Ami Dar and Omidyar

Very interesting to watch this thread unfold on Omidyar.net with commentary now from the Chronicle on Philanthropy. The story was picked up by Philanthropy News Digest, and was noted in an email today by Foundation Center Online.  Alison Fine has blogged it, as has Lucy Bernholz.  Ami Dar of Idealist.org expressed on the talking side of the Omidyar site his exasperation with the funding side. So far the only comment from Omidyar on the situation was a note to Dar telling him that his long-pending funding proposal was denied.  All I want to say is that having an open conversation like this is healthy. I wish there were more places that the public, grant-seekers, and funders could interact in a human way, despite the vast differentials in wealth, power, and access.  Giving Ami "the silent treatment" is ok for now; it speaks volumes;  but as more and more people use the net to go public with the private transcripts of philanthropy, foundation wealth will increasingly have to answer to the public it serves, lest it seem imperious.