WikiConference UK 2012/Elections/Questions/John Byrne
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Hi there! This is the page for you to answer questions posed to you by the members of Wikimedia UK. Press the [edit] button above and then answer the questions in the box below by putting the number of the question and then your answer. |
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Answers
1) (What groups...) I have a few memberships, but am not active in anything except WMUK, and Wikimedian stuff in general.
2) (motivation ...) I was asked to run last year, after, like much of the current board, becoming active in WMUK through Liam Wyatt's period as Wikipedia-in-residence at the British Museum, which fitted very well with my existing areas of editing. I was not elected then (by one vote), but was asked to progress the Registered Charity application with Steve Virgin, which has kept me in touch with some areas of the board's work. Just recently I agreed to assist with the Treasurer's role (off the board), and have agreed that I would be ready to act as Treasurer if elected and then selected as that (or equally, support other suitable candidates). I have attended some board meetings and feel I would be able to make a positive contribution, in particular in the areas mentioned in my statement.
3) (Wikiversity ...) That is probably a question I should be asking you, in fact I think I have in the past! I imagine that, unlike other WMF projects, Wikiversity has strong open content competitors, and seems to be losing to them. Most of the content seems to be (incomplete) course materials and plans; I'm slightly surprised it isn't used more to write up research in an easy and informal setting. Might this be because "anybody can edit"? Would it be worth considering dropping this for the project, or some pages?
4) (5 year plan) I've commented, so far briefly, on Draft 2 of the plan. I like some elements of the counter-proposal, but not others. The experience of other countries suggests that really massive scaling-up of membership and activities is not typical. Our base of active volunteers is already stretched, certainly in London, and I suspect will continue to constrain growth. We haven't yet found reliable and repeatable ways of expanding this base, which needs to be our top priority.
5 & 6) (Peter Cohen soapbox) I think the answers to these are fairly obvious, and well answered by others.
7) (Trustee duties) I've read most of the good material on the CC website, and believe I know the key points. I have had trustee training as a pension fund trustee, and would do more charity-specific training if elected; I think all trustees should have a very good reason for not doing this.