Out with Godwin, In with the new sycophant Options Rating

[Cock-up-over-conspiracy]

Sounds to me like they 're paying him to be a consultant, and I bet they're paying him a nice amount because he's probabably pissed enough to walk off and let them drown in their own feces.

Do you think they 're paying him MORE to be a consultant?

[carbuncle]

Has anyone considered the possibility that Godwin decided to leave of his accord? Perhaps for "personnel" reasons?

Since we're speculating here, maybe he saw something coming down the pike that he didn't want to be around for or be associated with? Perhaps being the WMF's lawyer isn't such a great gig when they get successfully sued or stripped of their charity status? Not that I think either of those is likely to happen, but those were the only examples that sprang to mind.

[thekohser]

Has anyone considered the possibility that Godwin decided to leave of his accord? Perhaps for "personnel" reasons?

Since we're speculating here, maybe he saw something coming down the pike that he didn't want to be around for or be associated with? Perhaps being the WMF's lawyer isn't such a great gig when they get successfully sued or stripped of their charity status? Not that I think either of those is likely to happen, but those were the only examples that sprang to mind.

That was my first consideration.

But, then I don't think he would have agreed to the wording of Gardner's posting. In fact, he would have probably insisted on as tersely-worded and uninformative a note as possible.

Because if you read between the lines and see how Gardner positioned the whole thing as being more Godwin's "fault" than the WMF's "fault", I think this was an unanticipated departure for Godwin.

[Cedric]

Has anyone considered the possibility that Godwin decided to leave of his accord? Perhaps for "personnel" reasons?

Since we're speculating here, maybe he saw something coming down the pike that he didn't want to be around for or be associated with? Perhaps being the WMF's lawyer isn't such a great gig when they get successfully sued or stripped of their charity status? Not that I think either of those is likely to happen, but those were the only examples that sprang to mind.

That was my first consideration.

But, then I don't think he would have agreed to the wording of Gardner's posting. In fact, he would have probably insisted on as tersely-worded and uninformative a note as possible.

Because if you read between the lines and see how Gardner positioned the whole thing as being more Godwin's "fault" than the WMF's "fault", I think this was an unanticipated departure for Godwin.

No doubt about it, Sue's chirpy, vague and quite possibly passive-aggressive "Q&A" raises more questions than it answers. The rules of client confidentiality coupled with the natural interests of both the WMF and Godwin to kept quiet as to the true cause for his dismissal make it unlikely that we will ever know what really happened, unless someone says more than they would normally intend in an unguarded moment (always a possibility given this clown college roster). Even then, I would expect the glimpse at the truth to be a limited one.

While we are speculating as to the real reason, no need to leave out Godwin's reputation for prickliness. If Kelly Martin has him right (and I suspect she does), Godwin is thin-skinned and has a terrible temper. He may have finally wrote a check with his mouth that only a boot to his ass could cash. That would go a long way toward explaining Sue's precipitous and oddly phrased announcement.

Another possibility to consider is a common enough reason that attorneys get fired: he spoke a truth to his client that his client was not prepared to hear. When this is the cause for dismissal, it often comes as a relief to both attorney and client, albeit for different reasons.

[thekohser]

I've heard it also theorized that perhaps Godwin and someone with influence in the WMF (probably either a majority of the board or Gardner) disagreed on a new strategy. (Could it be how to manage that troublesome public pornography collection, perhaps?) Godwin then may have refused to yield and Sue was forced to fire him, without cause. Since it would be without cause, and his contract probably did not allow him to be fired without cause without a significant payoff, his new "consulting fee" period of engagement might very well be substantially more lucrative than his previous base salary.

I think this is as plausible a speculation as any we've heard.

[thekohser]

Some humorous tidbits from Godwin's final IRC "Office Hours" chat, less than 5 months ago...

[3:41pm] MC8: QUESTION: How did you get into law in the first place? Was it an ambition, or was it more along the lines of "sounded good at the time"?

[3:45pm] mnemonic1: MC8, i used to do computer sales and support. i decided i was smarter than the lawyers i was supporting. so i went to law school. then it turned out my background left me peculiarly prepared for internet law

[3:45pm] effeietsanders: mnemonic1: can you give an estimate of how much work you can do yourself and how much you "outsource" ?

[3:46pm] mnemonic1: effietsanders, i do 100 percent of my work, and outside lawyers do 100 percent of the work i give them.

[3:46pm] effeietsanders: whatever...
[3:46pm] effeietsanders left the chat room.

[Kelly Martin]

Do recall that Godwin made quite a few enemies in the Kommunity when he upbraided the ArbCom for publicly libeling David Gerard. While I don't think those chickens coming home to roost are enough to push him out the door, they could well have been some of the the thousand papercuts. (Yes, I'm overdrawn at the metaphor bank.)

[Milton Roe]

Has anyone considered the possibility that Godwin decided to leave of his accord? Perhaps for "personnel" reasons?

I hadn't encountered leaving for "personnel reasons". It's a good euphemism for being fired!

[EricBarbour]

Just a few "interesting" items in the past, that I'd like to point out.

First, Mike's RfA. Most people said "of course he should have admin powers!!", but some pissants
objected--including, amusingly enough, Risker. Then Anthere swoops in and forces the end of the debate.

Then, a few examples of disputes or other nastiness somehow involving Mike.

That suicide threat was especially "amusing"--Alison took action, whilst the mighty Mike chose to do nothing, until Alison called him. On the phone. The rest of the AN/I nerds did nothing but squabble.

(Why was a photo of Mike a candidate for a Featured Picture? Repeatedly??
Is he so magnificent to behold, or was this simply an attempt to asskiss?)

After looking at a lot of mentions of him in the WP database, I have to say that he was invoked in an endless number of disputes, mostly involving copyright/fair use or legal threats. But I saw very little evidence that he actually acted on very many of those issues. I can't count the number of "Has anybody called Mike Godwin?" comments, with little or no evidence they actually called him, nor that he did anything......

This post has been edited by EricBarbour: Fri 29th October 2010, 9:17am

[Minor4th]

Sounds to me like they 're paying him to be a consultant, and I bet they're paying him a nice amount because he's probabably pissed enough to walk off and let them drown in their own feces.

Do you think they 're paying him MORE to be a consultant?

No clue what he was being paid as general counsel, and I use the word "consultant" very loosely. I think they arranged for a very swift departure, but they need him for the transition. And Godwin needs to continue to make a living while he looks for another job -- i'd guess he 's being paid 80 or so percent of his salary while he remains available and behaves himself until he is phased out completely. Im sure his access to files and so forth is limited and he's not provided an office onsite, nor permitted to be present at the WMF offices without an escort.

Its all just a guess. It's a peculiar situation.

[thekohser]

No clue what he was being paid as general counsel...

This information is publicly available in the organization's Form 990.

[Milton Roe]

No clue what he was being paid as general counsel...

This information is publicly available in the organization's Form 990.

The only person on last year's Schedule J was Sue Gardner. Other "salaries" must be hidden as other types of expenses. Godwin certainly isn't (wasn't) a salaried employee.

http://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php...990.pdf&page=29

Oh, I see it on page 7. $128,000, as you noted. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foun...09_Form_990.pdf

[thekohser]

In case anyone is interested, it seems that someone named Michelle Paulson is filling in for the Godwin-less WMF these days, when it comes to the legal heavy lifting. Here's her LinkedIn profile.

[Jon Awbrey]

In case anyone is interested, it seems that someone named Michelle Paulson is filling in for the Godwin-less WMF these days, when it comes to the legal heavy lifting. Here's her LinkedIn profile.

Currently drafting original trademark license agreements for television, movie, and printed media use of Wikimedia trademarks, especially the Wikipedia trademark. Establishing online trademark licensing procedure. Drafting multi-party memorandums of understanding for trial manufacture and distribution of Wikipedia products in Europe and Latin America. Drafting and coordinating partnership agreements, software development and support agreements, manufacturing agreements, distribution agreements, preferred vendor agreements, and trademark and brand licensing for Wikimedia product development.

Priorities, priorities, …

moar t-shirts
less c-men

& larn to spell “memorandumbs”

Jon

[GlassBeadGame]

In case anyone is interested, it seems that someone named Michelle Paulson is filling in for the Godwin-less WMF these days, when it comes to the legal heavy lifting. Here's her LinkedIn profile.

Currently drafting original trademark license agreements for television, movie, and printed media use of Wikimedia trademarks, especially the Wikipedia trademark. Establishing online trademark licensing procedure. Drafting multi-party memorandums of understanding for trial manufacture and distribution of Wikipedia products in Europe and Latin America. Drafting and coordinating partnership agreements, software development and support agreements, manufacturing agreements, distribution agreements, preferred vendor agreements, and trademark and brand licensing for Wikimedia product development.

Priorities, priorities, …

moar t-shirts
less c-men

& larn to spell “memorandumbs”

Jon

It's a good thing she is tech savvy. Based on that profile it is likely that she will need Google Maps to find the courthouse. When I saw Community Legal Services I though "Well cool, at least she has represented clients in court." But the description seems like not even that. Maybe California doesn't have a student practice act.

[melloden]

It's a good thing she is tech savvy. Based on that profile it is likely that she will need Google Maps to find the courthouse. When I saw Community Legal Services I though "Well cool, at least she has represented clients in court." But the description seems like not even that. Maybe California doesn't have a student practice act.

Not Wikipedia savvy, it seems. Registered just a few days ago, and her first edit reads horribly. Assuming that is her, which it almost certainly is.

[Kelly Martin]

Registered just a few days ago, and her first edit reads horribly. Assuming that is her, which it almost certainly is.

Dunno, seems like she's figured out straightaway how best to use Wikipedia.

[carbuncle]

Not Wikipedia savvy, it seems. Registered just a few days ago, and her first edit reads horribly. Assuming that is her, which it almost certainly is.

I'm sure this is a case of mistaken identity. I don't think WP's associate counsel would commit copyright violation as their first edit by pasting two paragraphs from a Reuters news story...

[Jon Awbrey]

But really, how come they don't just crowd-source the job?

Jon

[melloden]

Not Wikipedia savvy, it seems. Registered just a few days ago, and her first edit reads horribly. Assuming that is her, which it almost certainly is.

I'm sure this is a case of mistaken identity. I don't think WP's associate counsel would commit copyright violation as their first edit by pasting two paragraphs from a Reuters news story...

Hush, she's only an intern Although the user name, registration date, and editing interests certainly are similar, you're probably right.