Wikimedia Foundation elections/Board elections/2008/Candidates/Submissions
The results were announced on 26 June 2008.
| 2008 Board elections |
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| Organization |
This page was used for candidate submissions for the 2008 board election between 00:00, 08 May and 23:59, 22 May, 2008 (UTC). Eligible candidates were transferred to each localized language page at the end of the submission period, and there is currently a week-long translation period. This page is protected from editing.
Candidates: see instructions on the Candidate page. Remember:
- statement must be 1200 characters (not words) or less, not counting spaces;
- statement cannot link to an unofficial platform page (including "more information" pages);
- you must submit ID no later than May 29 11:59 UTC.
Candidate submissions
editSubmission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | Since January 2007 I do serve as a non-board member on the (board) Audit Committee to represent and assist the board in its general oversight of the organisation's accounting and financial reporting processes, audits of the financial statements, and internal control, and audit functions. The organization of WMF is still growing and needs to attract funds, grants and many, many contributions by small donors to cover the ever increasing cost of hosting the websites. The WMF therefore needs to build trust and credibility in, for example, presenting timely financial statements with an unqualified audit opinion to show donors' money is well spent. I graduated in Economics and Business Administration at the University Maastricht (Masters degree) and I am a professional auditor with a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) designation. I have over ten years professional experience in oversight functions. I care for the long term continuity of the Foundation and its projects, and would be happy to bring my professional experience and experience as Audit Committee member from a community perspective to the full board. |
Submission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | I was born and lived half of my life in Saint Petersburg, Russia. I worked for three years as a postdoc at the University of Illinois and now for almost twelve years in Melbourne, Australia, as a research scientist in an industrial company. I am a wikipedian since Jun 2005, an admin on en-wiki since February 2006 and the author of the AlexNewArtBot bot.
What worries me is that the development of Wikipedia appears to be slowing down, perhaps even stagnating. To counter this we have to solve a few problems on the WMF level:
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Submission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | Overall, I believe the existing board has done a fairly good job. There are however several areas in which the board could improve.
The needs of the sister projects are often forgotten or ignored. I would like to see a greater attention paid to these projects. I believe the board could provide greatly increased support to them without harming Wikipedia. Many users feel underrepresented and are concerned that Wikipedia is the only project the board cares about. As a board member, I would strive to make the community feel its voice is being heard, as well as ensure it is in fact being heard. Other areas for improvement:
I am:
About me:
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Dan Rosenthal (Swatjester)
editSubmission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | In my time with Wikimedia, I have served as a legal intern for the Wikimedia Foundation, an OTRS representative for the legal, press, and info-en queues, a member of the Communications Committee, a press contact for the United States, and most recently, the creator of the working group for the (still in development) DC chapter. In my capacity working as a representative for the Wikimedia Foundation, I've been interviewed by the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, Congressional Quarterly, and other international media sources. I have served on the board of directors for the Iraq War Veterans Organization. I am a second year law student at American University Law School, on the student Senate, overseeing a budget of around half a million dollars annually.
My priorities:
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Submission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | My candidacy is a referendum for three principles.
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Submission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | I'm a computer security engineer working towards a master's in math, and also a translator of books.
I joined the Hebrew Wikipedia more than 3.5 years ago, when it was in its infancy. Over time I got admin, checkuser and then bureaucrat status there. I watched the complex yet fascinating process of a small community evolving into something bigger and less manageable, with all related growing pains. In August 2007 I gave a talk at Wikimania. There I also understood the global aspects of Wikimedia. I was one of the founders of the Israel chapter, and I'm on its control board. I'm very excited about the ways Wikimedian activity can transcend the online world into the real world and how casual readers become active participants in growing communities. If elected to the board, I intend to support:
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Jussi-Ville Heiskanen (Cimon Avaro)
editSubmission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | I've seen the development of Wikimedia including the rise of the Finnish wikipedia barren wasteland to a lively community. I know intimately how hand-me-down policies and features designed for English wikipedia impact a smaller project.
I study Library and Information Sciences in a Business School. During the term under election now: Let's shift focus from sustainability to being able to maintain content we can be proud of, and further improving it. Our community & organizational parts are mature. It is time to support bolder technical innovation and allocating resources to it:
We need the right mix of people on the Board, but the process of getting them on it must not distance them from our communities. The problems we face are all of the "good sort", they come from us being so good, so useful, so well known, so active. |
Submission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | Though almost all of my activity has been on the English Wikipedia (with a spurt of activity on English Wikinews in November '05), I have been watching with increasing concern the influence the WMF Board has been exerting over all projects. In the last several months I have become more outspoken about it, to the dismay of many, and giving Mr. Wales a permanent seat on the board was the last straw. The WMF needs the community more than the community needs the Foundation, and I fear the Board has lost sight of that fact over the last couple of years, making itself increasingly independent of, and lording its position over, the various Wikimedia wiki communities.
I aim to reverse this trend. As a Board member, I would work towards limiting the role of the Foundation in the Communities to that absolutely necessary to protect the projects from legal liability and to maintain financial security and technical stability. I would also propose to make the Board of Trustees an entirely community-elected entity, eliminating all appointed and permanent seats. The Board should be facilitating the communities, not controlling them. It's time to make that a reality. |
Submission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | A life long New Yorker, I am an active admin on en-wiki, a member of the Bot Approvals Group, and have assisted the MedCom, at their request, in formal mediation matters.
A recent MBA acct grad, I have worked part time in non-profit orgs, up to the board level, for nearly 3 years, and am preparing to sit for the CPA exam. I also hold a BBA in legal studies, acct & mgt. I see several areas in which I feel I could contribute to the WMF. While Sec 230 may prevent the WMF from becoming more involved in the various communities at the control level I do believe there needs to be greater community involvement at the Foundation level. Concepts such as Q & A with board members in various forums such as Skype, IRC, mailing lists & other relevant forums, should be pursued with vigor. Initiatives such as polling the communities for new projects & ideas on how to spread free culture are doable and should also be pursued. Meta, as the central hub where all 700+ WMF wikis intersect, should have 10x the # of pages it currently has, as active users on all projects should be encouraged to express their views on the direction that WMF should take in its mission encourage the growth and creation of free content. The way I intend to pursue this change is to encourage greater inter-project cooperation, through ideas such as cross-project searches or a reference search similar to the NYT. This would increase the image and activity of all projects positively. |
Submission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | I have a few aims that I wish to accomplish if elected to the Board:
I think that these issues are things that affect the Foundation now that it has reached maturity, and I would be honoured to be a part of the board that progresses the Foundation, and all of its’ projects, no matter how large or small, above and beyond what they are today. I have long been an advocate of decentralisation from Wikipedia, removing content that is not encyclopædic, and focusing this content onto the smaller projects– many of which struggle under the weight of Wikipedia. This has long been a retaining factor on the growth of Wikimedia itself, as well as the growth of smaller projects, and I believe it is time for this to change. |
Ray Saintonge (Eclecticology)
editSubmission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | I am a semi-retired tax consultant with experience in cross-border tax problems. I have recently been on the executive of the district Parents' Association in a high-performing school district with about 23,000 students. I must leave this because my son is graduating. My book collecting habits are manic, and I am a confessed clutterholic.
I was involved in the establishment of both Wiktionary and Wikisource, have attended all three Wikimanias, and am vocal on governance issues on the mailing lists, notably the foundation list. I believe that the autonomy of each individual project should be respected in all but the most serious circumstances. If a project makes bad decisions, it needs to accept responsibility for its own problems, and not expect the Board's hand of God as a solution. I support the principle of a grass-roots Wikicouncil that can set broad editorial policies, without binding individual projects. I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to edit the projects that interest him without becoming discouraged by arcane technical requirements, keeping in mind the factors responsible for our growth. I believe that community processes should be based on mutual respect, not discipline and punishment. I believe that the chapters should lead the way to a more decentralized structure, where there is more encouragement for local fund-raising and spending. |
Submission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | For all those that don’t know me, I’m Ryan. I’m currently studying an MSc in biomedical and forensic science and I also have a BSc in pharmacology. I’ve been here since October 2006 and an administrator on the English Wikipedia since March 2007. What I’ve found amazing since I’ve been here is the spirit that the community has shown and the willingness to spend huge amounts of time and effort, free of charge, to provide free content to millions of people around the world. What I think the board needs to recognise is that the community makes this project work. I don’t think this always comes across in their resolutions. We need to think long term – funding is okay for the time being, but the board needs to make sure they keep it coming in to make the projects sustainable for the years to come. So, what exactly do I hope to bring to the board?
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Submission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | Wikimedia's projects have become a model of collaboration throughout the world. As the Foundation grows and faces new obstacles to bringing free knowledge to the world, it should itself be a model for open, scalable organizations. Even the greatest challenges in outreach, communication, and technology, can be overcome by helping match community members with needed solutions.
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Steve Smith (Sarcasticidealist)
editSubmission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | I am
I can verify all of the above upon request. If elected, I would
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Submission status: Confirmed
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| Statement | I was born in Shanghai, grew up in Harbin of northeast China, and moved to Germany at age of 20. Now I live in Mainz and work at IBM as a programmer.
I began participating in Wikipedia five years ago and have edited and translated lots of articles between DE, EN, and ZH, so I know well how the three Wikipedia projects grew over the years, their history and current status, and their character, strengths, and weaknesses. As an active administrator and bureaucrat at ZH.WP, I am also devoted to daily cleanup work and community interactions. I also helped organizing Wikimania 2007 Taipei. I strongly believe and hold that Wikimedia and its projects should remain open, neutral, simple, and diverse. If elected to the Board, I will:
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Template
edit===REAL NAME ([[user:USER NAME|]])===
{{board elections 2008 candidate/en
|image = Example.jpg
|image caption = Me, 2006.
|name = Jesse ExampleName
|age = 21
|location = Québec, Canada
|languages = English, French
|wikimedian since = September 2005
|active wikis = meta.wikimedia, en.wikipedia, en.wikisource
|statement = Some statement goes here...
}}