[ga] Sinking The Titanic (was The Tower of Babble)

["Patrick Corliss" <patrick@corliss.net>]

Dear Sotiris

On Sun, 27 May 2001 19:48:20 -0400, Sotiris Sotiropoulos wrote:

> The GA has disintegrated into babble, pure and simple.  I ascribe this, in
> large part, to no clear program of work.  The coming meeting in Stockholm
> may only serve to emphasize this point.  How can the GA expect to be taken
> seriously, when its own members no longer take it seriously, and even
question
> its credibility?

In which case the naysayers will have succeeded in THEIR hidden agemda.

> Mssrs. Chair, and Alt-Chair, outcome reflects on leadership.  Don't get
carried
> away with the party-favours and other mementos of the occasion...   I will
be
> watching the webcast closely, as will many others.  Perhaps we will add
our
> voices in the public participation.

I don't know why you are so presumptious.  First I am not going to Stockholm
as the DNSO GA has no money and only one person on the list cared enough to
do anything about it.

Second, I haven't been to a party of any sort in 10 years.  Or the movies.
Or anywhere exciting.  Last time in Melbourne I stayed in the cheapest hotel
in the City where I couldn't afford to buy breakfast for 4 days.  I survived
on the free snacks.  So I'm not doing that again !!

Third, it's easy to blame the leadership.  Where's your support?  Your input
lately?

It's like a sinking ship.  We are all in this together.  Sure the Captain
can stand there and say "To the liferafts !!" but when everybody argues
which way to go, who's going to be in charge of the liferafts, why weren't
they repaired and provisioned, etc. we will all drown.

Of course it is easy to blame the Captain.  It doesn't matter that he just
took over and that nobody ever listened to him in the first place.

So the Captain comes over to take charge of the out-of-control situation
saying "OK, you can be in charge of that liferaft".  What happens?

You guessed it !!  Everybody says either (a) Who put you in charge? OR (b)
No, we don't agree with your choice and we will do everything in our power t
o undermine it.

So the ship sinks and we all drown -- not "babble" but "burble".

 . . . . burble . . . burble . . . burble. . . . glug !!

I call upon all fair-minded persons to stop flaming the leadership so that
there will be some chance that we might be able to achieve something
worthwhile in Stockholm.

Regards
Patrick Corliss
















But, we're going to need a commitment from our
colleagues who are at the meeting, to ensure that all voices will be given a
fair
chance.  It will also be interesting to see how the time will be allotted
for the
various discussions.   If necessary, will the meeting run over/through
lunch/dinner/breakfast and even overtime?  Or will it be the ersatz
performance yet
again?  (Considering the gravity of the matters to be discussed, I think a
working
lunch is not too much to be expected, surely?  I remember Esther Dyson
herself
deigning to dine and do... that is, if memory serves me correctly.)  I would
even
like to see a motion or two with real and virtual participation in a vote!
(`wishful thinking', I know)  Is this GA really going to happen gentlemen?
Let us
see your resolve, will, and character over the next two weeks.

Sincerely,

Sotiris Sotiropoulos



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Regards
Patrick Corliss
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