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→Tretikov Administration
'''Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.''' (WMF) is a not-for-profit Florida corporation with its principle place of business in [[San Francisco, California]]. It was founded by [[Jimmy Wales]], who has a permanent position on the Board of Directors. It operates several online collaborative wiki projects including [[Wikipedia]], [[Wiktionary]], [[Wikiquote]], [[Wikibooks]], [[Wikisource]], [[Wikimedia Commons]], [[Wikispecies]], [[Wikinews]], [[Wikiversity]], Wikimedia Incubator, Meta-Wiki, [[Wikidata]], [[Wikivoyage]], and owns the now-defunct Nupedia online encyclopedia. Its Executive Director is Katherine Maher.
'''Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.''' (WMF) is a not-for-profit Florida corporation with its principal place of business in [[San Francisco, California]]. It was founded by [[Jimmy Wales]], who has a permanent position on the Board of Directors. It operates several online collaborative wiki projects, including [[Wikipedia]], [[Wiktionary]], [[Wikiquote]], [[Wikibooks]], [[Wikisource]], [[Wikimedia Commons]], [[Wikispecies]], [[Wikinews]], [[Wikiversity]], Wikimedia Incubator, Meta-Wiki, [[Wikidata]], [[Wikivoyage]], and owns the now-defunct Nupedia online encyclopedia. Its Executive Director is Katherine Maher. In essence, an operator of a phonographic Web site, set up a non-profit foundation to which to transfer his crowd-sourced project, only to end up with the Chairman of its Board of Directors being a lesbian secretly married to a woman who misused her Foundation connections to openly harass male volunteers that attempted to maintain quality control on her articles. The WMF Board then turned its back on the army of long-time volunteers to reinvent their projects to promote subjective individual personal opinions rather than objective truth to create "epistemic justice". Meanwhile, it is using its donations to sue the National Security Agency (NSA) over government efforts to fight terrorism.
The foundation's headquarters address is 1 Montgomery Street, Suite 1600, San Francisco, CA 94104, Phone:(415) 839-6885. Supposed business hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m. PST.<ref>https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Contact_us</ref> However, the WMF shifted to remote operations and half-time work at full-time pay in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2020/03/06/wikimedia-foundation-will-close-san-francisco-office-and-encourage-remote-work-for-march-2020-amidst-covid-19-concerns/|title=Amid COVID-19, Wikimedia Foundation offers full pay for reduced hours, mobilizes all staff to work remote, and waives sick time|date=March 6, 2020|accessdate=Sept. 20, 2020}}</ref>
For the fiscal year ending 6/30/17, the Executive Director's salary was $307,141.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=11212|title=Wikimedia Foundation|accessdate=June 24, 2019}}</ref>
For the fiscal year ending 2017-06-30, the Executive Director's salary was $307,141.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=11212|title=Wikimedia Foundation|accessdate=June 24, 2019}}</ref>
==History==
==History==
In January 2014, Sarah Stierch was discovered to have written Wikipedia articles for hire while being a full-time WMF employee. The WMF promptly announced her departure as an employee without any official explanation.<ref>http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2014-January/129466.html</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2014-01-08/News_and_notes|work=Wikimedia Signpost|date=January 8, 2014|title=WMF employee forced out over "paid advocacy editing"|accessdate=March 12, 2014}}</ref>
In January 2014, Sarah Stierch was discovered to have written Wikipedia articles for hire while being a full-time WMF employee. The WMF promptly announced her departure as an employee without any official explanation.<ref>http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2014-January/129466.html</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2014-01-08/News_and_notes|work=Wikimedia Signpost|date=January 8, 2014|title=WMF employee forced out over "paid advocacy editing"|accessdate=March 12, 2014}}</ref>
In March 2014, Ryan Kaldari, who has been working for the WMF for almost four years and is a Wikipedia administrator, got into an editing battle with another editor. Kaldari then made complaining comments about that editor under a second assumed name. For that policy violation, Kaldari lost his administrator privileges. However, the dispute caused Wikipedia users to research Kaldari's background and discovered that for years he has been the owner and operator of several other websites including "Snuffster.com", which was intended as a parody of Friendster, but soon became a haven for Internet trolls to mock murdered children. Kaldari has been paying for the site for 10 years and has actively added comments to various threads on the site.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.examiner.com/article/wikimedia-foundation-employee-caught-sockpuppeting-and-loses-admin-rights|first=Gregory|last=Kohs|title=Wikimedia Foundation employee caught sockpuppeting and loses admin rights |date=March 8, 204|accessdate=March 12, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/wikipedia-sockpuppet-ryan-kaldari/|title=Wikipedia staffer at center of latest sockpuppet scandal|first=Rob|last=Price|work=Daily Dot|date= March 12, 2014|accessdate=March 16, 2014}}</ref> Kaldari's poor judgment in owning and operating this site was called to the attention of Jimbo Wales, who dismissed it out of hand.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales&oldid=599304349</ref>
In March 2014, Ryan Kaldari, who has been working for the WMF for almost four years and is a Wikipedia administrator, got into an editing battle with another editor. Kaldari then made complaining comments about that editor under a second assumed name. For that policy violation, Kaldari lost his administrator privileges. However, the dispute caused Wikipedia users to research Kaldari's background and discovered that for years he has been the owner and operator of several other websites including "Snuffster.com", which was intended as a parody of Friendster, but soon became a haven for Internet trolls to mock murdered children. Kaldari has been paying for the site for 10 years and has actively added comments to various threads on the site.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.examiner.com/article/wikimedia-foundation-employee-caught-sockpuppeting-and-loses-admin-rights|first=Gregory|last=Kohs|title=Wikimedia Foundation employee caught sockpuppeting and loses admin rights |date=March 8, 204|accessdate=March 12, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/wikipedia-sockpuppet-ryan-kaldari/|title=Wikipedia staffer at center of latest sockpuppet scandal|first=Rob|last=Price|work=Daily Dot|date= March 12, 2014|accessdate=March 16, 2014}}</ref> Kaldari's poor judgment in owning and operating this site was called to the attention of Jimmy Wales, who dismissed it out of hand.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales&oldid=599304349</ref>
===Tretikov Administration===
===Tretikov Administration===
In 2015, Tretikov reorganized the staff and launched a secret project to develop a "Knowledge Engine" (KE) which some planning documents said would compete with [[Google]] as a means of searching sources beyond the WMF projects by automating the process of evaluating what information on the Internet was reliable.<ref>[https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/02/head-of-wikimedia-foundation-resigns-as-tensions-with-editors-mount/ Wikimedia Foundation director resigns after uproar over “Knowledge Engine”], ''Ars Technica''.</ref> Tretikov applied for a grant of $2 million per year over three years from the Knight Foundation, but only received a one-time $250,000 grant to explore the concept. In November 2015, the WMF Board reaffirmed its support of Tretikov's leadership and retained a management consultant to mentor her. In addition, a number of senior WMF staff (including Deputy Director Erik Möller) departed, some making critical public remarks as they left.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wikipediocracy.com/2016/02/26/unicorns-are-a-myth-lila-tretikov-resigns-as-wikimedia-foundation-executive-director/#comment-44801|title=Unicorns are a Myth: Lila Tretikov resigns as Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director|date=Feb. 26, 2016|accessdate=Feb. 26, 2016}}</ref> It is easy to imagine KE to evolve into an attempt to provide the equivalent of a FICO score for every domain name, perhaps every known person on Earth, that third-party software would likely utilities to influence how second-rate search engines would rank information. Wales frequently uses software features at his web sites to discredit or silence the communications anyone he disapproves of. Wales had previously welcomed the idea of having a biography for every person on Earth but the "deletionist" element of his "community" (who simply lust after the destroying of information about low-fame entities) rejected the notion.
In 2015, Tretikov reorganized the staff and launched a secret project to develop a "Knowledge Engine" (KE) which some planning documents said would compete with [[Google]] as a means of searching sources beyond the WMF projects by automating the process of evaluating what information on the Internet was reliable.<ref>[https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/02/head-of-wikimedia-foundation-resigns-as-tensions-with-editors-mount/ Wikimedia Foundation director resigns after uproar over “Knowledge Engine”], ''Ars Technica''.</ref> Tretikov applied for a grant of $2 million per year over three years from the Knight Foundation, but only received a one-time $250,000 grant to explore the concept. In November 2015, the WMF Board reaffirmed its support of Tretikov's leadership and retained a management consultant to mentor her. In addition, a number of senior WMF staff (including Deputy Director Erik Möller) departed, some making critical public remarks as they left.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wikipediocracy.com/2016/02/26/unicorns-are-a-myth-lila-tretikov-resigns-as-wikimedia-foundation-executive-director/#comment-44801|title=Unicorns are a Myth: Lila Tretikov resigns as Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director|date=Feb. 26, 2016|accessdate=Feb. 26, 2016}}</ref> It is easy to imagine KE to evolve into an attempt to provide the equivalent of a FICO score for every domain name, perhaps every known person on Earth, that third-party software would likely utilities to influence how second-rate search engines would rank information. Wales frequently uses software features at his web sites to discredit or silence the communications anyone he disapproves of. Wales had previously welcomed the idea of having a biography for every person on Earth but the "deletionist" element of his "community" (who simply lust after the destroying of information about low-fame entities) rejected the notion.
[[File:James Heilman.png|thumb|left|200px|James Heilman, M.D. was removed from the Board]] In July 2015, James Heilman, MD was elected to the WMF Board by the editing community after starting working at WP in 2008 and being a very active ("many hours a day") and highly qualified non-anonymous editor and later administrator. He made many mass media presentations promoting the project and worked to improve its reliability especially for those seeking medical information. He attempted to recruit other physicians to help in the effort. Heilman brought staff dissatisfaction with Tretikov's leadership to the Board and pressed for more information on the Knowledge Engine and the Knight Foundation grant. On December 28, 2015, on the eve of two members leaving the Board, the Board held an emergency meeting and removed Heilman from the WMF Board by a vote of 8 to 2. The Board released a statement that Heilman "lacked the confidence" of his fellow trustees. The Community responded to his dismissal by pressing for the release of the Knowledge Engine grant application resulting in a public apology from Tretikov for pushing the project without first gaining consensus. Heilman continues to spend many hours a day contributing to WP as an editor and an admin and continues to make media appearances promoting the WP project.<ref>http://thewikipedian.net/tag/james-heilman/</ref><ref>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/11/08/501087493/should-i-trust-wikipedia-with-my-health</ref>
[[File:James Heilman.png|thumb|left|200px|James Heilman, M.D. was removed from the Board]] In July 2015, James Heilman, MD was elected to the WMF Board by the editing community after starting working at WP in 2008 and being a very active ("many hours a day") and highly qualified non-anonymous editor and later administrator. He made many mass media presentations promoting the project and worked to improve its reliability especially for those seeking medical information. He attempted to recruit other physicians to help in the effort. Heilman brought staff dissatisfaction with Tretikov's leadership to the Board and pressed for more information on the Knowledge Engine and the Knight Foundation grant. On December 28, 2015, on the eve of two members leaving the Board, the Board held an emergency meeting and removed Heilman from the WMF Board by a vote of 8 to 2. The Board released a statement that Heilman "lacked the [[confidence]]" of his fellow trustees. The Community responded to his dismissal by pressing for the release of the Knowledge Engine grant application resulting in a public apology from Tretikov for pushing the project without first gaining consensus. Heilman continues to spend many hours a day contributing to WP as an editor and an admin and continues to make media appearances promoting the WP project.<ref>http://thewikipedian.net/tag/james-heilman/</ref><ref>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/11/08/501087493/should-i-trust-wikipedia-with-my-health</ref>
The WMF Board appointed two new people to fill outside Board slots effective January 1, one of which was a Google executive, Arnnon Geshuri who was a central figure in an antitrust case. Community outrage over this improperly vetted appointment resulted in his resignation from the WMF Board.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/01/editors-demand-ouster-of-wikimedia-board-member-involved-in-no-poach-deal/|title= Law & Disorder / Civilization & Discontents Wikipedia editors revolt, vote "no confidence" in newest board member|date=Jan. 25, 2016|accessdate=Feb. 25, 2016}}</ref> On February 25, 2016, Tretikov announced her resignation as the Wikimedia Foundation's Executive Director.<ref name=ltresign/> She continued until March 31.
The WMF Board appointed two new people to fill outside Board slots effective January 1, one of which was a Google executive, Arnnon Geshuri who was a central figure in an antitrust case. Community outrage over this improperly vetted appointment resulted in his resignation from the WMF Board.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/01/editors-demand-ouster-of-wikimedia-board-member-involved-in-no-poach-deal/|title= Law & Disorder / Civilization & Discontents Wikipedia editors revolt, vote "no confidence" in newest board member|date=Jan. 25, 2016|accessdate=Feb. 25, 2016}}</ref> On February 25, 2016, Tretikov announced her resignation as the Wikimedia Foundation's Executive Director.<ref name=ltresign/> She continued until March 31.
==Lawsuits==
==Lawsuits==
In March 2015, the WMF and other groups filed a lawsuit against the [[National Security Agency]] (NSA) challenging an upstream surveillance program that was revealled by [[Edward Snowden]], a former NSA contractor. The District Court granted the NSA's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but the WMF successfully appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. That decision left the WMF as the only remaining plaintiff in the case, and the case is proceeding in District Court on remand.<ref>{{cite news|last=Nelson|first=Steven|title=Appeals Court: Wikimedia Can Fight NSA's 'Not Speculative' Internet Surveillance|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2017-05-23/appeals-court-wikimedia-can-fight-nsas-not-speculative-internet-surveillance|accessdate=24 May 2017|work=U.S. World and News Report|date=May 23, 2017}}</ref> not have standing to proceed with its claims. On February 14, 2020, the Wikimedia Foundation filed a notice of appeal in the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.<ref>{{cite web|title=District Court rules for government in Wikimedia Foundation's mass surveillance case against the NSA |url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2019/12/17/district-court-rules-for-government-in-wikimedia-foundations-mass-surveillance-case-against-the-nsa/ |publisher=Wikimedia Foundation |accessdate=September 20, 2020 |date=December 17, 2019}}</ref>
In March 2015, the WMF and other groups filed a lawsuit against the [[National Security Agency]] (NSA) challenging an upstream surveillance program that was revealled by [[Edward Snowden]], a former NSA contractor. The District Court granted the NSA's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but the WMF successfully appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. That decision left the WMF as the only remaining plaintiff in the case, and the case continued in District Court on remand.<ref>{{cite news|last=Nelson|first=Steven|title=Appeals Court: Wikimedia Can Fight NSA's 'Not Speculative' Internet Surveillance|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2017-05-23/appeals-court-wikimedia-can-fight-nsas-not-speculative-internet-surveillance|accessdate=24 May 2017|work=U.S. World and News Report|date=May 23, 2017}}</ref> On December 16, 2019, the District Court held that the WMF did not have standing to proceed with its claims. On February 14, 2020, the Wikimedia Foundation filed a notice of appeal in the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.<ref>{{cite web|title=District Court rules for government in Wikimedia Foundation's mass surveillance case against the NSA |url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2019/12/17/district-court-rules-for-government-in-wikimedia-foundations-mass-surveillance-case-against-the-nsa/ |publisher=Wikimedia Foundation |accessdate=September 20, 2020 |date=December 17, 2019}}</ref>
In 2019, cold fusion researcher Abd ul-Rahman Lomax who was banned from Wikipedia filed a lawsuit against the Wikimedia Foundation, seeking $200,000 in damages.<ref>https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.207020/gov.uscourts.mad.207020.1.0.pdf</ref>
In 2019, cold fusion researcher Abd ul-Rahman Lomax who was banned from Wikipedia filed a lawsuit against the Wikimedia Foundation, seeking $200,000 in damages.<ref>https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.207020/gov.uscourts.mad.207020.1.0.pdf</ref>
==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:Liberal Organizations]]
[[Category:Liberal Organizations]]
[[Category:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[Category:Wikimedia Foundation]]