I find the position paper instructions confusing and a little contridictory.
Half the time it seems like the instructions basically want an abstract of what you are going to present at the conference, or a position on some issue which you intend to "defend". The other half of the time it seems to be asking for a resume cover letter type thing, or a vauge what do you hope to get out of this conference.
My reading of the instructions was that we pick some of the questions in the section above, and answer them, and sprinkle in bits of our resume in our answers.
I have some concerns about how "sprinkle in bits of our resume" interacts with the blind review process. I wrote up my concerns over at Writing Tips/Examples#Qualifications.
So this raises the natural question of if we are bound to our answers in any way. Are we expected to present/defend/etc the point of view we write in any way. If yes, how? If not, I kind of wonder as to what the point is.
On IRC, @KSmith (WMF) said: "position papers -> themes -> topics/sessions. It's the topics/sessions that I think will be most important to discuss" (by way of explaining why lack of time would probably preclude public review of position papers). So the position papers are intended to serve as input to a selection of themes based on the specific invited participants?
I am not sure where the "resume cover letter" impression is coming from but it is honestly irrelevant in my view and to @Cscott's point would defeat the blind review. @Rfarrand (WMF) let's take a look where that is coming from and change the wording if needed. What matters is picking a topic that relates to how technology can support the emerging strategy and have something cogent to say about it. The "abstract" that @Bawolff talks about is pretty much on target.
So, on the current version of the writing tips page I'd suggest that the following give the "resume cover letter" impression:
These points all suggest a focus on the personal ("why this matters to me") rather than the technical. Perhaps we can rephrase or remove these prompts.
