[Baypiggies] Meetup re BayPIGgies organization Thu 4/27, 7pm, Jing Jing, Palo Alto

[Aahz]

On Wed, Apr 26, 2006, Marilyn Davis wrote:
>
> What is missing from the lists of tasks is "decision-making".  How has
> that been happening so far?

Decision?  What's that?  An appropriate description would be something
along the lines of loosely organized chaos.

> I also remember that the poll and survey are considered "non-binding".
> What is binding?

Getting enough people to agree.  My bias is toward not changing things.

> I find it uncomfortable for a big volunteer group to be in a position
> where they can't make a decision unless a specific 2 people are
> involved, specially when both are too busy writing books and having
> babies to participate.  Are we simply stuck?

Not from my POV.  But I don't think that just because a few people are
clamoring for change is a reason to let things move forward in a
different direction.

BTW, note that Danny is the primary contact for baypiggies.net and
Deirdre still owns the domain.

> If we find a way to unstick ourselves, I hope that we make some
> schedule where we rotate the duties, that no one holds a position of
> power and visibility for longer than a year or two.

That's an idea, but it also implies a lot more organization than I think
is likely to ever happen.

> "Benevolent dictator" makes a lot of sense for a technical design or
> a programming language, but not for a big volunteer group.  Volunteer
> groups thrive on democracy.

Not in my experience.  My experience is that volunteer groups thrive 
on -- guess what? -- volunteers.  And unless the volunteer base is large
enough, consensus is usually more important than democracy.
-- 
Aahz (aahz at pythoncraft.com)           <*>         http://www.pythoncraft.com/

"Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they're yours."  --Richard Bach