On 9 October 2011 09:31, Thomas Dalton <thomas.dal...@gmail.com> wrote: > On 9 October 2011 17:19, Sue Gardner <sgard...@wikimedia.org> wrote: >> Nobody wants civil war. > > I'm sure they don't actively want one, but it seems the board do > consider one an acceptable cost.
It may seem that way, but it's not actually true. The Board's conversation yesterday was thoughtful and serious: the Board members take very seriously the concerns expressed by editors, and they don't want to alienate them. We discussed Achim Raschka for example specifically: he's a 70K-edit editor on the German Wikipedia with I think 100+ good and featured articles. The last thing the Board wants is for people like Achim to leave the projects. >> Please read Ting's note carefully. The Board is asking me to work with >> the community to develop a solution that meets the original >> requirements as laid out in its resolution. It is asking me to do >> something. But it is not asking me to do the specific thing that has >> been discussed over the past several months, and which the Germans >> voted against. >> >> The Board is hoping there is a solution that will 1) enable readers to >> easily hide images they don't want to see, as laid out in the Board's >> resolution [1], while 2) being generally acceptable to editors. Maybe >> this will not be possible, but it's the goal. The Board definitely >> does not want a war with the community, and it does not want people to >> fork or leave the projects. The goal is a solution that's acceptable >> for everyone. > > But what happens in the event that such a goal cannot be achieved? > Ting has made it very clear that they intend some kind of image filter > to be implemented on all projects, regardless of community wishes. I > hope the community will come around and accept some kind of filter, > but if they don't then the WMF needs to accept that it has failed, do > so gracefully, and not try to start a war that in cannot possibly win > and will cause a great deal of damage. > > I think that if the WMF made it clear that they will not implement any > kind of image filter on a project if there is overwhelming opposition > to it, the relevant communities would be much more willing to engage > in constructive dialogue. Yes, I hear you. The Board didn't specifically discuss yesterday what to do if there is no acceptable solution. So I don't think they can make a statement like this: it hasn't been discussed. I hear what you're saying here, but my hope is that even in the absence of such a statement, people will be willing to join with the Wikimedia Foundation to engage seriously on the topic and figure out a solution that works. I need to run -- I've got a meeting in the office with Ting, JB and Kat. But thank you, Thomas, for your comments here -- I think they're constructive. I would love for people on this list to help others understand what's happening here. The Wikimedia Foundation does not want a war: it is hoping for a solution here that is acceptable for everyone. If the folks here can help editors understand that, that would be a service to everyone, I think. Thanks, Sue -- Sue Gardner Executive Director Wikimedia Foundation 415 839 6885 office 415 816 9967 cell Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
