Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

["Michael D. Thomas" <mdthomas AT mindspring.com>]

Those last two messages are exactly the same. No need to read both.
Apologies.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: internetworkers-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:internetworkers-
> bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Michael D. Thomas
> Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2003 9:50 AM
> To: 'Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/'
> Subject: RE: [internetworkers] Re: New Web Site
> 
> 
> > Sure, as long as I, and anyone else here, who doesn't have the time
or
> > energy or desire to transform a brief splurt of info into an article
> > that will live up to some reasonable editorial standard, can decline
> to
> > make a post into a more polished article, I don't have any
objections.
> > Go for it.
> 
> No particular individual is expected to do anything as part of this
> project. The project will succeed b/c people want to do stuff, not b/c
> people are somehow made to feel required to do stuff.
> 
> If anyone feels that, as part of this project, they are required to do
> /anything/, then somewhere there is an error in communication. I know
> that I'm not intending to communicate any such message.
> 
> > But when the desire to make something more, with help, turns into a
> > pressure on someone else to simply deliver /more/ on top of whatever
> they
> > may already give, don't be surprised if you get some pushback.
> 
> INW has always been very sensitive to this fact. This is why we keep
our
> costs low and make no requirements of membership. When I say things
> like, "INW is going to go for another 5 years," that's because I know
> that I can personally commit that time because the costs to run the
> organization are so low -- 2 person-hours a month. That's just 120
hours
> for another half-decade -- and past experience tells me that others
will
> be happy to help out along the way.
> 
> >From an organizational standpoint, the biggest risk of this project
is
> that it makes Triangle InterNetWorkers more difficult to run. The
> development of the system has nothing to do with that -- development
is
> a fixed cost.
> 
> This is why I want the system to be as decentralized as possible and
the
> work to be as distributed as possible. Maybe we'll have some years
where
> we'll have some great authors and editors and the content will be
> fabulous, but we can't plan for that. We can't plan for anyone to ever
> contribute at all. What we (the development team) can do is develop
it,
> have fun developing it, learn some stuff and have a system we can be
> proud of. (Now, my intuition tells me that if we do these things and
> also listen to the community as we develop, then we'll be widely
> successful. But that's just the voices in my head talking...)
> 
> I know that I've asked for help and support many times but didn't get
> it... that's fine. That just means that those seeds didn't grow.
> However, that doesn't mean that seeds shouldn't be planted. When
> pushback comes, that just means to me that there was an error in the
act
> of planting. If planting becomes unpleasant enough -- i.e., every time
I
> try to plant something a raccoon bites my toe -- then I'll quit
planting
> and go work in a factory that doesn't have raccoons. (My real hope,
> though, is that the government will start paying me not to plant.;-)
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> 
> ---
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