Wikimedia UK v2.0/Candidate statements

Please put your candidate statements in the appropriate section below. Feel free to add a new section to the bottom if you do not already have one.

Tango

I declare and agree that I have read and agree with Wikimedia UK v2.0/Candidate statements/Declaration. --Tango 01:48, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

I made my first (signed in, at least) edit to the English Wikipedia in December 2002 and became properly active in 2006 (I've not been the most active contributor ever recently apart from the reference desks, but I'm still very much around). I became active in the UK community about a year ago, have attended one meetup (in Birmingham) and am very active on the UK mailing list, as well as the Foundation mailing list. I fought hard to get those running the previous incarnation to either move things forward, or hand over control to those that could, and when that failed I immeadiately started working on this new attempt. My hope is to help the chapter become a functioning tool for the use of the UK community, and intend to concentrate on behind the scenes stuff and fundraising (I'll lend a hand with some of the chapter's actually activities as well, I'm sure).

In real life, I am in the 4th and final year of a Master of Mathematics degree (an undergraduate masters) at the University of Durham. I have some experience of meetings and committees from my positions as Secretary of the School Council and Deputy Head Boy at secondary school, although I have no direct experience of running companies or charities. I am, however, a quick study and have learned a lot about the subject over the past few months (and the past few days in particular).

Cfp

I declare and agree that I have read and agree with Wikimedia UK v2.0/Candidate statements/Declaration. --cfp 17:58, 1 September 2008 (UTC)

Bio and on-wiki history

I'm currently doing a doctorate in economics at the University of Oxford, and you can see my full CV here. I'm not an ultra-massive WP editor, but I fix things when I notice a problem and have the occasional flurry of compulsive editing (I have around 1000 edits on WP and 500 across the other projects). My first edit on WP under this account was in Feb 2004 and my first edit on Meta was July of the same year (I've been interested in WMF's governance and community relations since I started out pretty much). Also while working at EA I did quite a bit of media-wiki-ing on their internal documentation wiki. I arranged for Jimmy Wales to give a talk at the Oxford Internet Institute, and I like to think I may have played some small causal role in WMF getting OSI funding.

Why you should vote for me

There are two main reasons why you should vote for me. The first is that I've been involved in the discussions around WMUK from pretty much day one. (Here I am in amongst the eventual board members of WMUK 1.0 on the very first sign up list.) I've been closely involved in the discussions around the reform of WMUK 1.0 and when they fell through, with the discussions around setting up WMUK 2.0 (see, e.g. the edit history of Wikimedia UK v2.0). I'm absolutely committed to getting this organisation off the ground and doing useful work for the UK Wikimedian community.

The second is to do with our bid to host the 2010 Wikimania in Oxford, which I seem to be leading. Being on the board of WMUK would greatly help my work in getting sponsorship through enhanced reputation etc.. Also, since one of the best ways for me to ensure that the Oxford bid is successful is to ensure that WMUK 2.0 is up and running by the close of bidding, I have an added incentive to keep pushing things to happen quickly. Finally, if we are successful in our bid (and this is obviously longer term) large amounts of Wikimania money would be passing through WMUK accounts, and so it would make sense to be on the board to keep an eye on them.

I think most if not all my fellow candidates could do the required jobs as well as I could, so I will not be at all offended if you vote for them instead. --cfp 17:58, 1 September 2008 (UTC)

Kate

I declare and agree that I have read and agree with Wikimedia UK v2.0/Candidate statements/Declaration. Kate 03:28, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

Hi. I'm River Tarnell, a sometime Wikipedia editor, Wikimedia sysadmin/developer and Toolserver admin. I've been an editor and developer since 2004. I didn't have much to do with Wikimedia UK 1.0, mainly since I figured it couldn't be all that difficult to get the chapter going. Well, it turns out it's harder than it looks. I've been following the WMUK 2.0 discussion on IRC from the start, and contributed a little bit. While I don't plan to stand for the "real" board, I very much want to see a proper UK chapter happen, and I believe I can help with that.

I don't have any experience with running a company or a charity. I don't think this is an import prerequisite for the initial board, whose only task is to set things up and then hand over control to the next board.

I enjoy drinking coffee and listening to music. I live in Oxford and can easily get to Birmingham or London for board meetings.

Warofdreams

I declare and agree that I have read and agree with Wikimedia UK v2.0/Candidate statements/Declaration. Warofdreams 10:29, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

I am keen to see Wikimedia UK up and running as soon as possible, for the benefit of Wikimedians in the UK, the Wikimedia projects in general, and in support of the Oxford Wikimania bid. I see the board's initial priorities as setting up a functioning, open organisation with the widest possible participation.

I have been contributing to Wikipedia for five years, and have been an administrator and bureaucrat on the English language edition for much of that time. I have also contributed sporadically to Wikimedia Commons and am familiar with the range of Wikimedia projects, having seen them develop. Recently, I have been working on the bid to hold Wikimania 2010 in Oxford. I have attended various Wikipedia meetups in London and Birmingham, including the first ever.

I currently live in Sheffield, working at the University of Sheffield, and can easily attend meetings in Birmingham or northern cities. I am in London every few months and could attend meetings in the city given sufficient notice. I have worked as an administrator for the Community Media Association and for a local community radio station. Both were not-for-profit companies limited by guarantee. I attended board meetings in an administrative capacity and through this became familiar with the workings and structures of such companies, the process of appointing directors, the general requirements and process for applying for charitable status, and good practice in running board meetings. I was active in the University of Sheffield Union of Students, encouraging student participation in welfare activities, and ran unsuccessfully for the Finance Officer position, for which I became familiar with the structures of a larger, campaigning organisation and the legal framework within which it operated.

There are many excellent candidates standing for the board, and I would encourage voters to look for a variety of skills and experience in whichever combination of candidates they choose to vote for.