[consulting] Meta Discussion: Managing "Bandwidth" - Defining "Meaningful"

[Victor Kane]

I think Laura was correct when she asked whether dissent wasn't also useful.
However I think the best way to run any listserv is _quietly_. That means,
let everyone vote with their feet, not their mouth:

Anyone starts a thread. If anyone is interested, they follow that thread. If
you are not interested you leave it alone.

I think that saying that things I don't agree with or am not interested in
are "wasting bandwith" is a bit harsh.

I am not interested, as I have stated, in any discussion on certification
schemes, especially, as in Dries post, they are assumed to have to be run by
corporations. But it is not a waste of bandwidth, I have already expressed
my opinion, so I shut up. On the other hand, folks who are thrilled by that
perspective, like Alex, can follow it.

Everyone is cool, everyone is happy. No special rules required.

Victor Kane
http://awebfactory.com.ar

On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 11:57 AM, Shai Gluskin <shai at content2zero.com>wrote:

> Consultants Group,
> On the certification thread, Nancy wrote, "When I see the marketplace
> clammoring for a certification, I might support it. But until that happens,
> *stop wasting the bandwidth discussing it. It is simply meaningless (*emphasis
> added*)*."
>
> Key to the culture of the Drupal community is the idea of "scratch your own
> itch." Usually that is meant in reference to writing a module that doesn't
> exist that you want or need. But I believe it can also be applied to
> offering up conversation on an idea that is consuming you.
>
> Writing an e-mail to a listserve creates no burden on anyone to respond.
> It's possible that someone's passion may not interest other people and that
> person would get no response. The writer cannot expect a response if other
> people are not interested. However, when other people are interested but you
> are not, it is your responsibility not to respond and to filter it out of
> youir workflow.
>
> Re: the "bandwidth" metaphor. Let's be clear that the complaint above is
> about personal bandwidth, not the Internet's bandwidth. It is an enormous
> challenge to manage one's personal bandwidth. But it isn't the
> responsibility of other participants in the community to manage others
> bandwidth. Each of us has to do that for ourselves.
>
> What is particularly destructive about claims that a particular topic is
> "meaningless" is that the people engaging in that conversation are
> contributing to the community by engaging in discussion that they care
> about. So the "just stop talking about this" exhortation is asking people to
> stop participating. It is the opposite of welcoming. It pushes people away.
>
> p.s. I know there is a significant group of people who hate it when a
> listserve starts talking about listserve process as opposed to its more
> general mission. That's why I put "Meta Discussion" in the subject title. I
> thought it might those people filter this thread should they not be
> interested.
>
> best,
>
> Shai
>
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>
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