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== Trustees ==
== Trustees ==


===Jimbo Wales===
===Jimmy (Jimbo) Wales===


[[Image:WikiMeet_London_-_Jimbo_talks.jpg|thumb|200px|Jimmy Wales addressing a "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jimbo_Wales/2004-06-05 Wikimeet]" in [[London]].]]
'''Jimmy "Jimbo" Donal Wales''' (born [[August 7]], [[1966]]), is an [[Internet]] [[entrepreneur]] and a [[wiki]] enthusiast.

Wales was born in [[Huntsville, Alabama|Huntsville]], [[Alabama]] and is a graduate of [[Auburn University]] and the [[University of Alabama]]. He worked as a professional futures and options trader in [[Chicago]]. He also admires the [[Objectivist philosophy]] of [[Ayn Rand]], and while in graduate school owned and moderated an Internet [[mailing list]] known as the "Moderated Discussion of Objectivist Philosophy." In the mid-[[1990s]] Wales started [[Bomis]], a search portal focusing on aspects of [[pop culture]], one of the first users of the freely licensed data of the [[Open Directory Project]], and [[Wikia]], a wiki-style [[search engine]].

In 1999, Wales had the concept of a freely distributable encyclopedia and founded [[Nupedia]], by hiring philosopher Larry Sanger as editor-in-chief and assigning 2 programmers to write software for it. Nupedia failed primarily due to being a top-down cathedral model, as opposed to Wikipedia, which is the ultimate bazaar. After more than 2 years of struggle with the Nupedia concept, Wikipedia was opened to become an instant success.

Wales is currently the president of the [[Wikimedia]] Foundation, a [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]]-based [[non-profit organization]] that encompasses Wikipedia and its younger sister projects. According to the ''[[Herald Sun]]'', an [[Australia]]n [[newspaper]], Wales has spent over AU$400,000 on Wikipedia and Nupedia; later, ''[[Time Magazine]]'' reported that Wales spent around US$500,000 on his Wiki projects.

Wales is married, and lives in [[St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]], [[Florida]] with his wife Christine and his daughter Kira.


===Michael Davis===
===Michael Davis===

Revision as of 19:35, 18 September 2004

Template:En-langs

The corporate structure of Wikimedia Foundation is composed of five trustees according to Wikimedia Foundation bylaws, article IV.

The initial trustees (article IV, sec. 2.2.) include the following individuals, three partners and two (other) Wikipedians:

The two elected positions, were selected from volunteer and contributing members of Wikimedia (article IV, sec. 2.3). They were elected by held in June 2004. The election was open to all active members of the foundation who had made their first edit at least 90 days ago.

The Board of Trustees are the ultimate corporate authority in the Wikimedia Foundation Inc. (article IV, sec. 1). The Board has the power to direct the activities of the foundation. It also has the authority to set membership dues, discipline and suspend members (article III), and to amend the corporate bylaws (article VI).

The board elected some officers and set two committees.

Trustees

Jimmy (Jimbo) Wales

Jimmy Wales addressing a "Wikimeet" in London.

Jimmy "Jimbo" Donal Wales (born August 7, 1966), is an Internet entrepreneur and a wiki enthusiast.

Wales was born in Huntsville, Alabama and is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of Alabama. He worked as a professional futures and options trader in Chicago. He also admires the Objectivist philosophy of Ayn Rand, and while in graduate school owned and moderated an Internet mailing list known as the "Moderated Discussion of Objectivist Philosophy." In the mid-1990s Wales started Bomis, a search portal focusing on aspects of pop culture, one of the first users of the freely licensed data of the Open Directory Project, and Wikia, a wiki-style search engine.

In 1999, Wales had the concept of a freely distributable encyclopedia and founded Nupedia, by hiring philosopher Larry Sanger as editor-in-chief and assigning 2 programmers to write software for it. Nupedia failed primarily due to being a top-down cathedral model, as opposed to Wikipedia, which is the ultimate bazaar. After more than 2 years of struggle with the Nupedia concept, Wikipedia was opened to become an instant success.

Wales is currently the president of the Wikimedia Foundation, a Tampa-based non-profit organization that encompasses Wikipedia and its younger sister projects. According to the Herald Sun, an Australian newspaper, Wales has spent over AU$400,000 on Wikipedia and Nupedia; later, Time Magazine reported that Wales spent around US$500,000 on his Wiki projects.

Wales is married, and lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife Christine and his daughter Kira.

Michael Davis

Little is known...


Tim Shell

Tim Shell, self-photo

Tim Shell is a founding partner of w:en:Bomis. He lives in the Mojave Desert but he can't stand the sun. He claims to have had an important role in the creation of Wikipedia, but has no way of proving this.

He likes Epicurus, Ayn Rand, Eric Hoffer, Julian Simon, and Friedrich Hayek and thinks Mark Twain wrote better English than just about anyone else.

I have noticed in reading history that people in every era are held in thrall by ideas that in retrospect are shown to be untrue, even silly. I do not doubt that the current era is any different.
I think socialism and creationism are in essence the same theory (centrally planned order imposed on the system by a higher authority that exists outside the system). Both theories are equally absurd. I think evolutionists who see spontaneous order in complex natural systems, while advocating central planning in complex human systems, have zero intellectual integrity.
I believe in every god I've ever seen.

Florence Devouard

She is a french woman of 36, with two kids of 6 and 8. She is a engineer in Agronomy and currently works in a firm making decision tools in sustainable agriculture.

Angela Beesley

Other links