WMF chapters

[Rogol Domedonfors]

Samuel Klein has written to the WMFR trustees ordering them to retract their public position. I think it would be helpful(*) to see some public expression of support for the WMFR trustees urging them to stick to their principles and to refuse to kowtow to the commisars from San Francisco.

(*) I use this word in a very specific sense here,

[thekohser]

Samuel Klein has written to the WMFR trustees ordering them to retract their public position. I think it would be helpful(*) to see some public expression of support for the WMFR trustees urging them to stick to their principles and to refuse to kowtow to the commisars from San Francisco.

(*) I use this word in a very specific sense here,

But Sam signed "With love," so you know that it is all part of the WikiLoveMovement, and things will work out okay.

[Randy from Boise]

Samuel Klein has written to the WMFR trustees ordering them to retract their public position. I think it would be helpful(*) to see some public expression of support for the WMFR trustees urging them to stick to their principles and to refuse to kowtow to the commisars from San Francisco.

(*) I use this word in a very specific sense here,

But Sam signed "With love," so you know that it is all part of the WikiLoveMovement, and things will work out okay.

That struck me as one of the weirdest, most culty things I've seen lately, truth be told...

Visions of the bearded guru and his Wikimania exhortations to the faithful danced through my head... The "I Hate Eric Corbett And So, Lovingly, Should You" speech being the ultima thule of the genre...

RfB

[Moral Hazard]

From what I've seen, most of WMF's "contractors" are either people who, like Tim, live and work outside the US, and are listed as "contractors" because WMF doesn't want to register as employers in the foreign jurisdictions in which those people live. There were some in the US in the past (David Strauss comes to mind, although I don't think Strauss has done anything for them in years) who were, in fact, bona fide contractors, and it's likely they still do use people in contract roles like that, especially over on the Fundraising side, which generally hires contract developers whenever it needs bespoke software written, rather than relying on the incompetent morons in WMF Engineering.

Okeyes_(WMF) (T-C-L) was a contractor for the WMF.

[Randy from Boise]

From what I've seen, most of WMF's "contractors" are either people who, like Tim, live and work outside the US, and are listed as "contractors" because WMF doesn't want to register as employers in the foreign jurisdictions in which those people live. There were some in the US in the past (David Strauss comes to mind, although I don't think Strauss has done anything for them in years) who were, in fact, bona fide contractors, and it's likely they still do use people in contract roles like that, especially over on the Fundraising side, which generally hires contract developers whenever it needs bespoke software written, rather than relying on the incompetent morons in WMF Engineering.

Okeyes_(WMF) (T-C-L) was a contractor for the WMF.

He was an English national, I think, yeah? Might be an employment rules reason in play...

t

[Poetlister]

He was an English national, I think, yeah?

Unlikely; there's no such thing in English law. He might be a British citizen.

[Rogol Domedonfors]

From what I've seen, most of WMF's "contractors" are either people who, like Tim, live and work outside the US, and are listed as "contractors" because WMF doesn't want to register as employers in the foreign jurisdictions in which those people live. There were some in the US in the past (David Strauss comes to mind, although I don't think Strauss has done anything for them in years) who were, in fact, bona fide contractors, and it's likely they still do use people in contract roles like that, especially over on the Fundraising side, which generally hires contract developers whenever it needs bespoke software written, rather than relying on the incompetent morons in WMF Engineering.

Okeyes_(WMF) (T-C-L) was a contractor for the WMF.

He was an English national, I think, yeah? Might be an employment rules reason in play...

t

The WMF taking on a non-US citizen as a contractor because they were not eligible to be an employee? Shocking! Also a fine of at least $5K for violation. The State of California says

In applying the economic realities test, the most significant factor to be considered is whether the person to whom service is rendered (the employer or principal) has control or the right to control the worker both as to the work done and the manner and means in which it is performed.

Even where there is an absence of control over work details, an employer-employee relationship will be found if (1) the principal retains pervasive control over the operation as a whole, (2) the worker's duties are an integral part of the operation, and (3) the nature of the work makes detailed control unnecessary.

So an independent contractor living in California has to be someone whose work is not directed by the WMF, nor an integral part of its operation. Hmm.

[Rogol Domedonfors]

Thierry Coudray, former ED of WMFr writes to rebut the "recent and staggering Samuell Legoff's e-mail". His rebuttal is in French and I have not had time to translate it. But his preamble is in English, and reveals his motiviation for breaking his four-year silence in the wake of what he himself describes as his "hasty departure of Wikimedia France in december 2012" (details anyone?) They are the implications for fundraising and the possibility of the row getting into the press. These are the priorities of the typical chapter, I suppose.

[Rogol Domedonfors]

Update largely courtesy of Sashi on another site: Novel Obs article by Thierry Noisette.

The site visit by WMF should have taken place by now. Other news: treasurer Guillaume Goursat resigns from the Board; trustee Louise Merzeau passes away suddenly; 9 September, Special General Meeting as requisitioned by members.

[Rogol Domedonfors]

Announcement that the Macau chapter is to be derecognised for "long-standing non-compliance with reporting requirements, dating back to the initial recognition of the chapter in 2011."

Any further information?

[Poetlister]

Yes, a lot of the history is here on Meta.