Out with Godwin, In with the new sycophant Options Rating

[thekohser]

This seems very, very, very, very, very fishy to me.

How does a non-profit 501-c-3 that files a Form 990 intend to keep secret, forever, a severance package for one of the top paid employees of the organization?

What rotten thing is going on here?

(Original and official announcement is here.)

This post has been edited by thekohser:

[thekohser]

Would being hauled off in an FBI investigation over illegal use of a high-resolution seal of the bureau and/or condoning the Internet hosting of child pornography possibly constitute a "personal matter"?

This post has been edited by thekohser:

[Milton Roe]

This seems very, very, very, very, very fishy to me.

How does a non-profit 501-c-3 that files a Form 990 intend to keep secret, forever, a severance package for one of the top paid employees of the organization?

What rotten thing is going on here?

I would imagine he knows too much. They don't want the world to know how much they're paying him to go away and never talk. And there's deodorant payments for life. (IMG:smilys0b23ax56/default/wink.gif)

[thekohser]

Someone pointed out to me the very peculiar characteristic of this line:

"The Wikimedia Foundation believes Mike has always acted in what he believes to be the Wikimedia Foundation’s best interests."

[NuclearWarfare]

Quite interesting that they wrote up a Q&A summary that anticipated most of the usual questions. Have they done that before?

[GlassBeadGame]

Someone pointed out to me the very peculiar characteristic of this line:

"The Wikimedia Foundation believes Mike has always acted in what he believes to be the Wikimedia Foundation’s best interests."

This was probably intended to be the next best thing after "If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all."

[carbuncle]

Mike Godwin is probably just enjoying his success as managing director, Mövenpick Ice Cream, if I understand this piece in Eat Out magazine. I know some of you are saying "That's not the same Mike Godwin" (and "That's not how I pictured a magazine named Eat Out"), but check out this quote:

With an array of exquisite flavours, combined with our highly knowledgeable sales team, I'm sure we can continue the positive momentum throughout the Winter period, and capitalise on current consumer trends for premium products.

Clearly a lawyer.

[GlassBeadGame]

Quite interesting that they wrote up a Q&A summary that anticipated most of the usual questions. Have they done that before?

I did not heretofore understand that FAQ meant Frequently Avoided Questions.

...and three days notice? WTF?

I'm currently reading an account of the Tlatelolco Massacre of '68. After the event one of the students described the way they read the newspapers as "Why is my government telling me this particular lie at this particular moment?"

[anthony]

Who will be involved in the hiring process and how will it work?

Alright, so, the thing is, we're going to all put the name of a lawyer that we used to work with into a hat, and then I'm going to randomly pick one of those names out of that hat. This way everything is like totally fair, ya know?

This post has been edited by anthony:

[Kevin]

Quite interesting that they wrote up a Q&A summary that anticipated most of the usual questions. Have they done that before?

I did not heretofore understand that FAQ meant Frequently Avoided Questions.

...and three days notice? WTF?

I'm currently reading an account of the Tlatelolco Massacre of '68. After the event one of the students described the way they read the newspapers as "Why is my government telling me this particular lie at this particular moment?"

3 days notice and a severance package tells me that he was pushed, and pushed hard. And the list of things that are not the reason leave a lot less to speculate on. (IMG:smilys0b23ax56/default/wtf.gif)

[Milton Roe]

Mike Godwin is probably just enjoying his success as managing director, Mövenpick Ice Cream, if I understand this piece in Eat Out magazine. I know some of you are saying "That's not the same Mike Godwin" (and "That's not how I pictured a magazine named Eat Out"), but check out this quote:

With an array of exquisite flavours, combined with our highly knowledgeable sales team, I'm sure we can continue the positive momentum throughout the Winter period, and capitalise on current consumer trends for premium products.

Clearly a lawyer.

Now he can be the Emperor of Ice Cream. (IMG:smilys0b23ax56/default/smile.gif) Let "be" be finale of "seem".

Call the roller of big cigars,
The muscular one, and bid him whip
In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.
Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
As they are used to wear, and let the boys
Bring flowers in last month's newspapers.
Let be be finale of seem.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

[TungstenCarbide]

meh ... sounds like he got laid off - fired without cause.

Since when do people who quit get severance packages.

I suppose the unprofessional and childish public letter to the FBI didn't help.

[Jon Awbrey]

WiiKiiLiiKii

Drip, Drip, Drip

[SB_Johnny]

a severance package for one of the top paid employees of the organization?

I hope it's enough for him to take a long vacation in a pleasant place where he can read printed-on-paper law journals so that he can decompress and reconnect with reality.

Maybe he can write a good tell-all memoir. (IMG:smilys0b23ax56/default/boing.gif)

[Shalom]

Someone pointed out to me the very peculiar characteristic of this line:

"The Wikimedia Foundation believes Mike has always acted in what he believes to be the Wikimedia Foundation’s best interests."

This was probably intended to be the next best thing after "If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all."

Yes, I noticed that line also.

My take?

God WIN

Mike FAIL

[gomi]

How does a non-profit 501-c-3 that files a Form 990 intend to keep secret, forever, a severance package for one of the top paid employees of the organization?

Don't quote me on this one, as I haven't researched it, but I believe that only "normal" compensation is required to be included on a 990. It could be that they have interpreted a termination "settlement" as something other than that. Also, if he was neither an officer or one of the five most highly paid employees, then he won't be there either.

[Kelly Martin]

meh ... sounds like he got laid off - fired without cause.

That's the official line, of course. But the reality is that he was shoved out the door for being incompatible with Sue's vision of what Wikimedia is about.

It'll be interesting whether Erik gets shoved next. He's pretty much the last of "Jimmy's people" (defined as people who were part of the Foundation before Sue came along). Jimmy himself better be watching his back; it's a matter of time before Sue and Company decide that he, too, is redundant.

[GlassBeadGame]

meh ... sounds like he got laid off - fired without cause.

That's the official line, of course. But the reality is that he was shoved out the door for being incompatible with Sue's vision of what Wikimedia is about.

It'll be interesting whether Erik gets shoved next. He's pretty much the last of "Jimmy's people" (defined as people who were part of the Foundation before Sue came along). Jimmy himself better be watching his back; it's a matter of time before Sue and Company decide that he, too, is redundant.

My hope is that this is a move away from FreeKulture. Not only will this open up the possibility of acting in a more responsible manner but strained relations might make FK and the tech press less likely to circle the wagons the next time WP steps in something nasty. Yep, could be Erik next.

[Milton Roe]

meh ... sounds like he got laid off - fired without cause.

That's the official line, of course. But the reality is that he was shoved out the door for being incompatible with Sue's vision of what Wikimedia is about.

It'll be interesting whether Erik gets shoved next. He's pretty much the last of "Jimmy's people" (defined as people who were part of the Foundation before Sue came along). Jimmy himself better be watching his back; it's a matter of time before Sue and Company decide that he, too, is redundant.

Indeed. In a sense, you pay taxes (whether on income or property) as the price of having the government recognize you as the OWNER, with owners' rights (or at least title rights). If you don't pay the taxes, you don't get that.

By refusing to own anything you can escape both taxes and legal risk (the risk of lawsuit from an unrelated civil suit back in 2001 apprently being ultimately why Jimmy does not own Wikipedia today).

But all this comes with a penalty.

[Doc glasgow]

Why is Mike leaving the Wikimedia Foundation?

Mike leaving the Wikimedia Foundation is a confidential
issue, and the Wikimedia Foundation doesn’t talk about confidential
personnel issues with anyone except the people directly involved. We
want to handle this kind of thing with respect for people’s privacy
and dignity, and we are hopeful we can do that in this instance. That
means, we’re not going to answer this question, and we hope you will
understand why.

That says to me "fired, but we gave him a settlement in return for his silence".

The usual mantra is "mutual agreement" or "personal reasons" but this says "personnel", which looks to me like "fired for cause".

[Cock-up-over-conspiracy]

I would imagine he knows too much. They don't want the world know know how much they're paying him, to go away and never talk.

Ja, that was my thought as well.

> I like Mike, and I know that it’s a tough economy. Can I ask what the
> Wikimedia Foundation is doing to ensure that Mike is okay while he
> figures out his next steps?
>
> Yes. The Wikimedia Foundation and Mike have figured out severance that
> we all hope will protect Mike and give him time to think about what he
> wants to do next. The terms of the severance are confidential: we
> won’t talk about them now, or in the future. But you can rest assured
> that the Wikimedia Foundation wants to see Mike continue working to
> advance people’s online freedoms: everybody would like to see him
> continue making an important contribution.

Meaning, we paid him enough to shut up.

[anthony]

It'll be interesting whether Erik gets shoved next. He's pretty much the last of "Jimmy's people" (defined as people who were part of the Foundation before Sue came along). Jimmy himself better be watching his back; it's a matter of time before Sue and Company decide that he, too, is redundant.

Quite a change from your previous position that Jimbo has the ultimate power to do whatever he wants. When did your opinion on this change, around the time of the departure of Cary Bass?

In any case, I think Erik would be far too happy to finally "vote Jimmy off the island" to call him one of "Jimmy's people".

[Milton Roe]

I would imagine he knows too much. They don't want the world to know how much they're paying him to go away and never talk.

Ja, that was my thought as well.

Wonder if he was partly perverted by reading WR?

If so: (IMG:smilys0b23ax56/default/tongue.gif)

[TungstenCarbide]

It'll be interesting whether Erik gets shoved next. He's pretty much the last of "Jimmy's people" (defined as people who were part of the Foundation before Sue came along). Jimmy himself better be watching his back; it's a matter of time before Sue and Company decide that he, too, is redundant.

Quite a change from your previous position that Jimbo has the ultimate power to do whatever he wants. When did your opinion on this change, around the time of the departure of Cary Bass?

In any case, I think Erik would be far too happy to finally "vote Jimmy off the island" to call him one of "Jimmy's people".

Jimbo once violated the security of a WMF board election in progress, and based on what he found tried to derail Erik's candidacy. The subsequent election had to be held on an outside server operated by another foundation.

Jimbo used to have the ultimate power at Wikipedia. What he said happened. That's all changed. The only real power he has now is what can be derived from WMF board politics. All his "GodKing" power is slowly but surely slipping away. Other than that, he just gets to hang around, collect speaking fees, and promise people "I'll look into it".

This post has been edited by TungstenCarbide:

[Somey]

The facts are a little sketchy, but as best I can determine, it looks like Mike simply refused to take the "standard offer."

I guess it's possible that they had to oust him because after all this time, he finally got around to reading a legal textbook and realized that what the WMF does has been utterly illegal all along...

It'll be interesting whether Erik gets shoved next.

Maybe. It's just a hunch, but my guess is that Mr. Moeller was the "prime mover" in ousting Mr. Godwin. (He's a sneaky guy, that Erik!)

[GlassBeadGame]

Mod Note: Moved OT tax stuff to the lounge.

[thekohser]

And wouldn't you know it, the Examiner is the first to break this news story.

[anthony]

Mod Note: Moved OT tax stuff to the lounge.

You missed one, the first one.

[GlassBeadGame]

Mod Note: Moved OT tax stuff to the lounge.

You missed one, the first one.

This one? I thought Milton hadn't completely went off the OT rails just yet. Also left one by CW that was "mixed." Moving is bad enough but splitting a post gets the locals all upset.

[Ottava]

Godwin leaves.

This follows Mike Snow leaving.

Both were very "liberal" (libertine, free no matter what, copy left, however you want to explain their internet lawless views).

Coincidence?

Seems like all of those idiots are being pushed out.

Good riddance to the horse shit.

[GlassBeadGame]

The facts are a little sketchy, but as best I can determine, it looks like Mike simply refused to take the "standard offer."

I guess it's possible that they had to oust him because after all this time, he finally got around to reading a legal textbook and realized that what the WMF does has been utterly illegal all along...

It'll be interesting whether Erik gets shoved next.

Maybe. It's just a hunch, but my guess is that Mr. Moeller was the "prime mover" in ousting Mr. Godwin. (He's a sneaky guy, that Erik!)

I'm intrigued but not seeing it. What might be the nature of the Godwin/Moeller rift?

[anthony]

What might be the nature of the Godwin/Moeller rift?

To put it in Erik's own words, "I feel that the project can only tolerate one person with an ego the size of a planet"

(Note that I'm not saying that Somey is right. I'd rather not publicly speculate on the reason for Godwin's departure.)

This post has been edited by anthony:

[CharlotteWebb]

This one? I thought Milton hadn't completely went off the OT rails just yet. Also left one by CW that was "mixed." Moving is bad enough but splitting a post gets the locals all upset.

I should start keeping track of how many thread splits I'm blamed for.

How does a non-profit 501-c-3 that files a Form 990 intend to keep secret, forever, a severance package for one of the top paid employees of the organization?

Don't quote me on this one, as I haven't researched it, but I believe that only "normal" compensation is required to be included on a 990. It could be that they have interpreted a termination "settlement" as something other than that. Also, if he was neither an officer or one of the five most highly paid employees, then he won't be there either.

I'm surprised they don't pose as a "faith-based organization" and claim exemption from filing that. (IMG:smilys0b23ax56/default/fsm.gif)

[Jon Awbrey]

I'm surprised they don't pose as a "faith-based organization" and claim exemption from filing that. (IMG:smilys0b23ax56/default/fsm.gif)

All In The Fullness Of Slime …

Jon (IMG:smilys0b23ax56/default/cthulhu.gif)

[EricBarbour]

You all missed a little item in that announcement:

Once a candidate pool is developed, interviews will be held. The
interviewing process will likely include at a minimum Sue Gardner,
Erik Moeller, Cyn Skyberg, Kat Walsh, Arne Klempert, and Barry
Newstead. There will probably also be others involved (e.g., possibly
additional board members, and possibly additional members of the
senior staff), but that’s the skeleton plan we have right now.

That's likely to be a list of WMF's highest holy epopts. Cross one of them, and kiss your ass goodbye.

And no doubt the politics between them are getting quite toxic right now. I would not be surprised
to see either Moeller or Newstead pushed out next.

Ms. Gardner is a toxic, evil woman--or so the scuttlebutt has been claiming.
Dunno myself, but she is clearly a manipulative creature.

[EricBarbour]

I just checked in on this thread, and was amazed to discover that an old familiar name,
one Samuel Klein, was reading it.
(He has a WR account but has never said anything.)

Well, Master Klein? Would you care to comment?

[Milton Roe]

I just checked in on this thread, and was amazed to discover that an old familiar name,
one Samuel Klein, was reading it.
(He has a WR account but has never said anything.)

Well, Master Klein? Would you care to comment?

Is that Sj the good admin of the North, as opposed to Essjay the bad admin of the East? Now that somebody has accidently dropped a house on SV, the Wicked Witch of the West?

I want to know about the bubble around Sj that keeps him from seeing that his WP policy is actually controlled by a bunch of flying monkeys and assorted munchkins. (IMG:smilys0b23ax56/default/confused.gif)

[sjk]

I just checked in on this thread, and was amazed to discover that an old familiar name,
one Samuel Klein, was reading it.
(He has a WR account but has never said anything.)

Well, Master Klein? Would you care to comment?

Hello Eric & all. I'm just up late on a maté kick, avoiding both sleep and work by browsing WR. I don't have much to add here, though this seems to be one of the first places where Mike's departure was discussed at any length.

Quite interesting that they wrote up a Q&A summary that anticipated most of the usual questions. Have they done that before?

The Foundation has started releasing Q&As alongside many announcements, including major arrivals and departures. See for instance:
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_..._and_CGDO_QandA

SJ

(Milton: you mean flying monkeys with typewriters, right?)

[Emperor]

If nothing else, Mr. Godwin will be remembered as the genius who somehow finagled the switch from GFDL to CC-by-SA.

[thekohser]

If nothing else, Mr. Godwin will be remembered as the genius who somehow finagled the switch from GFDL to CC-by-SA.

I don't consider him the agent of change on that item. I believe Moeller was the perpetrator of that sham.