Christine and > Philippe about the issue beforehand and was specifically asked not to post > about it here until Philippe is back and any questions can be answered. You're mentioning something only staff personnel would/should know here. I would have to assume what role you're speaking as now- staff, OTRS volunteer or a community member. > > To answer Elizabeth: I am listed on the staff page at > wikimediafoundation.org. My fellowship is for a year and I work at the > offices here in San Francisco. Fellowships are all different in length and > who they work with, and that diversity is intentional, since they're > project-based and different projects have different needs. > There is absolutely no new information in that statement beyond that you're a fellow. I never questioned you my dear. I only asked for clarification on what roles fellows are playing now, they seem to span from quasi-staff members to advisory board members to full staff members to grant recipient to whatever fellows are actually supposed to be. I was only asking for a little clarification, that's all. Thanks. Elizabeth. > On Fri, Feb 4, 2011 at 12:15 PM, Michael Snow <wikipe...@frontier.com > >wrote: > > > On 2/4/2011 11:19 AM, Birgitte SB wrote: > > > I imagine MZMcBride's inquiries have so often been slanted as though > they > > had > > > originated from a hardened negative opinion, because he gets his > > information > > > from the gossip network rather than the WMF. I think I am so often > > ignorant > > > because I do the opposite. It seems to me, that MZMcBride has been > taking > > pains > > > for sometime to change the tone of his messages. I personally have > > noticed a > > > continual incremental improvement on his part. It bothers me that > despite > > what I > > > would rate as his success in crafting a neutral and reasonable message, > > he is > > > still characterized as demanding answers and chided for bringing up the > > issue > > > altogether. Whatever anyone else thinks MZMcBride, I have noticed your > > efforts > > > and I appreciate them a great deal. Introspection and change are hard > > things to > > > do; thank you. > > I agree with much of Birgitte's analysis. I would add that it is not > > fundamentally wrong to try to surface issues from the gossip network to > > a more public discussion. (The gossip network is as closed and opaque a > > forum for discussion as any private mailing list; I'd call for it to be > > more open, but that would be denying human nature.) Among other things, > > surfacing these discussions can do the foundation a service by informing > > it about what matters are being discussed there. However, it does > > require a great deal of care to surface things in a way that is > > productive and informative, rather than simply poisoning the public > > discourse. You can see some of this in how the respectable media > > approach news that is thrust upon them by tabloids or internet chatter. > > They go to considerable lengths not to defame and try to avoid unfairly > > maligning or adding their own insinuations and speculation. I think the > > pattern of inquiries here has improved, though it could still stand > > further improvement. > > > > On the foundation side, meanwhile, I believe more work ought to be done > > to minimize the "need" for the gossip network as an information channel. > > I've repeatedly pushed for creation of a staff position specifically > > dedicated to communications with the community. As the current > > communications staff, Jay and Moka are wonderful but much more > > external-facing, and have their hands plenty full with just that. I've > > been expecting that one of the Community department positions outlined > > in the annual plan would cover this, and if things follow the schedule I > > would hope to see such a position relatively soon. > > > > --Michael Snow > > > > _______________________________________________ > > foundation-l mailing list > > foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l > > > _______________________________________________ > foundation-l mailing list > foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l > -- Sorry my karma ran over your dogma. _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
