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• It should also be noted that Gog the Mild is the first Military history WikiProject editor to earn both the Newcomer and Military Historian of the Year awards in the same year. For this honor he joins our current Lead Coordinator Peacemaker67 as one of only two editors to have earned both of these awards. For this acomplishment Gog the Mild and Peacemaker67 have received the Big Red One Badge and the title Primus Inter Pares. TomStar81 (Talk) 10:23, 31 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
• "where the population is starving and forced to eat garbage"—which implies everyone in the country is. Could the proposition be verified, please, especially the claim that everyone is forced to eat garbage? Tony (talk) 11:07, 31 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • The proposition should be removed. It's not at all NPOV, and frankly very insulting, to describe the two main features of a country to be its "largest oil reserves in the world" and allegedly garbage-consuming population. — Bilorv_(c)(talk) 18:37, 31 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Bilorv, you are forgetting that The Signpost columns are not Wikipedia articles. That said, please have the courtesy to find out what you are talking about before insulting the magazine. Either that consider responding to the appeals for contributions. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 07:28, 3 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

• I don't know why NPOV keeps getting thrown around in the reader comments. The Signpost makes no statement about neutrality. Bri.public (talk) 19:05, 31 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

• If that's what you think, you should get out of involvement with the Signpost. The standards on display here are appalling. Tony (talk) 00:22, 1 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

If that's what you think, Tony1, you should either come back and write The Signpost yourself to your own rules, or be less rude in the comments section. If you are one of the editors who insist that Wikipedia standards apply here, then have the courtesy to apply them here too. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 06:56, 3 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

• "As documented on YouTube" has to be the most unintentionally hilarious sentence to ever appear in the Signpost. Gamaliel (talk) 14:45, 31 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

• Bit surprised to see I've been quoted here without any notice, and implied to have some sort of insider WMF knowledge without being asked about it. I have no idea of the circumstances regarding James' departure, but it baffles me that so many people see this departure and jump right over the most plausible explanations–that he was ready for a change after eight years at a company (practically a lifetime in the software world), or that he decided to take what appears to be an impressive (and probably better-paying) job opportunity–and assume that he was ousted or that there was something seedy happening behind the scenes. Slow news cycle, perhaps? GorillaWarfare (talk) 14:49, 31 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
• The most surprising thing is that K reads Wikipediocracy. ∯WBG^converse 17:30, 31 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
• I've worked in big city IT companies with 25 to nearly 50% staff turnover, and yes when it approached 50% the organisation was stressed. I've also been involved in public sector organisations where the staff turnover was below ten%. If the Signpost is going to criticise the WMF for having a revolving door, it would make sense to quote what the staff turnover level is now and what it was during the troubled period a few years back. ϢereSpielChequers 15:16, 1 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

WereSpielChequers, I don't believe that The Signpost is obliged to provide those kinds of in-depth stats, for one thing, the availability of its editors and contributors is so limited, it's either that or no article at all. I just remember that when I joined the project, there were 7 staff, nowadays there are over 300 (apparently not including the spin-off organisationns)and the volunteers who provide the content that provides the donations that provide their salaries have a right to some transparency. The problems that high staff turnovers bring with them include an important loss of institutional memory and a long and steep learning curve for newcomers. The lack of any visible form of hierarchy or at least clear lines and levels of responsibility also exacerbates the situation and does not help the volunteer community to build bridges and gain confidence with the WMF. The new WMF website actually cloaks some of the employees under further levels of navigation away from the main staff page. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 07:28, 3 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

• The issue here is presumably not the level of turnover from a corporate point of view, but more the concept of revolving door (politics). Wikipedia, like government, has been envisioned by many as a noble enterprise seeking fairness ... and such enterprises are seen as unmined resources by every capitalist with a pick-axe. When someone goes from working for the government of Singapore, not a free society, into Wikipedia, that should immediately raise questions in our minds. When someone comes out of Wikipedia into Twitter, we should wonder if they had any way to earn goodwill with the company first. I don't know these things mean anything in these particular cases -- I don't have an NSA-eye view of what lurks in the individual human soul, if I did it wouldn't stop anything because I don't have their omnipotence either. All I know is that the utopia of free information on computers has rapidly degenerated into a dictatorship of machine ownership and control by a few people who corrupt everything, and Wikipedia is the least of what stands to be destroyed, however large that itself may be. In the end the planet itself will be passed through the flames to Moloch. Wnt (talk) 12:55, 2 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

• The insinuations regarding James' departure are completely unfounded, based on absolutely nothing other than wild accusations on Wikipediocracy. That blurb reads like a tabloid, not news, and it's about as accurate as one. ~ Rob₁₃^Talk 16:37, 2 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
• In comparison to the article below, the persons leaving "blurb" is NOT classy, it's downright tabloidy snark, jumping over someone gets a better job to throw slime. Alanscottwalker (talk) 17:48, 2 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
• James continued to be involved with important community issues and meetings and remained the face and voice of the Trust and Safety team right up until his departure. The claims and implications in the piece are based upon merely rumors from Wikipediocracy and lacks any sort of credibility. I am disappointed such a piece would even be allowed to be published. Mkdw ^talk 05:16, 3 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I should point out that I have no complaint about the Signpost including editorial pieces from a non-neutral point of view. However, I do care if these pieces are selected for publication and receive wide distribution if they lack credibility, especially when they are about people in our community. I saw a seemingly related discuss on Kudpung's user talk page from Bri. I look forward to the next Signpost issue explaining their "editorial policy on POV in News and notes" and specifically how they view their responsibility when publishing POV pieces that are not credible and seemingly lack integrity. If a piece concludes with "the reasons for Alexander's departure, and why he was not publicly thanked for his eight years' work remain unknown", it brings into question the policy to willingly publish rumours from Wikipediocracy as a POV editorial. Mkdw ^talk 06:03, 3 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Mkdw, I think the report above on Alexander's departure is evenly balanced. The WMF never mentioned the staff change, the only hint came from 1) the disappearance of Alexander from the staff list, and 2) a Wikipedia arbitrator claiming to have inside information which they posted on Wikipediocracy, which was apparently discovered by a Google search. When approached, a very senior (and very friendly) WMF source replied but declined to comment, and another did not respond at all. The conjecture is not of The Signpost 's making, which leaves the question entirely open as to why Alexander left, whether he was lured by a better and/or more interesting offer, or had become disenchanted with the WMF, whatever, but why he was not thanked for his years of service, as most managers are when they leave, remains a mystery. Whatever his current situation is, we naturally wish him all the best. The rest is history - The Signpost moves on. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 06:48, 3 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

That statement by the Venezuela Wiki organization seems particularly classy, in what must be a very trying situation. Brave, even. Well done. You are indeed independent from the rest of us and the other Wikimedia organizations but still in the thoughts of many of us. Alanscottwalker (talk) 16:17, 2 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Shoudn't that be "turnstyle"...? - wolf 23:04, 2 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]