hi, restructuring the Advisory Board has been on my mind for a while - I've actually put <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pundit> it to the list of initial priorities I set for myself as a Board member. I hope we'll be able to zero in on this issue once the higher priority stuff stops overflowing. I plan to discuss it within the BGC, and also with WMF, to establish the needs, as well as possibilities.
best, dariusz On Fri, Jan 29, 2016 at 2:57 AM, Asaf Bartov <abar...@wikimedia.org> wrote: > Thank you, Kat. That was very informative, and of course, my sharing my > frustrating experience was merely an attempt to use this chance to draw > attention to that issue (not the person, but what you described as type 4), > not an attempt to provide the full context you just did. :) > > (and your e-mail reminded me of Ms. Hagemann's being (er, having been) on > our AB, and gives me a chance to amend my earlier statement; she is an > example of a fantastically valuable ally whom I, too, had a chance to > benefit from, in several impromptu conversations, most recently a few > months ago, in Delhi.) > > A. > > On Thu, Jan 28, 2016 at 11:42 PM, Kat Walsh <k...@mindspillage.org> wrote: > > > The advisory board basically never gets used as a group (and IMO it > > wouldn't really make sense to). In my experience, people named to the > > list fill one of a few functions: > > > > 1. Big Names who don't have the time to commit to being on the board > > or are otherwise unsuited to being one of the main decision-makers, > > but whose formal association with the project makes sense and is > > beneficial. (I think of Clay Shirky as one of these: he is busy with > > his existing work, but he is a great champion of the projects; he's > > given presentations and press mentions that were helpful, consults on > > some issues, and has offered his university's resources.) > > > > 2. People who are prominent in some area relevant to the projects and > > whose work touches on it, who offer their expertise in their > > particular domain and may be all but invisible to others. (Melissa > > Hagemann is an example--she is prominent in open access and the people > > working in that domain have worked with her, but people outside of it > > may not see her work.) > > > > 3. People who have held high-level formal roles within WMF and whose > > continued connection is recognized through being named an advisor. In > > an organization with Senior Fellows, this is probably what we would be > > called; it basically recognizes that although these people no longer > > hold their roles, they continue to be supporters and advisors and > > would like to continue to be available to offer their input and > > expertise. I fall into this role, for example, and the structure of > > having the formal connection makes it easier for current board and > > staff to call on me. (FWIW, I was named to the advisory board by a > > resolution after my term ended, though I see the page is poorly-enough > > maintained that I'm not listed.) > > > > 4. People we hoped would fall into one of these roles, but who have > > not actually kept up the relationship or whose guidance turned out not > > to meet our needs. > > > > It is useful to have a formal structure to call on people for their > > help; most of the help the AB members provided in my experience was > > through 1-on-1 consultation (more by Sue than by myself). But I think > > there are more people in category 4 than there ought to be. The > > renewal mechanism was intended to make it easier to graceully remove > > people who fell into that category without making it feel like they > > were "fired", but as it turns out if you renew some but not others, > > people will feel that way no matter how gracefully you try to do it, > > and probably not wrongly--and since they are all people who were > > originally named because of a desire to strengthen the relationship, > > souring it by ending their terms is a very difficult thing to do, > > especially when it is easy to keep them. > > > > Yes, the advisory board is invited to Wikimania with travel expenses > > covered, though of the few members who come, some pay their own way > > anyhow; the financial cost is relatively small. (I would say I made a > > principled stand to pay my own way last year, but really I just > > waffled over it for a while until it was late enough that I'd have > > been embarrassed to submit receipts.) > > > > In my tenure the advisory board was considered a few times, but it was > > just never a high-priority item; I am aware of it having been > > considered again last year but not sure if anything came of it. The > > main drawback I think of is that people tend to forget it exists until > > too late in a decision process, and many who could usefully consult > > them don't even know who is on the advisory board, what their > > backgrounds are, and how receptive they are to messages, so it is hard > > to use them effectively. > > > > -Kat > > > > > > On Thu, Jan 28, 2016 at 10:51 PM, Tanvir Rahman <wikitan...@gmail.com> > > wrote: > > > As far as I heard, the WMF employees and Board use the advisory board > > > according to their need. Sometimes they are share their thoughts as a > > team, > > > sometimes individually, according to their expertise. > > > > > > I have mentioned to an adviser once that it would be better to have a > > group > > > submission from the Wikimedia advisory board in the Wikimania to > fill-in > > > the community about their work and need. How do they work/collaborate > and > > > so on. It does not need to share anything confidential or something, > but > > it > > > helps the community a lot how this mechanism functions. > > > > > > T. > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > > > > > > -- > Asaf Bartov > Wikimedia Foundation <http://www.wikimediafoundation.org> > > Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the > sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! > https://donate.wikimedia.org > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > > -- > > __________________________ > prof. dr hab. Dariusz Jemielniak > kierownik katedry Zarządzania Międzynarodowego > i grupy badawczej NeRDS > Akademia Leona Koźmińskiego > http://n <http://www.crow.alk.edu.pl/>wrds.kozminski.edu.pl > > członek Akademii Młodych Uczonych Polskiej Akademii Nauk > członek Komitetu Polityki Naukowej MNiSW > > Wyszła pierwsza na świecie etnografia Wikipedii "Common Knowledge? An > Ethnography of Wikipedia" (2014, Stanford University Press) mojego > autorstwa http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=24010 > > Recenzje > Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml > Pacific Standard: > http://www.psmag.com/navigation/books-and-culture/killed-wikipedia-93777/ > Motherboard: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/an-ethnography-of-wikipedia > The Wikipedian: > http://thewikipedian.net/2014/10/10/dariusz-jemielniak-common-knowledge > > _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
