Re: Arabeyes Charter Proposal

[Mohammed Elzubeir <elzubeir at arabeyes dot org>]

On Wed, Mar 13, 2002 at 03:46:47PM -0800, Nadim Shaikli wrote:

> I agree with what you are saying, but with all due respect I don't see the
> charter addressing conflict resolution or debate (besides the mention of
> votes - which in their own right I think will resolve 99.9% of conflicts;
> unfortunately we barely started using 'em until the volcano erupted).

In which case, the charter fulfills its conflict resolution purpose.

> 
> It ought to be noted that setting out territories of control, if you will,
> should not be considered a conflict resolver since what they would amount

It is not.

> to is "pulling rank" on someone else.  In other words, "I am the coordinator
> of such and such and so my word is the ultimate decision maker" - which I
> believe ought to be avoided --my opinion-- (not that I'm saying that that
> will happen - I can't foretell the future of course).

Think of it from a different angle. I will give Isam as an example
(sorry Isam ;).. Isam has been in effect the l10n coordinator. He has
knows more about the details of translation than any of us, and has
developed .. say, an expertise in the area. With that being said, I
would feel a lot more comfortable if Isam comes out and says, here is my
plan for this and that, because he has developed the background in the
subject matter, and so his word is a lot more valuable than that of
someone who does not have that specific background. 

Again, the "I'm the coordinator of such and such.." you mention above
has no value if the majority votes against it. So, there is your
safeguard against that happening.

> I don't mean to belittle what is being attempted here, but again this is
> very much like playing army when we were kids (who's the general, who's the
> solider, who's the medic) and then we all just sat around and commanded each
> other - we even forgot that as an army you are supposed to fight wars :-)

Although it is a perverse analogy, it did make me laugh. But, when I was
a kid, we decided on who's the general, who's the captain, etc.. and we
went out and fought fake wars with another team who did the same ;) 

> I'm of the opinion now of simply doing (working) and making announcements
> post completion of work (and of course letting people know what is being done
> and what the general task-list is in order to get more help if need be) with
> a broad vision of getting the work (without shortcuts) completed as soon as
> possible.  My fear is that the forest is being lost amid all the trees.  As
> far as I'm concerned the mode of operation ought to really be,
> 
>  a. Focus (generate a list of all tasks/projects needed)
    
Each person generates that list per their role and responsibility. Then,
it is reviewed by core so others who may have better/more ideas can
present them and augment it.

>     ii. divide up the work

The work is already divided then. No need for this step, with the
charter ;) Of course, that is not set in stone, if one wishes to indulge
in something that is not specifically under their roles and
responsibilities they very well may.. as long as it does not come at the
cost of fulfilling their role. That's all there is to it.

> I'm also saying the following - I think Arabeyes hasn't produced enough
> results and so the "we'll continue working the way we were" ought to be
> looked into as well not in a negative manner, but with an eye to improve
> and to make this more results-oriented - that's why I keep talking about
> results, results, results.  I might have had my fingers in too many bowls

I agree. IMHO, with this charter, we will not have anymore stops and
pauses and we can continue to charge forward without any interruptions
of organization structuring.

> Notwithstanding, I've decided long ago not to be the salmon of the group

Penguins love the salmon ;)

Isam, Anything else to add? 

I would like to have a vote on this sometime soon, so we can have a core
meeting scheduled, next week. Everyone whip out your schedule books
[I know Nadim's schedule of course ;)].
  
later
-- 
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| Mohammed Elzubeir    | Visit us at:                 |
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