It started well before then. There's been numerous occurrences of dramatic employee burnout that end up in people losing their shit on the WMF internal staff list then quiting. For this particular case it got so bad that the meltdowns were on the public list instead.

That's terrible. I really feel for WMF staff. They work in the WMF because they want to be part of something that improves humanity. Then people with their own narrow agendas come in, with no experience with the project, look around without listening to those on the coal face and make stupid, half baked changes in secret, which they then seem to have to change every three months, making it impossible for staff to do the work they need to do.

That's my impression anyway.

I have nothing but good will and the utmost respect for those who work at the WMF as employees.

Yeah, I think there's a big difference between modern American corporate culture, where CEOs are seen as in charge, and some place like the WMF, where people are service- and mission-oriented.

It's a little hard to talk about, in that most Americans don't even realize there's an alternative to the "CEO is the biggest boss" model. But both Servant Leadership and the Toyota Production System are alternatives that invert the normal hierarchy, putting those served (e.g., customers, readers) on top, the people doing the direct work second, and everybody supporting them (managers, executives) them beneath that. I think the latter would be a much better fit for the WMF style.