Patricio,

Thank you for your email.

Some comments:

1. The document on Meta says, "Yes. James had - as all of us - access to
all documents and information which he needed for his work and
decision-making on the Board." That is a little different than the question
that was being asked here. The question is, were any financial documents
withheld from James? The statement on Meta is a little vague about who made
the decisions about the documents that James needs for his work and
decision-making. If someone else made decisions about which documents were
appropriate for James to have, instead of letting James have complete
access to financial records, that would be a matter of concern.

2. While I understand that some Board conversations are best held in
private, for example conversations involving attorney-client privilege, I
continue to believe that there is a misalignment between the democratic and
open-source values of the Wikimedia movement and the limited information
that the community is provided about WMF Board deliberations. There seems
to be an assumption that full and honest discussions are best held behind
closed doors so that people in the room feel comfortable with voicing their
opinions. It seems to me that this is a doctrine which is contrary to the
values of our movement, and I would urge the Board to change its approach.
I would also note that many jurisdictions in the United States have laws
requiring government bodies like city councils and legislatures to have
their meetings in full view of the public unless there is a specific
exemption for a subject that is to be discussed in private. These
governments, in many cases, continue to function effectively despite the
public and sensitive nature of deliberations on topics like budgets, land
use planning, environmental regulations, appointments of judges, service
contracts, and allegations of misconduct against fellow elected officials.
The WMF Board should be a model of openness and good governance. Now is a
good time for the Board to take meaningful steps toward aligning itself
with our collective values.

Thank you,

Pine

On Tue, Jan 5, 2016 at 3:44 PM, Patricio Lorente <patricio.lore...@gmail.com
> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> We know that some of you have continued to have questions about the Board’s
> recent resolution. We have put together an FAQ addressing some of the most
> common or important questions. You can view the FAQ here:
>
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/James_Heilman_removal_FAQ
>
> We have also been meeting with the 2015 Election Committee regarding the
> next steps for filling the open community-selected seat. We plan to make an
> announcement on the roadmap for filling that seat by early next week.
>
>                                             Patricio
> --
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