A question came up on this list about some employer-employee relationships
within the chapter board. This is to clarify that the stated relationships
between the said persons have ended/in the process of ending with notice
being served prior to this issue being brought up (certainly not because of
this email and prior to it).
This is not to brag but to state background. I would like to further state
in particular have been extremely generous in supporting Wikipedia
activities in Mumbai for several years now, organising local events,
offering my office for meetups and official purposes, bearing expenses in
some cases, offering pro-bono services through my company and even offering
jobs to several Wikipedians.
Pranav and I were two people instrumental in ensuring the success of our
first national conference 2 years ago. This is something that is yet to be
replicated. Pranav was recently instrumental in our first victory with the
government recently, a major win for the chapter in India to have them
apply a Wikipedia complaint license to open knowledge resources for the
first time ever. Karthik has been one of the lead organisers of the
chapters biggest photo contest, our biggest success of the last financial
year. All of us have been an integral part of several chapter activities
during the last year. In the recent weeks, both Pranav and Karthik have
been involved in preparing our FDC application, spending several hours a
week, into the wee hours of the night on a regular basis apart from
juggling their professional commitments during the day. All of us have been
actively involved in the Wikimedia Conference bid.
All of us were Wikipedians first before anything else, meeting each other
through Wikipedia, having our own independent thinking which remains
unaffected and one common goal as unpaid volunteers working out of love for
the movement as a cause. We assure everyone that there is no COI that may
affect any of our functioning in the EC and performing our duties at the
chapter.
One thing we have learnt from this is that there is a need for a formal
public document that details what COI is and when disclosures need to be
made. We will push for such a document to be created within the EC. At the
same time, we humbly appeal that the community assume good faith towards
our efforts and help/support the chapter and movement in India. We are
working towards building greater synergies, understanding and team-building
within the EC leadership, SIG Chairs and key members of the chapter and
volunteers in India in an effort to strengthen our very foundations with a
long term view and we cannot do this without your help and support.
Moksh
On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 3:06 PM, Hari Prasad Nadig hpna...@gmail.comwrote:
Shyamal,
You reminded me of the good old days of Wikipedia - the movement that
wasn't centered around money, but driven by interest and volunteering.
I hope that what you've written about Wikiculture shall be read by many
here and if that is understood by more people in coming days, the Indian
'community' can get a wee bit healthier.
Of late, whenever I switch over to read the conversations on this list, it
is not just intrigue but profound disgust that emerges.
On 25 September 2013 10:03, Shyamal L. lshya...@gmail.com wrote:
Apologies for the rant that follows and can be conveniently skipped by
the busy folks here.
I am quite intrigued by the kinds of discussion on this list and indeed
intrigued by most of the characters that seem to be involved in the
Wikimedia movement in India and how it stands out in contrast to the spirit
of Wikipedia and its sister projects. Whereas the project is more a culture
of giving, most of what we see here seems to be more about merely getting
things for oneself and getting ahead of each other which I suppose is
inspiration drawn from street traffic. Having observed the movement from
the outside, it is my hope that the best values of Wikipedia culture are
imbibed rather than the worst of Indian culture.
* Wikiculture - Deal with issues not the persons raising them - what
matters more than who. Those who actually interact with the *community* (an
earlier thread gave the suggestion that people would get an opportunity to
interact with the *community* only by attending Wikimania) on Wikipedia
will know this aspect. This is a symptom of the fact that hardly anyone out
here is really editing substantially.
* Wikiculture - Think independently and question everything - Wikipedia
achieved a lot and is interesting because it questions(or questioned)
paradigms that are (or were) taken for granted. It uses direct interaction,
direct democracy, rather than representatives. So voting people into
committees / positions that work in private is not the way things are done
here, it is by discussing ideas. Independence requires that you question
any sense of group identity.
* Wikiculture - Forsake cliques, identity traps and recognize
