[consulting] Drupal Professions Shop Conference Call

[Jason Flatt]

On Thursday 23 February 2006 01:09 pm, Gregory Heller wrote:
> Gerhard,
>
> I can understand why you might think that my sudden burst of involvement
> is "a bit strange".  I am not a coder, at all, I am a fierce advocate
> and evangelist for Drupal and CiviCRM, I am a project manager with my
> firm, and do client relations.  At CivicActions, we do CiviCRM and
> Drupal.  I am working to contribute in ways that I can.  The community
> talks alot about getting people like me to contribute, and having my
> motivation or sincerity questioned isn't the best encouragement.
>
> CivicActions is actively working to increase our participation (writ
> large) in the Drupal Community.  That includes code, documentation,
> community organizing, event organizing.
>
> Right now, coming off of Vancouver, there was a sense that organizing
> the Drupal professional community was something that could help the
> community at large.  We are biting off low hanging fruit.  Conference
> Calls, Drupal Professionals Directory, etc....
>
> There are issues that effect Drupal shops.  I am trying to get shops
> together because the shops I have spoken to have all expressed interest
> in working more collaboratively to address the problems/challenges that
> we face.  One of those big problems is training and developing new
> talent, not just so there can be more lone cowboys out there, but so
> that Drupal shops can take on bigger projects, and scale.
>
> We are trying to have a focused conference call to address the issues
> that shops are facing.
>
> I am sure that sole contractors have a set of issues that they face,
> maybe some of them overlap with those facing shops, others don't.  I
> don't know because I have spent my time talking to other shops and not
> sole contractors.  Maybe someone should set up a monthly conference call
> for sole contractors to talk.  This is sort of happening as more Drupal
> "user" or "developer" groups form and meet, like the one in NY that we
> helped organize last week and the Bay Area group.
>
> I'll be sending out the call in information for the conference call
> later today, it looks like there is enough interest for the stated date
> and time.  Who ever wants to join the call can, there will be an agenda
> formed from the suggestions that have been made.
>
> I look forward to talking with folks next week.
>
> -Gregory

Gregory,

I was going to just let this drop, but it seems that others are carrying it 
forward, so I will make one last response, just to explain my position, and 
since you have explained yours.

I appreciate you have a certain agenda you are trying to focus on, and I 
really don't have a problem with that.  That is your business, and none of 
mine.  I do feel, however, that your original e-mail did not make that plain.

Your response to my e-mail was rude and insulting to me and, indirectly, to 
every individual consultant in existence, not just with Drupal.  You stated, 
quite clearly, that if I was not part of a "shop" (though I have no idea what 
that actually means to you -- 2 people, 10 people, 100 people -- it's all 
relative), that I was only dabbling.

Drupal was started by dabbling.

Each and every individual who goes solo is risking far more with their futures 
than any employee ever will.  I am actively persuing this with all my energy, 
and I am very frustrated w/myself when I do not appear to be making progress.  
I quite literally think about Drupal all the time (at least hourly, though 
it's much closer to minute-by-minute).  I even dream about it.  (Yeah, okay, 
so I'm obsessed.  At least I shouldn't be able to hurt anybody with it.  :^))  
I am constantly (as in, at least, daily) looking at projects in my everyday 
life and trying to think of how I can use Drupal to make it better.  I'm sure 
I'll catch flak for it from the developer community, but I am also trying to 
see what it would take to create a groupware offering using Drupal, with 
existing modules and new or modified ones.  Just because I do not yet have 
the luxury to be full time (I still have to pay the power bill, which means I 
still have to do non-Drupal things to earn a little money), doesn't mean I'm 
dabbling.

I will not be attending the conference call.  I have far too many other things 
to do than to hang out with people who do not want me around.  Life is too 
short for that.

-- 
Jason Flatt
http://www.oadae.net/
Father of Six:  http://www.flattfamily.com/ (Joseph, 13; Cramer, 11; Travis, 
9; Angela; Harry, 5; and William, 12:04 am, 12-29-2005)
Linux User:     http://www.sourcemage.org/
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