Gonçalo, Goethe, and all: Thank you for your work, which I appreciate dearly, and for the public discussion. I can also imagine this was a very hard letter to write.
Paulo, to your concerns: > for a Foundation-run committee[3] that apparently wants to kill us at all costs. Euh... surely not .v_v. These troubles can come up in good faith, when two groups work intently and separately on the same issue, ando d not talk openly to one another for reasons of imagined duty + propriety. Tossing insults back and forth just makes it easier for people to shut down communication. Somehow I suspect that invocations of The Law and the intervention of legal anxieties (with their preoccupations with secrecy) has led to much of the trouble here. So Pine, to your point: /more/ legal counsel reporting to only one of the parties involved might not help. On the other hand, we as a movement deciding to share more openly our internal discussions around legal concerns — even if this means taking on slightly more legal risk — would reduce some of these evident social risks. Warmly, SJ On Wed, Oct 10, 2018 at 8:47 AM Paulo Santos Perneta < paulospern...@gmail.com> wrote: > Some time ago, a Wikimedian friend told me AffCom is like the physician > that comes to help with the cure when an Affiliate is ill. But that's > really what they were in this WMPT case? This is a very bizarre situation, > of which I'm personally having a lot of difficulties finding rational > answers to it, let alone any conclusion. All I can offer is a personal > account of the situation, to those who would be kind enough to have an > interest on this case. > > Last May we at WMPT were really not expecting seeing AffCom bursting > through the room in an emergency intervention, fixing what didn't need to > be fixed, and willing to moderate what didn't need any moderation. As in > the proverbial Monty Phyton scene[1], they quickly became the problem > themselves. > > Many of us at WMPT are long-term Wikimedian volunteers, some of us for more > than a decade already, in perfect good standing in our communities, where > we hold and held responsibility roles. It includes current and former > bureaucrats, sysops, ArbCom members, very active contributors to a number > of Wikimedia projects. Most of us are founding members or directly > connected to WMPT since its inception in 2009. > > Last March, when we took on ourselves this mission of fix and rebuild > Wikimedia Portugal, who had been dormant for about 5 years, we were not > expecting to face such a mighty and impenetrable adversary as AffCom has > proven to be. > For six months already we have been embroiled by AffCom in this Kafkian > suspension process, where we are generally not told what the accusations > are, and much less who is accusing us. It has been extremely painful, > exhausting, and frustrating for everyone involved. > > We reached our limit. A number of us are now seriously considering > abandoning not only the chapter, but the Wikimedia projects entirely, if we > continue not being treated with the fairness and transparency we deserve. > It truly begs the existential question of what are we all doing here, > dedicating countless and very valuable hours of our lives for a Movement > that lets this happen, for a Foundation-run committee[3] that apparently > wants to kill us at all costs. > > Personally, I'm still confident that we'll successfully pass through this > probation, and everything will become again the very optimistic scenario we > all had last April, when we successfully elected a working board, and > started working with great dedication in the many projects we have now > running here in Portugal. I can only imagine how painful it was and is > being for Gonçalo, to came here making this situation public and sharing it > with everybody. We all have our dignity, nobody at WMPT likes this at all. > For many months we tried to cope with this discreet and silently. But > everything has a limit. > > Regards, > > Paulo > > [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spanish_Inquisition_(Monty_Python) > [2] - As AffCom seems to be, despite what is written in their Meta page( > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee) > > GoEthe.wiki <goethe.w...@gmail.com> escreveu no dia terça, 9/10/2018 à(s) > 11:13: > > > The original message was rejected due to a filter rule match, but you can > > access it here: > > > https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimediapt/2018-October/002698.html > > I am sending it below without the links. Please access the link above for > > the full version. > > __________ > > > > Sorry in advance for the lengthy email – the tl;dr version is: Wikimedia > > Portugal has done all it was asked to do, so the suspension that was held > > conditional to performing those steps must be lifted accordingly. For the > > sake of transparency, we are sending this out to not only the AffCom > > mailing list, but also Wikimedia-l and WikimediaPT-l. > > _________ > > > > Dear members of AffCom, > > > > (cc to the Wikimedia Portugal mailing list, Wikimedia mailing list) > > > > Last 5th October we were again surprised by the content of your email > > (quoted below) in response to us completing the roadmap we had agreed > upon > > in order to remove the suspension of Wikimedia Portugal. On that message, > > you say you have once more received information whose substantiation is > not > > mentioned, from sources that are not disclosed. And still you seem to > > accept it as the truth without even providing us with the opportunity to > > get properly acquainted with it, let alone rebate or contradict it. While > > you speak of transparency, that message is unsettlingly opaque, as have > > been multiple such messages relayed to us in the course of this whole > > process. > > > > As you are well aware, Wikimedia Portugal was faced in March with a > > situation where the president of the Board, João Vasconcelos, became > > demissionary without any previous warning [1]. It should be noted that > when > > Vasconcelos was elected as president of the Board back in 2015, he wasn’t > > elected based on any background as a Wikimedia editor, as he has no > history > > of contribution to any of the Wikimedia projects, but rather on his self > > proclaimed merits on organisational and conflict management (!). Despite > > the best efforts of several people from Wikimedia Portugal over the > years, > > Vasconcelos sadly never really integrated well neither on Wikimedia > > Portugal, nor in the Portuguese Wikimedia community. > > > > So, in light of what looked like an existential threat for WMPT, I and a > > number of other WMPT members have publicly and transparently mobilized > > ourselves to organize an extraordinary General Election to elect the new > > Board. Vasconcelos was probably expecting/hoping that we would ask him to > > stay. But we have seen this sort of behavior elsewhere [a].We didn't. > > Instead, we handled the situation cooperatively, as a group, openly. > > Vasconcelos never voiced any desire to take part on this collective > > solution-building, as evidenced by his silence from the discussion on the > > Wikimedia Portugal mailing list in March [2] and April [3]. He was > welcome > > to do so. His only message to the mailing list was two days (13 April) > > before the 15 April General Assembly, announcing that he considered the > > planned General Assembly null [4]. Given the lack of legal standing for > > that claim, we carried on with the General Assembly (the transparent, > > inclusive, democratic governing body of associations), summoned according > > to our by-laws. This General Assembly successfully elected new governing > > bodies, including the Board of Directors. > > > > In May we were surprised by a message from AffCom demanding that we stop > > taking part in a conflict, and "refrain from representing ourselves as > > representatives of Wikimedia Portugal" (see quoted message in [5] > > <https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimediapt/2018-May/002621.html > > >).This > > was the very first time the Committee contacted Wikimedia Portugal about > > this case. The message provided no legal precedent or framework for this > > demand, no indication of what this conflict was, or why AffCom thought > the > > Board was a part of it. > > > > From what we understood, Vasconcelos went to the Wikimedia Conference in > > Berlin, where he seems to have convinced AffCom that our General Assembly > > of 15 April was legally void. > > > > We have repeatedly provided concrete evidence that t it was not the case, > > including quoting relevant court decisions backing this [6] > > < > > > https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/(https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/private/wikimedia-pt-internal/2018-July/002414.html > > >. > > In response, AffCom reported having no time to read through legal texts, > > and therefore not being able to assess the validity of our declarations, > > but that is beyond our control. And yet AffCom accepted Vasconcelos’ > > version without question. It is a legal imperative to be held innocent > > until proven guilty, and until it is legally proven there was some > > wrongdoing, General Assemblies are valid and binding. > > > > After the April General Assembly we were working, in addition to our > > activities and programs, to put the association in order in terms of > > obligations to the Portuguese state and the tax authorities, providing > > access to WMPT’s bank account to the persons designated on the 15 April > GA, > > and so on. Things were getting on track... > > > > We were surprised again in July by a message from AffCom temporarily > > suspending Wikimedia Portugal’s recognition as a Wikimedia chapter [7]. > In > > that message for the first time you laid out a concrete roadmap that, if > > followed (as we understood), would lead to lifting the suspension. The > > roadmap set out a list of demands from AffCom which we diligently > > fulfilled, even well ahead of the required deadlines. We organized and > held > > a new General Assembly in September, summoned according to the > > interpretation of the Portuguese Civil Code that AffCom relayed to us > (with > > the exception of anything we believed would make the proceeding illegal, > > which was communicated in due time to AffCom). This General Assembly had > > the same result as before [8]. The Assembly was normally held, despite > > severe attempts of sabotage from Vasconcelos, reported in due time to > > AffCom, Legal and the Safety team. In addition to the minutes [9], an > audio > > recording of the assembly is available in Commons [10] ; video recording > is > > also available on request. > > > > We then submitted our overdue Financial Report [11], demonstrated support > > from the community to the continuation of the chapter [12], and wrote a > > plan for improved chapter capacity [13]. All should be good now... > > > > Having done all this, despite our disagreement that a new Assembly was > > needed in the first place, we are now again surprised by the reception of > > the opaque message I mention in the beginning, sent by AffCom to my email > > (quoted below) affirming that the Committee had received reports from > > unstated persons with unspecified concerns about the General Assembly and > > the capacity of Wikimedia Portugal to run as a chapter. The message > claims > > that "there were a number of issues with lack of transparency [as well as > > with] providing an opportunity to participate in an open, organizational > > process" while not specifying these issues at all. Your message questions > > whether we are "prepared as an Affiliate to prevent disruption in [our] > > organization's collective pursuit of the movement’s mission", even though > > we have so far been able to handle every attempt at disruption from > > Vasconcelos. > > > > If we rolled up our sleeves to activate the scattered energies of a stale > > organization in order to prepare and execute April’s General Assembly, it > > was because we were convinced that Wikimedia Portugal had a viable future > > ahead, and was of value to the Wikimedia movement. At the time, the > actions > > of Vasconcelos were so absurd that the reaction to them even spurred some > > founders and (by then) inactive members of WMPT to offer their help in > > reestablishing a functional organization. Along with the help of a number > > of historic as well as new members who have been steadily returning and > > joining our ranks, that’s precisely what we are achieving. > > > > That’s why we’ve been working on fulfilling the AffCom roadmap requests, > > even if we didn’t like or agree with some aspects of it. All things > > considered, it was a clear path to resolving our situation, and we found > > that parts of it could be useful to the chapter. But AffCom’s validation > of > > Vasconcelos’ actions and claims, even if unintentional, have real > > consequences for the mental state and safety of our members. > > > > Back in March, when Vasconcelos claimed he had requested our bank to lock > > the chapter’s bank account, started a process at the Public Prosecution > > Service, and he had talked with an attorney on that subject, can you > > imagine what André, our treasurer, felt waiting in line in the bank until > > he found what really happened? In the end, the bank account had not been > > locked because of any court order or legal reason as Vasconcelos implied, > > but rather because someone had tried to access the bank account without > the > > proper credentials, and the system automatically locked the account. > > > > Before the General Assembly in September, Vasconcelos sent out legal > > threats and even menaces of police intervention to anyone participating. > We > > still went through with it, but can you imagine how we felt, the pressure > > that was under some of us? It was all a bluff in the end, but this is > what > > you put us through. > > > > Notwithstanding, WMPT activities were happening in parallel. They are > > listed on our activities plan for anyone to see [14], and more are > planned. > > After several years of inactivity, we are happy to be on a sustainable > > growth path, gradually building capacity and doing the best we can with > the > > resources available to us. We’ve also been using our personal contacts > with > > other movements in order to increase our organization’s capacity. Ana, > > newly appointed to the Board, has just returned from Wiki Takes Zamora, > > where she was learning from Wikimedia Spain, relaunching the > collaboration > > between both chapters. Two of the events we have planned for November are > > using this paradigm. We’ll celebrate Wikidata’s sixth anniversary with a > > local group of data enthusiasts in Porto, and near Lisbon we’re helping > > with the organization and will participate in a FOSS event, so in both > > cases we’ll also acquire event organization skills. This growth path is > in > > peril if you continue to undermine our efforts. > > > > Over the last half year we’ve been attacked, offended, insulted, received > > multiple threats of judicial action by Vasconcelos, and even an actual > > intimidatory letter from a lawyer working for him (but purportedly on > > behalf of WMPT); and during this entire time we’ve tried not to escalate > > the situation, not to engage with such attempts at direct confrontation, > > nor make them public. You force us now to disclose this in order to clear > > our name and set the record straight. With the help and support of the > > legal and security departments of the Wikimedia Foundation, we have dealt > > with the actions of Vasconcelos so far. And we will follow the > disciplinary > > procedures foreseen for these situations in our bylaws which may result > in > > his removal from the chapter. > > > > We’ve repeatedly complied in unusually strict terms with legal > > requirements, and with AffCom’s roadmap, while dealing with Vasconcelos’ > > actions as privately as we could in order not to affect the public image > of > > the Wikimedia movement, nor its community – but honestly, we’re reaching > > the point of exhaustion in light of AffCom’s puzzling behavior along this > > process. We understand that AffCom may have reserves regarding our > future, > > but the way it is dealing with the situation is clearly > counterproductive. > > How can AffCom keep making new accusations without at least asking us for > > information or confirmations? > > > > Currently, our major source of disruption, distress and anxiety is each > new > > message we receive from AffCom, as they repeatedly defy our expectations > of > > a partner claiming to be attempting to help us getting back on our feet. > We > > are actually wary that the next address could be an announcement that > > Wikimedia Portugal has been de-recognized, even after we have passed our > > “road of trials”, due to the ever moving goalposts. Several of our key > > people have reported insomnia, including myself, after receiving your > > communications. We’re reaching our physical, psychological, and > > motivational limit, in great part due to AffCom’s actions and > inexplicable > > lack of support and transparency. > > > > It is time to stop this! Despite what we still believe were your best > > intentions, AffCom has inadvertently caused significant destabilization > for > > Wikimedia Portugal. > > > > Please honor your part of the compromise, lift this suspension and let us > > proceed in the productive pursuit of our collective mission. > > > > Regards, > > > > Gonçalo > > Gonçalo Themudo > > > > *Presidente* > > *Wikimedia Portugal* > > *Email: *goethe.w...@gmail.com > > *Website: *http://pt.wikimedia.org < > https://sites.google.com/view/themudo> > > *Imagine um mundo onde cada ser humano pode partilhar livremente a soma > de > > todo o conhecimento, na sua própria língua.* > > _______________________________________________ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > > 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 and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > 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> -- Samuel Klein @metasj w:user:sj +1 617 529 4266 _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l 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>
