[Baypiggies] decision-making

[wesley chun]

JJ,

thanks for taking the initiative and polling the membership with
regards to resolving our mailing list issues.  i applaud all members
who contribute to the list in a positive and constructive manner,
making our community a small microcosm of the general global Python
populus as a whole.  as a member since its early days in 1999, i feel
that i need to contribute my $0.02 here.

nameChange = -1

the name was admittedly awkward at first, but then again, so was
delimitation by indentation.  i took it FWIW and moved on.  i have no
opinions good or bad about the name.  all i can say is that it hasn't
really been a problem (except to those who despise it).  i use
"BayPIGgies" in a fun and lighthearted way, then switch to "the
Silicon Valley-San Francisco Bay Area Python users group" when more
appropriate in a professional setting.  most of the time, i introduce
the group with both titles since "BayPIGgies" is a conversation
starter, which inevitably leads to the names of the portland group
(PORPIGgies) and the mississippi group (the MS PIGgies).  the hint to
beginners is given that the community is technical, yet loose and
lighthearted, and that you won't get chewed out for asking questions
as a newbie.  it's the language that attracts new programmers to
Python, and it is the community that keeps them within the fold.  you
will know this if you've ever gone to a Python conference like
PyCon... if you go just once, you will find yourself always returning.

additional, admin, and jobs lists = -1 + -1 + -1

if we tone down the rhetoric and properly subject-line the content,
i.e. [JOB], [ANN], etc., it will suffice since these are not the
dominant threads on the mailing list, and they're not even close.   as
aahz mentioned previously, aside from the "what are we talking about
next month" and "where is the meeting" posts, there was very little to
no admin nor meta-discussions on the list at all.  if we get recruiter
msgs more than once per week on a regular basis, then perhaps it's
time to make another list, but not for now.

in fact, jim, we should also reserve one meeting during the year as
"recruiters" or "Python jobs" night.  this will let recruiters, hiring
managers, or engineers on teams that *are* hiring to present their
case in a "random access" kind of way, then let those interested
collate and co-mingle afterwards with discussion and
resume/business-card exchange.  we had one of these at ironport, and i
think it went pretty well.

that's it for now,
-wesley

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"Core Python Programming", Prentice Hall, (c)2007,2001
    http://corepython.com

wesley.j.chun :: wescpy-at-gmail.com
python training and technical consulting
cyberweb.consulting : silicon valley, ca
http://cyberwebconsulting.com