ubuntu-us-ohio team mailing list archive

[Paul Tagliamonte <paultag@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm sorry for the long post, it will make good reading if you're interested.


On Thu, Oct 21, 2010 at 9:37 AM, Brian Freytag <brifreytag@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I agree with Judd on this.
>
> We wouldn't be where we are today if Mr. Paul Tagliamonte hadn't just
> made a bunch of executive decisions. He had a mission and he made it
> happen by being a true leader. I've attended a couple CA IRC meetings
> back when I was lead of the C-bus ReLoCo and they have no real
> governmental structure, and they are just a mess because they don't
> have anyone telling them what to do. While I agree with many of the
> "socialist" ideals of F/OSS, delegation seems to be the only thing
> keeping people truly motivated.

I've been trying really hard to keep out of this discussion, but I
feel like I kinda have to butt in for a quick second. This is more of
a reflection of what I've done over the last year, rather then
guidelines on a new leader. I could, after all, be totally and 100%
wrong with everything I've done.


It's really hard, talking about such politics as these. There is a
reason why there are so many political ideologies, and it's because
there are really an infinite amount of ways to approach a problem.

After all, who's to say one's better then another?

Yes, that was rhetorical.


Over the last year, I was trying to "govern" as little as possible.
Yes, I made sweeping changes. Yes, I perhaps did not make these calls
based on consensus.

However:

I did *not* try and create a rigid system of rule. I set up the ReLoCo
teams to allow each "subteam" to "govern" themselves. Come up with
their own events, their own logistics. There are some basic rules, but
I tried to keep it light.

I would try and take all objections seriously, and look to provide an
amicable solution to all the parties involved. In a no-win situation,
It might be my role to declare it based on title, whatever that means.
After all, it's the team's LoCo as much as it's mine, if it even is.

In the end, I tried to have Ohio the LoCo provide an infrastructure
that the ReLoCo teams filled in. My role after the first two months or
so became playing the bar-back. Really, I was just looking to
coordinate.

I like to think of the role of Contact as a custodian. Looking out for
problems and helping teams get what they need

Organic growth and a bit of independence allows each ReLoCo to have a
bit of local flavor to it, and I think that's a really neat thing
about Ohio.

Like you said, because -us-ca has a complete rule by consensus, they
spend months -- even years -- debating simple issues because a loud
minority has a problem with it.

This turns the entire LoCo experience into a High School debate club.
That's not a vibe I care for muchly.


I am into moderation and empathy. Forging friendships and enabling
cooperation is really the name of the game -- we have a pretty
powerful social network on this team. Remember, this is our free time.


>
> There are leaders and there are followers. Some people don't really
> care what happens. They happy contributing, but they need to be
> directed or they won't be comfortable making that decision.
>
> Then you have the situations where there is dissent on a subject
> matter. People don't like to argue, so everyone just gives up on the
> matter. It could be a really important matter that just gets dropped
> off the map because nobody in a leadership position says, "Here's what
> we're going to do... if you don't like it, bit me." Naturally, most
> matters can be discussed and decided via mobs without much dissent.
> It's when an important matter arises and nobody can agree when
> somebody needs to stand up make the decision.
>
> Brian Freytag
> I Don't Like This Game System Administrator/Web Developer
> http://www.idontlikethisgame.com/
> Social Media Widget
> http://forums.idontlikethisgame.com/viewforum.php?f=3
>
> P.S. Coding the Social Media Widget takes up a lot of my already
> limited free time, and I don't see a dime from it unless people
> donate. It is donations that keep this widget up to date and the most
> popular social media bookmarking plugin since Sexy Bookmarks. If
> you're capable, please consider a donation. Any size donation is
> greatly appreciated! Thanks!
> http://www.idontlikethisgame.com/code/donate.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 9:35 PM, Judd Storrs <jstorrs@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> On Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 6:32 PM, The Erk <incredulouserk@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>> I absolutely, vehemently, with jello, disagree.  To function properly as a
>>> group there needs to be little leadership and chain of command.  Community
>>> and peer is what makes us strong.  Businesses and governments run with
>>> strong leadership and chain of command.. and look how well that works out.
>>
>> Hierarchical structures do have advantages, particularly for managing
>> limited resources. Sometimes mobs don't work out so well.
>>
>>
>> --judd
>>
>
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I agree with both of the candidates to a pretty strong degree.

After all, even the most deranged and sadistic dictators were quite
outgoing and personable -- there's a reason why people put their trust
in them.

In the end, it's about how we can make progress. How we can best
enable people to join and help the team. How we can do the most good
for the most amount of people.

Love,
Paul

-- 
All programmers are playwrights, and all computers are lousy actors.

#define sizeof(x) rand()
:wq