Thefounder global group was created onFebruary 27, 2009. Intended to duplicate the local English Wikipedia 'steward' flag that was attached toen:User:Jimbo Wales, the group used to give Wales full access toSpecial:UserRights and othersteward rights. It was created followinghis 2009 steward confirmation in an attempt to compromise between the various groups' positions (remove because of inactivity, move to the staff group, keep because he's a co-founder, etc.). The global group used to contain most of the rights the steward group had at the time of creation.
FollowingRequests for comment/Remove Founder flag andPetition to Jimbo, Wales renounced almost all these rights[1] andremoved them: aftersubsequent edits, the founder groups gives read access to most logs, the ability to edit closed wikis, IP block exempt, rollback, the ability to move pages without leaving a redirect, the ability to view deleted files, and a few other miscellaneous permissions. Jimbo doesnot have the ability, through his founder tag, to delete content, hide content, perform checkusers, view suppressed content, or change group membership. Also, currently, Jimbo cannot edit protected pages through the founder flag, nor may he edit semi-protected pages, but that may change upon request.
Its roles in various Wikimedia projects are not yet defined. The English Wikipedia has a localfounder group, which formerly gave Jimbo Wales full access to UserRights on that project only. The group continues to exist as a courtesy, granting no advanced rights.
Jimmy Wales also holds the position "Founder's seat" on the WMF Board of Trustees.