[Noisebridge-discuss] What "excellence" means to me

[jim]

   excellence in my mind means consideration, 
as in "be considerate", for real. 


On Mon, 2010-11-15 at 01:14 -0800, aestetix aestetix wrote:
> As most people reading this list are (hopefully) aware, Noisebridge
> runs with no policies, and one simple rule: Be excellent to each
> other.
> 
> This is deliberately vague, and at times, extremely confusing.
> Everyone has their own interpretation of what "excellence" means, so I
> thought I'd share my thoughts on it. Keep in mind that these are my
> own viewpoint, and while I respect anyone who has a view which
> completely disagrees with mine, I'm more than happy to offer
> clarification on any of it.
> 
> First, excellence implies courtesy. If I meet someone new, there's
> just as much a chance they'll be awesome as an asshole, so I feel it
> works to everyone's advantage to treat them like they are awesome. As
> I get to know them better, I may adjust this, but to me, everyone
> deserves a shot at friendship. This way, if something makes me adjust
> this, I am simply changing my own reaction, rather than making an
> assumption on how they should act.
> 
> Next, excellence implies accountability. If I tell someone I'm going
> to do something with or for them, I will carry through to the best of
> my ability. If I'm unable to carry through for whatever reason, I then
> make my best effort to make sure they know this ahead of time. In
> general, I expect the same type of reliability from others.
> 
> Excellence also implies acknowledging that others exist, and working
> both to understand their viewpoints, and to help them understand
> yours. Further, it implies considering these other viewpoints before
> jumping to conclusions about things. I think over 90% of the drama
> I've seen at Noisebridge has been about miscommunication and false
> expectations. For example, I have freaked out about a misplaced video
> cable for the projector, only to discover five minutes later that it
> was resting where someone else had moved it. In almost every case of
> Noisebridge issues, people are trying to do what they think is the
> right thing. Rather than freaking out and assuming the worst, had I
> asked a few people to help me look for it, it would have become a
> group effort and we'd all be doing. Or I could have put a label on it,
> at which point whoever moved it could have either not touched it, or
> let me know that they had moved it.
> 
> Finally, excellence implies respect, both of other people, and the
> space itself. I try to respect others enough to know that they won't
> (intentionally) do anything malicious, and enough to reach out to help
> solve issues where I can. On the flipside, I want to respect myself
> enough to know when to no longer be involved in solutions. If solving
> an issue is going to take 10 hours and I only have five to give,
> perhaps there is someone else who wants to solve it. They in turn
> might recognize not only that you are setting a personal limit, but
> you respect their ability to solve the issue enough that you're
> letting them handle it.
> 
> Those are just a few basic ideas of what excellence means to me. What
> does it mean to everyone else?
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