[Noisebridge-discuss] Re: Draft Finance Policy

[jim]

comments inline, at this point i ask you read them. 


On Wed, 2008-10-01 at 10:08 -0700, Jacob Appelbaum wrote:
> jim wrote:
> >    it looks like you've erased everything 
> > i'd originally written. how can the group 
> > discuss differences or ideas that are no 
> > longer included? 
> >    by "talk page" i assume you mean the 
> > discussion page, yes? 
> >
> 
> It's been rewritten to be what has been discussed and largely agreed
> upon to death in (endless) meetings. This includes last evening.
> 
> In any case, it's not erased, it's easy to look at the history between
> versions of the page:
> https://www.noisebridge.net/index.php?title=FinancialPolicy&action=history

   history is not easy to read. 
   ---------------------------

> 
> Again, please login to the wiki so that people can follow along between
> the various mediums of communication. If you want to use a nym, by all
> means please do so! But please make it linkable between mediums for the
> same subjects or it tends to get a bit unwieldy... I assume you're
> 71.198.110.186 here, I could be wrong.

   if this is to me (jim) alone, i believe i've logged in 
for each edit (jstockford). i intend to log in, whatever 
the reality. 
   ---------------------------

> 
> The talk page is here:
> https://www.noisebridge.net/index.php?title=Talk:FinancialPolicy&action=edit
> 
> We should probably refrain from creating what looks like an official
> policy that seriously differs from our actual agreed upon thoughts on a
> given subject. It probably makes the most sense to make wiki discussions
> and posts on the mailing lists about some of these issues before merging
> them into a document on how we plan to spend/save/acquire money.

   in previous email i raised the topic of having a 
financial policy. two members asked that i do create 
one. so i took on the job (several hours to write, 
rewrite, make readable, and keep all your comments). 
it was titled as a draft to be clear that the ideas 
should be considered in flux. 
   ---------------------------

> 
> Furthermore, while I'm totally happy with you making suggestions, a
> number of us (myself included) were hoping to meet you last evening. I
> understand that you've been to just a single meeting (possibly two?). 

   i joined the mailing list august 4 and went to one 
meeting (at muddy waters) since. 
   ---------------------------

> It
> feels a bit premature for you to be creating an official financial
> document. Suggestions are of courses welcome but it seems reasonable to
> get a good feel for the group before discussing things (such as
> multi-tier membership, cards, etc) that have already been decided. It's
> not unlike someone that joins and suggests we change our name. Some of
> these ideas and issues have been a part of our core philosophy from the
> get go.

   i was not free last night, despite the obvious importance 
of that milestone meeting. again, i took the time to write 
a draft because i was asked to. 
   ---------------------------

> 
> It's not really possible to get a feel for the membership from the list,
> wiki or irc alone. It really takes all of that and attending physical
> meetings. And even then it takes _time_ to know people. Names, faces and
> so on. Most of us are friends through Noisebridge and we've been
> building a community for some time and you're of course welcome to join
> it! Please come to the meetings!

   i've belonged to a number of different community-oriented 
groups over the years and have developed some rough, albeit 
imperfect, understanding of communities. 
   members come and go, groups go through seasons. 
   it seems a good idea to be patient on all sides, and in 
this i complain that you did not act with patience. i put in 
a fair amount of work at members' request and am not happy 
it was blown away. just as i kept your comments intact, i 
think you should have kept mine (and using history is a lot 
of work for extracting info). 
   that said, i think some good ideas came out of the 
effort. 
   note to all that a policy is a general statement to guide 
action. policies should not include specific implementation 
details (e.g. The statement "NoiseBridge will have a 
checking account and maintain a CD ladder." does not specify 
any particular bank or terms). 
   finally, my interests include electronics, software, and 
music. i think NoiseBridge is a great idea and i hope for 
its success on all fronts (i'll spare you all the details of 
my visions). my selfish hope is to find others with similar 
interests from whom i can learn and whom i can help in some 
way or another. 
   ---------------------------


> 
> Best,
> Jake
>