[Baypiggies] positive spirit of the group [was moving forward]

Marilyn Davis marilyn at deliberate.com
Tue May 2 17:40:47 CEST 2006


------- On Monday, May 1, 2006 jjinux at gmail.com wrote:

> On 4/27/06, Aahz  wrote:
>> On Thu, Apr 27, 2006, Dennis Reinhardt wrote:
>> > At 05:02 PM 4/27/2006, Aahz wrote:
>> >>
>> >> My bias is toward not changing things.
>> >
>> > My bias is towards finding changes which represents benefit and moving
>> > forward in that direction.
>>
>> You snipped enough context to radically change the meaning of what I
>> said.  I see no point in responding further.
> 
> This beating up on Aahz is not in line with the positive spirit of our
> group.  I normally wouldn't reply to such political things, but I'd
> just like to stick my neck out and say "thanks" to Aahz for all that
> he's done.  It's not like we're paying the guy!

Abolutely!  Thank you Aahz.  And thank you JJ for all you do.

But, there are several things here that I don't understand.  Why is it "sticking your neck out" to say "thank you"?  It's very important to say thank you and 'good work' to each other.  That's the payment volunteers get.

JJ, for example, there was this:	

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006, Shannon -jj Behrens wrote:

[some deleted]

>> > I'm not going to force you to learn HTML ;)
>> >
>> > However, a Web site is better than occassional email.  If we need to
>> > use a wiki, or if I need to write a script, that's fine, but I think a
>> > Web page is the way to go.
>> >
>> > That's just my $0.02.
>>
>> Since this is BayPiggies, I assume you're quite happy to write Python
>> ;)  In that case, give us the content in Python:
>>
>> meeting = {
>>     "date": "2006/06/13",
>>     "speaker": "Foo Bar",
>>     # ...
>> }
>>
>> Then, writing a script will be trivial! :-D  Generating the iCal feed
>> will also be easy!
>
> I'm not one to trust with typing tasks.  But I made this little script
> to parse Dennis' format into a python dictionary.  From there, your script
> should be even easier, I hope.
>
> ---
>
> #!/usr/bin/env python
> '''bap.py parses an email message to gather meeting schedule

And what followed was a script to get the data into a python dictionary, for you, for the group.

No 'thank you' for doing what you asked.  No 'good work', no suggestions for improving the code, nothing.  Was it a faux pas to send code?

Back to you and Aahz chastizing Dennis:  I don't get what he did wrong.  Here is the whole message, no text cut, well-indented for easy skipping:

  > ----- On Thursday, April 27, 2006 aahz at pythoncraft.com wrote:
  >
  >> 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
  >> _______________________________________________
  >> Baypiggies mailing list
  >> Baypiggies at python.org
  >> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/baypiggies

What did Dennis cut from Aahz' email that changed the context?  I don't see any 'beating up' on Aahz.

There were 3 emails about the name-change that took my messages into left-field directions that had nothing to do with what I said or intended.  I let them drop because I don't know what to say when someone asks me if I've stopped beating my wife.  At least Dennis has a wife to not beat. :^)

So there does seem to be some issue around here about getting along, being generous with each.

Why is this?

Marilyn



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