Re: ADMIN: An Open Letter to the TECHWR-L Community
After a great deal of time and thought, we have decided that
we need to disengage from daily involvement with TECHWR-L. Over the
past year or so, we've made some substantial changes in our lives,
and we no longer have the time or energy to do TECHWR-L justice.
First of all, I want to just offer my congratulations on your career moves. It sounds like you're both heading in the directions that your passions are taking you.
<snip>
What's next? Good question. We're open to constructive
suggestions and ideas. We've considered transferring the site
to a volunteer to run it, but have concluded that this isn't a
viable option for several reasons. First, managing one or more
volunteers effectively requires at least as much time and energy
as running the site directly does. Second, we have a substantial
stake in TECHWR-L, and we need to ensure that our investment and
that of the community is preserved and maintained appropriately.
Our experience with volunteer labor--both as volunteers and as
coordinators of volunteers--demonstrates that the long term
committment of time and energy needed to move TECHWR-L forward
isn't a reasonable expectation of a volunteer.
<snip>
What's left? The person (or people) who take on TECHWR-L should
have a stake in its success--"skin in the game," as it were.
That could come in the form of an outright purchase, or some
kind of a partnership with us or with other investors. What
might that look like? We don't know; we want to work with anyone
who is seriously interested to come up with a solution that allows
TECHWR-L to move to the next level, under someone else's guidance.
I wish I could offer ideas, but I have no good ones. And a big reason for that is the end of your last sentence. The last word, actually. Because the "guidance" that you have given this list, the monitoring, the hand-holding, the scoldings, and all the other things that you've done, is something that is far, far more difficult to replace than simple maintenance or financial issues.
I know I could never, ever step into the role that Eric has played so well since the list's inception. I do not have the patience, the tolerance, the even-headedness needed to keep all the egos involves on an even keel. In short, I don't suffer fools gladly, and that is not a trait useful in such a position. I am sure Eric has been the target of rants, abuse, and just plain craziness over the years, and yet I've never seen a reaction beyond the occasional tired irritation. I know I've had my occasional instances of being out of bounds (and I can get pretty passionate), and Eric has been always gently persuasive in his reprimands.
Of all the people that I have encountered in the online world, the only person I can think of comparable in spirit, passion, and vision to shepherd a growing, useful community is Craig Newmark, founder and still head of Craigslist.
Part of what I read in to Eric's call is that he wants this list to maintain the level of usefulness *and* the level of evenhandedness that he has maintained over the years. That isn't about money, it isn't about committees, and that isn't about foundations. It's about the successor with the right elan for the job. And that's not quantifiable.
How to find that? I wish I knew. I know only that I don't have it.
But I'll end this with a question, one that you may have seen answered in your day-to-day lives: What happens when a committee takes responsibility of a vision?
--
--
Chuck Martin
User Assistance & Experience Engineer
twriter "at" sonic "dot" net www.writeforyou.com
"I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.
The day may come when the courage of Men fail, when we forsake our
friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day!
This day, we fight!"
- Aragorn
"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given you."
- Gandalf
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