User:Eloquence/Thank you


 * I'm floored -- thank you for the kind notes, here and elsewhere. It's been a wild ride and a true privilege to work with so many brilliant people over the years, volunteers and staff alike. I'll still be on-wiki from time to time, but I'm shifting my attention to projects and ideas outside the Wikimedia-verse. If you have pointers in areas like: democratic decision-making tools, federated collaboration, censorship circumvention, community self-governance -- or just suggestions for makers, coders & inventors to connect with, please drop me a note on-wiki or at eloquence(at)gmail(dot)com. Love,--Eloquence* 05:14, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Thank you, Erik Moeller
''Erik! On the occasion of you leaving the Wikimedia Foundation, I've taken the liberty of creating a little page where we can thank you for everything you've done for the Wikimedia movement. All love & respect -- Sue Gardner (talk) 19:41, 14 April 2015 (UTC)''

I don't plan to write anything long/complicated here, because I will thank & praise & take you to dinner IRL. But I will tell a little story. When I joined the Wikimedia Foundation in June 2007, one of my first priorities was to prep for the winter fundraising campaign, with hopes of raising enough money to begin to grow and "professionalize" the organization. At the time, you were of course an elected board member. We, the tiny motley staff crew in the St. Petersburg office, then spent several months getting ready for the fundraiser, with me overseeing and guiding every step. On the morning of October 22, 2007, we launched the campaign from our office in Florida, and at noon I stepped off a plane in Washington DC and turned on my Blackberry (!) to see a flood of furious reaction from community members. They were mad because the campaign was awful. (Html marquee code in the banners, with "Satan made me do this" in commit messages! WMF staff wearing Renaissance Faire hats, alongside images of famine victims! Everything was terrible! I will not link to it!) I stood in the terminal in DC, my heart sinking, reading email after email of fury. And the very last email was from you. It said "Everything is a disaster. But don't worry. I have a plan, and I will fix it. Call me when you get this." And I did call you, immediately, and by the time I had, you were well on the road to fixing everything, and the campaign went on to become a massive success. That is why, two months later, I hired you as my deputy. And it's why I was so delighted and honoured, always, to work with you in the subsequent seven years. You are a rock. You instincts are flawless. You always have a plan. And you get shit done. Thank you, Erik, for the approximately 40,200 hours you have given to the Wikimedia movement since the creation of Wikipedia. We will always be grateful to you <3 Sue Gardner (talk) 19:41, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

PS don't delete this page! I think under policy it's fine to have it here, as long as you don't mind :)

From Brad
Erik, you were, first, a formidable online presence, full of knowledge, and grand ideas. You dreamed big. You knew you had a role to play, but it was impossible to predict how you would make your mark. Then, when we first met at MIT in Hacking Days and later Wikimania, it was clear how much you had to look forward to. Wikidata was already more than a glimmer in your eye. Mediawiki refactoring and dozens of other issues danced around behind your eyes. You were concerned with your English conversation, of all things. The plans for the Board and the need to move forward with a growing foundation staff fit perfectly with your interest, capacity, and talents. Over time you have demonstrated again and again how much the movement means to you, and the work you have done reflects it. I am so very glad you made the move to San Francisco, and teamed up with Sue, and did the work to bring the Foundation to its current state. I remember in particular the night I got to know more about you personally, when we ate at New York, New York in Rotterdam. I don't know what is in store for you, but I know we will all pay attention and support your next iteration. Thank you for your enormous contributions, and Bestes Glück!! --Brad Patrick (talk) 20:02, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

We are not worthy, Great Leader! We are not worthy!
Erik, you were the best personnel manager I ever had. At a time when I genuinely thought about just throwing in the towel, you came closer than anyone to convincing me that there was still good to do here - still something worth working towards, still people who were here for the beauty and the wonder and the nitty-gritty, rather than the abstract idea of "I guess a peer production community is pretty cool". You were the first person who put their money where their mouth was on personal health, on professional development, on all of the things that actually make a place a good place.

This is made even more amazing by two things: that I spent the previous two years grumping at you and panicking whenever things went sour with $PROJECT, and that, well...something something joke about German senses of humour ;p. Not only were you the best personnel manager, you were the best personnel manager after many justifiable reasons not to be, and despite all the assumptions people would've had. I will miss you terribly, and I wish you the best of luck. Ironholds (talk) 19:54, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

thank you
It is hard to think of WMF without you&mdash;it seems like everything has had your hand in it in some way and that perception is probably not far from true. I have appreciated talking with you, working with you, and even arguing with you (mostly) over the many years I've known you. And I admire your commitment to the present and future of free knowledge, and for putting action behind your ideas and doing what you believe needs to be done as well as you can possibly do it. Thank you for everything, and I look forward to hearing what you do next. Kat Walsh (spill your mind?) 20:05, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

For the better
Erik,

I can honestly say you have changed my life. Literally. Starting from that day in 2009, when you sent me that email asking if I was interested in joining the Multimedia usability project; Six years later, I regret nothing. Last year, you changed my life again by giving me another opportunity that led to my second transatlantic move. It's obvious that I wouldn't be where I am today, both professionally and geographically, had you not taken a chance on me all those years ago. I've always enjoyed your clarity of thinking, your honesty and your mentoring, and I've learned a lot from you. You're one of the people at the WMF who knows and understands me best, and your departure is not just a loss for the organization, but a personal one.

I can't imagine the WMF without you. In many ways, you were the WMF. I'll reluctantly say good-bye to Erik Möller, but I'm excited to see what User:Eloquence comes up with during his renewed Copious Free Time.

Thank you for changing my life, not just for good, but for the better. I know you'll go on changing the life of many other people. guillom 20:15, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

The very model of a modern Wikipedian
It's hard to put into words a thank you to a Wikipedian called Eloquence without feeling at least a little intimidated. And that is also the feeling I have when I meet you, Erik. For me, at least, you're one of the smartest people in the room, whichever room you happen to occupy. Unlike all of the others who have commented so far, I didn't have the pleasure of working close to you for very long. But that can perhaps make my perspective more interesting: how do you appear to people who only come to work for a short while? You needn't worry. During my short visits to the office, I spent a few hours in your company, and you almost always found the best way to proceed with my project within seconds of hearing about the problem or dilemma. I learned so much. So thank you.

Also, thank you for everything you've done for the Foundation over the years. You will be missed.//Hannibal (talk) 20:38, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

Comics and what’s related
Erik, I remember us talking about comics, talking about movies, talking about food. And of course sometime we talked about what we believe in and what we want to achieve with respect to Wikimedia and its impact to society as well. Has there been a difference in style or approach? No. You’ve always been the serious German, with strong will to really _do_ something important, articulate your thoughts and conclusions. And and with that subtle humor. Thank you, will miss you. lyzzy (talk) 20:39, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for everything
Gosh, Erik. This feels like the end of an era. I'm in Johannesburg, where we first met exactly 10 years ago to the date. I attended that meeting at South Africa's CSIR in my best presentation clothes - an ironed shirt, creased pants and black shoes. You were in shorts and a t-shirt, sitting in the front row, looking like a high-school student, and when I heard you had something to do with Wikipedia, I could barely contain my excitement. I can recall every other conversation we've ever had, from Frankfurt, later that year in 2005 to earlier this year, and the reason I can recall our conversations is your amazing, deadpan, spot-on brilliance at decoding the environment within and outside Wikipedia. I've never had a single conversation with you where I haven't left thinking, now why didn't I think of that first? Thank you - and also damn you for being so smart. I appreciate, most of all, the generous intellectual sky you live under, the fact that you've never lost sight of where Wikipedia could go, what it's meaning in history is, while yet working on some minute detail of the project with characteristic diligence. I've even come to appreciate your understated Northern European humour, much as I tried to turn you (unsuccessfully) into the exuberant kind of person I am more used to. We'll work on that. There's time. For now though, I'll miss you in the Wikimedia world one hell of a lot. aprabhala (talk) 20:45, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

Cultural Shock
Erik, I will never forget the wiki editting classes you gave me when I first was introduced to both wikipedia and open source. They were hysterical and I'm so grateful for the knowledge you imparted, that I still use today. And the patience you had in answering my questions. Have a wonderful time doing whatever you are doing next. Looking forward to a reunion one day to give you guys all a huge hug :) BESOS!!! Sandy :)

Dankeschön
Thanks so much for your mentorship and friendship, as a Wikimedian and coworker over the years. You probably don't remember but we first met back right after you had been hired, down in Palo Alto at RecentChangesCamp. We talked about the big brouhaha over accepting donations from evil VCs like the Khoslas, and as always I was impressed by your reasonable, logical attitude to the tradeoffs involved. The movement has been lucky to have you. Let's have dinner some time! I'd love to hear about your next schemes for world domination freeing culture. Steven Walling &bull; talk   22:39, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

Be light and silly (for a while)
Erik, when you asked me for endorsement for the Board elections, in August 2006, I wrote "I am and always have been deeply impressed with Erik's knowledge, vision, drive and broad range of activities. Wikmedia would not have been what it is without him." That was nearly a decade ago. How much more is this true today! I remember Sue saying once that you collect a lot of credits from the community with all that you accomplish, but then again spend those credits without remorse, when you feel there is a worthy cause. That remark stuck with me, it was a keen observation. I was reminded yesterday you had a role in devising our logo. I wouldn't be surprised if our adagium 'Be bold' bears your signature as well. Not that being bold is always a certain road to victory. There were moments where I thought you could have gained more by demanding less: after all, only a Roman dictator aptly nicknamed The Delayer managed to defeat Hannibal, where bolder generals had brought despair and infamy. Your gift of the word has been mentioned a dozen times in today's multi-channel cheers. Your dry wit also fits you well. Thanks for all the times you showed me you really studied the work I produced, and questioned me about correctness of the figures (a critical reader is so much more rewarding than an indifferent one). May you find the freedom and peace of mind to do some light and silly stuff (silly in the eyes of the dogmatic) before you start to pursue another important and hairy goal. All best, Erik Zachte (talk) 23:13, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

looking forward
All these departure messages have made me deeply nostalgic about the past decade +. It's been quite a ride. I was reading through the early foundation-l archives, and found this thing you wrote, from the note announcing your first official appointment in the organization: I'm too much of a futurist to imagine Wikimedia's technology in 10 or 20 years as recognizable from our perspective today, but the content we are creating, the global community we are building, and the basic organizational framework: these things will continue to exist. I cannot imagine being part of a single more interesting project in the world today. You were right, that those things lasted; and I cannot imagine this project without you. Thank you. -- phoebe / (talk to me) 02:04, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

p.s. I look forward to many more arguments, discussions, long-form ideas, conferences and dinners in our future :)

Thank you
Erik, I’ll also tell a story, which by coincidence is also related to fundraising. You probably don’t remember this because it’s such a small thing, yet I think it’s so revealing about how you lead.

A couple months after I joined as a contractor, WMF started running its annual fundraiser. The banners & donation forms were already in flight and me being a bit OCD about removing clicks came to you with all these changes that I thought the team should make. You listened patiently and when I told you I wanted to help the team improve the UX, you asked me, “Is that what you want to do?” This wasn’t the typical corporate I’m-going-to-ask-you-because-I-actually-don’t-want-you-to-do-it. It was an honest question that spoke to something I would see over and over again in my 5 years working with you — that you value personal freedom and self-determination, and you want that for people you work with. Time and again, you’ve created the space for me to work on what I believe in. Thank you for that gift.

You’ve been a real mentor to me. Not only by helping me understand how the greatest collaborative project the world works, but also by being a walking example of a different (and better) kind of leader. A quick list of things that I’ve learned from our over the years: how to be truly open (in every sense of the word), how to be direct yet respectful, how to express appreciation, how to work with those that are unlike me, and above all, how to stay true to one’s beliefs.

I’m sure we’ll stay in touch, and I look forward to and will support whatever’s next for you! Howief (WMF) (talk) 02:50, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Thank you, Erik
For people who have a long shared history, I think it can be difficult to do justice to all that has gone into it, or even to find proper expression for it. At least for me, since you were already a leader (whether by example or exhortation) when I arrived, it is difficult to imagine Wikimedia without you. Fortunately, regardless of what you may do in the future, I won't have to, as you have already created a tremendous legacy that will persist as long as the movement continues.

Rather than stop to compile everything I can think of for which you deserve thanks (that could go on for quite a long time), I'll focus on one of the things that stands out the most in my mind. More than just about anyone, you have always shown an understanding that what we are doing is bigger than Wikipedia alone, as big as that may be by itself. That kind of perspective helps push us all to enlarge our vision, both in terms of the things we can achieve and the people or the ideas we can include. Thank you! --Michael Snow (talk) 03:28, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

A living legend
I remember the first time I had a chance to chat with you in-person. This was just a few years ago. It was my first Wikimania, and I was relatively new to the "meta" side of the movement. As someone making that entry via developer world, I was obviously well aware of your role, work, and history within the movement. We had spoken online a few times, but I will admit, I was intimidated by the lore created by developers, and just the sheer magnitude of your presence in our movement. That dissolved quickly when we began chatting at Wikimania, and I was immediately put at ease. I recognize it was one of hundreds of interactions you had that week - and I empathize with the impossibility of remembering each of those interactions. However, this one was memorable for me, in particular as you were very encouraging and welcoming - and at that moment in time - that was especially helpful. This has remained a theme in my interactions with the team you have helped bring together - and for me anyway - my awareness of that being true on all levels of the organization began with you.

I regret that we did not have more opportunities to chat and collaborate. However, I hope that you will remain present in the movement you have helped create, and that those opportunities may still be possible. :) I imagine you already know this, but you have been a major part in building an amazing thing. The ripples you have created over the years will continue to be felt for years to come. I hope that you are as proud of your role as the movement is of its outcomes - that your next venture serves you well - and that you remain a visible presence in this one. You cannot be thanked enough after so many years in often thankless roles - but I hope this page and the listserv thread at least chip away at the gratitude debt we owe you. Best wishes! --Varnent (talk)(COI) 05:30, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

And one more
Dear Erik, Decided to do this properly by switching halfway through first line from wikitext to Visual Editor - as a salute to all you have led, built, shared, accomplished at Wikimedia. It's too long to list: your stamp is in too many places. And your thinking, insights, vision, knowledge and wisdom are the stuff of living legend. Thank you for being inimitably and eloquently ''you. ''Thank you for taking wikiprojects from those days, when, to quote you, "Wikimedia is proudly clinging to a user experience that represented a major leap forward at a time when cassette tapes were still being displaced by the Compact Disc" to here and now and the ghosts of wikis yet to come. Are you not even going to be at Wikimania? Who will stand up when Jimmy calls out for editors from 2001? Love always! Bishdatta (talk) 06:13, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Vielen Dank
Hallo Erik, vieles wurden bereits gesagt. Eine tiefe Verneigung und herzliches Dankeschön von mir. Wo geht die Reise hin? Treffen wir uns mal wieder? Mit Sicherheit, oder? Auf jedem Fall alles gute und bis demnächst. --Wing (talk) 06:29, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Lieber Erik
Vielen Dank für die Zusammenarbeit und Dein Engagement. Erinnerst Du Dich noch an Deinen Vortrag an der Wikimania 2006 in Boston? Dort habe ich zum ersten Mal von Semantic MediaWiki gehört und nicht viel verstanden. Heute arbeite ich daran, es zu benutzen. Damals warst Du gerade neu im Board und ich erinnere mich noch an die Diskussionen in der deutschsprachigen Community, wen man als Kandidaten vorschlagen könnte. Das war damals politisch nicht so ganz eindeutig und ich denke kaum, dass diejenigen, die damals so strategisch argumentiert haben, sich Deinen Werdegang so vorgestellt haben ;-) Gerne denke ich auch an Wikipedia Offline und OpenZIM zurück. Das kann man heute als festen Bestandteil desa Wikimedia-Portfolios sehen, dank Deiner Unterstützung. Vielen Dank für alles und ich bin sicher, wir sehen uns bald wieder irgendwo... --Manuel Schneider(bla) (+/-) 06:44, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

It was a ride...
I am going to join others and thank you for your work and involvement all those years. It is an odd chapter to turn in the book. I wish you the very best in the new problem spaces ! Anthere (talk)

I will grudgingly admit ...
That maybe you've actually been competent at this O:-).

Gosh, First Sue, now you. :-/ Can't imagine a WMF without you. I wish you all the best; maybe we can do some projects together again, like the good old days? :-)

--Kim Bruning (talk) 07:48, 15 April 2015 (UTC) ''"Your ideas are intriguing to me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter" ... especially wrt plans for World Domination, World Dominion, Snacks, or coding. ''

So Long, and Thanks for All the Eloquence
Oh, this was sudden. I was looking forward to debates and arguments with you! Well, perhaps we can still have those, in a different context.

Seriously, while we have has disagreements at times, I have always valued your passion for the mission of free knowledge, and your familiarity with the various Wikimedia communities, their intricacies and interactions.

The Foundation is losing a true expert. It's sad, but I hope for your it's an opportunity to grow and explore.

See you soon, somewhere, I'm sure -- Duesentrieb (?!) 15:57, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Wishing you all the best
Erik, thank you so much for all you’ve done for the movement. As someone involved in programs, I particularly appreciated your desire to see technology not just as shiny code that solved technical problems in interesting ways, but as something that actually helped people do what they wanted to do. That’s rare among people as technically savvy as you are, and I deeply appreciated working with your team because of your work. Your support of the education program has meant so much to me and the rest of us on the team over the last five years; it’s rare to find someone who gets both the people end of this movement as well as the technical end, and your leadership in navigating the two has brought us closer to our goal of providing free access to knowledge to everyone. Your departure from WMF is a loss for the entire Wikimedia movement, but I’m confident that whatever cause is lucky enough to get your talents next will be the better for it, just like our movement has been. --LiAnna (Wiki Ed) (talk) 17:40, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Moar praise!
The thing to love about all of this effusive praise is that Erik seems so awfully uncomfortable with it, and would probably be more comfortable with a bulleted list of things he needs to improve upon. He is that committed to self-improvement, and that sort of gluttony for harsh feedback is what has probably given him the endurance to be a Wikimedian at the center of the storm for 14 or so years. He is also passionate, driven, incredibly smart, and deeply ethical, and holds everyone around him to very high standards. I've heard him described as an impossibly complicated spreadsheet with practically infinite inputs that basically can solve "is X good for Wikimedia?" with a simple "true" or "false" for any value of X, and he was always 100% committed to everything that solved for "true". His presence here at the WMF will be sorely, sorely missed by everyone, not least of which being myself.

Thank you Erik for everything you've done for the Wikimedia movement! Thank you as well for everything you've taught me. I will always think warmly of your time here and our time working together. — RobLa (talk) 19:47, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Lieber Erik,


Du bist ein Held von mir. Viel Glück bei Ihrer nächsten Abenteuer :)

Victor Grigas (talk) 21:45, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Erik!!!!
I'm selfishly sad to see you leaving WMF, as you've been such a force for good for so many years — and I know that our work in the Wikimedia communities will be that much harder from here on out without you helping us fight through the hard problems. But I'm excited to see where and how you dive into the new and exciting problems you've set before yourself: "democratic decision-making tools, federated collaboration, censorship circumvention, community self-governance". Thank you! If you're looking for inspiration, you should come and spend some time in Seattle and hang out with me and Mako and a bunch of amazing people who are part of our broader tribe.--ragesoss (talk) 00:21, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

Vielen Dank!
Vielen Dank für die Energie und die Ideen die Du über die vielen Jahre in die Wikimedia-Projekte hast einfließen lassen. Vielen Dank für die gemeinsamen Gespräche, und für Deine Unterstützung. Wie auch Du bei mir, bin ich auch jetzt bei Dir nicht wirklich erfreut, Dich gehen zu sehen - da ist noch so einiges, was ich machen wollte, wo ich in Dir einen Komplizen gefunden hätte. Stattdessen bin ich aber nun gespannt, was Du als nächstes anstellen wirst.

Danke. Danke, danke, danke! --denny vrandečić (talk) 15:58, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

Stay radical
Erik,

The season finale of the “Wikimedia Foundation Saga” couldn’t have ended with a more dramatic cliffhanger.

Thank you for Commons, Wikidata, the Visual Editor, and the countless thoughtful emails sent to Wikimedia-l and the Wikimedia Foundation’s staff list. Without you, the Wikimedia culture would be very different today. What I found most inspiring was your enthusiasm and tenacity whenever it came to upholding the values of free knowledge and open source. Sometimes that came at a cost – it makes me smile when I think back at generations of WMF staffers trying to understand the intricacies of tools like Open Office that you promoted as part of your quest to get everybody in the organization perfectly aligned with the ideals of the FOSS movement. I cannot imagine a Wikimedia Foundation that’s not deeply rooted in the culture that you’ve been the most outspoken advocate for. Also, you’ve been the explainer and the memory of the many things that were going on in the Wikimedia universe. Your knowledge of Wikipedia’s history is legendary; your interpretation of numbers and trends have provided a strong guidance to everybody who worked for the Foundation. In meetings, your passion was immediately obvious to everybody who was in the room. It would make you get up from your chair, wander around and lecture thoughtfully about how you interpreted our world.

On a personal note, I hope you’ll be staying in San Francisco. I still remember the first time we met at a German community party in Berlin. Months later, Sue told me how much she wished that the two of us would work well with each other. And it’s not a secret that I enjoyed your company a great deal over the past seven years. I’m grateful that we’ve stayed in touch after I left the Wikimedia Foundation last year. I’m looking forward to many more evenings at an Eastern German restaurant in the Mission where people look in bewilderment at the strange guys who talk vividly to each other in a mix of English and German while sharing a cup of “Rote Grütze”.

It remains to be seen how the Wikimedia Foundation will deal with losing its moral compass. Stay radical in the pursuit of the ideas you believe in!

Yours --Frank Schulenburg (talk) 17:19, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

An inspiration
Erik,

Your vision and work has always been an inspiration for me. Thanks for all you have done. -- JackHerrick (talk) 00:02, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

Henchman Reporting in
Dear Erik,

Not sure where to begin :(

Because words cannot begin how important your contribution to Wikimedia so far has been. When I started on the board in 2007 you were a little impatient with your new fellow board member for simply “not getting it” (fair comment, some would argue that 8 years later I still don’t get it so there). In the following months I learned to admire not just your expertise but also your unwavering belief in our mission. You made clear what “being bold” meant on several occasions. Sue could not have picked a better deputy to help her set up the foundation in San Francisco and you deserve a large part of the credit for what we have achieved (as it witnessed in this thread).

But there are two things that have always impressed me beyond all others:

1) Knowing what the “right thing” to do is in terms of our movement and mission. I have sought you out many times for advice, and have not regretted it once. Even if I did not agree your perspective always got me thinking and helped me form a better opinion. 2) Your ability to always be frank, but also take the time to reach out and spend the time to explain things when needed (and take the criticism for it). Several emails to this mailing list are proof of that.

But I can understand your decision that “the time has come”. I might not agree, but I am not sure I will ever agree with it…. working with you has made me a better person and hopefully we will have the chance to do so again somewhere in the future.

As a very small consolation: I am excited to find out what cause you will actively support next, and I am sure that your path and that of our community will continue to cross regularly.

From the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU!

Jan-Bart “your henchman” de Vreede Jan-Bart (talk) 08:02, 26 April 2015 (UTC)