everything WE know about ost...

Thu Jun 19 00:55:11 PDT 2003

Birgitt Williams wrote:

>thank you for assisting me in my edits on www.openspaceworld.com Your
>generosity with that site and with your time is a wonderful gift and I thank
>you.  I spent several hours today going over the materials, imagining what
>could be added, and also thinking that it would be so good if all content
>rich conversations on this list were on that site in the way that you have
>pulled a few tidbits from the list. In some ways, active participation on
>that site could replace this OS List and the wisdom shared would be easily
>accessible to all newcomers to OST.
>
>I was excited to see a spot for "research" and there is a good beginning
>there but I know there are so many more papers that have been done. We truly
>have had a lack of a space to pull the research together and I very much
>hope that you all will go into your files and contribute any and all bits of
>research about OST and its uses.
>
>
> And, whenever Michael gives the go ahead to add to these read only
> pages that are like his "givens", I will offer my viewpoint on that
> site, which as you know is often an alternative.

----

Well, well, well... hello again, Birgitt and everyone...  all this
website talk is happening a bit faster than expected and not exactly
according to the plan <grin>  as ever, be prepared to be surprised!

so it seems from this and other messages of late, that there is some
real energy wanting to rush into the websites.  yes, websites, as in
more than one.  taking a page from Michael Pannwitz, i'd like to take
three minutes just before this opening, in sponsor-sort of role here, to
share a bit of the story of how we have got to this opening moment.  i
hope my invitation/opening colleagues will forgive a bit of rambling
here before we launch the invitation proper.   let's have a look around
the circle...

IN THE BEGINNING

...there was the web... and then the open space institute usa.  and then
they came together as the OSI-USA website, thanks in large part to the
work of Peggy Holman and some others whose names i am sorry to be
missing just now.

GOING GLOBAL

then Barry Owen got to thinking there should be a Global Open Space
Institute and he created a massive website with much content and support
from you, Birgitt.

at OSONOS 5 in toronto, a number of us concluded that we wanted to be
about the World rather than about the Globe.  shortly thereafter, I
created OpenSpaceWorld.ORG with good company from Barry and Peggy.
early in it's life, osw.ORG incorporated the UBB software discovered by
Koos de Heer, who helped maintain it along the way and continues to lurk
and tidy little things.  fully present and totally invisible!

ALONG THE WAY...

Joelle Everett, Brian Bainbridge and Sharon Quarrington have created OSI
newsletters and shared the content of those on the webstie.

as for research, i should note that Leon DeKing first raised that
question (to the best of my recollection) at OSONOS in toronto.  there
has been a research section of the website ever since osw.ORG was
created and still, as you note, only a few of the many papers that must
exist have been noted there.  it would be nice to have more of them
listed on the current version of the research page.

SPEAKING IN TONGUES

then there are the languages.  i can't begin to list all of those who
have translated materials since Artur deSilva started his campaign after
OSONOS in Berlin.  Artur had something to do with Portuguese and at
least one other language.  Diane Gibeault did a number of French pieces,
i know.  Tova did Hebrew.  Gerard Muller did Danish and Dutch.  Michael
Pannwitz did the German.  John Engle the Haitian Creole.   i think Laura
Herrera did the Spanish.  and my apologies to those i've left out, who
are several.

GETTING WIKI

late last year, i began migrating the best of what was gathered in the
bulletin board space into the new wiki space.  Chris Corrigan provided
invaluable help with that, just as i was totally running out of steam.
 Peggy and some others have helped out too, as have a number of others
around the world who have posted their own contact info, soundbites,
websites, etc.  Chris and Gabriela Ender and some others had a good go
of OSONOS online this past year, too.

the OSI Board, which currently includes Peggy, Leon, myself, Lisa Heft,
John Engle, Gabriel Shirley, and David Koehler has been actively
discussing the shape and future of the osw.ORG website for the last
several months.  we have considered readability, formatting, content,
access and a number of other issues.  i joined the board only this year,
specifically to access their insights and energies for the sites, and
the support i've received has been just great.  thanks board!

THE OPEN SPACE WORLD .NETwork!

finally, i should mention that somewhere along the way, Harrison created
(in his usual mix of infinite wisdom and accidental genius) a site
called OpenSpaceWorld.COM... even as his books continue to refer people
to our .ORG site.  what he did by accidently selecting the .COM version
of the .ORG site we'd already established... was to set up the obvious
next step to <drumroll>  .NET!

for those of you familiar with the game Parker Brothers game called
"Monopoly!" you will notice that we now own ALL the OpenSpaceWorld
properties and are now allowed to start building houses and hotels!
<grin>  but i digress...

we registered the .NET name a few months ago and part of what the OSI
board has been considering and what i have been spending time building
out the most basic frames for is this new .NET space.   it was only in
the last few days that we have finalized our work on the invitation to
that online open space.  this is the invitation i referred to earlier today.

HOW WE GO FROM HERE

first we will launch that invite.  we will welcome the passion and
responsibility of all those who are willing to help us give shape and
life to this new space.  we will do this work online, in that space, and
in the process we will build the skills and connections needed to
maintain that space.  and then, this online space holding community can
apply its wiki wisdom and open space sensitivity to the care and feeding
of the .ORG site.

having spent the time to get the .NET space up and running, i am glad to
see more and more interest and energy for our working together online.
 the forthcoming invitation will say much more specifically what and how
and why about this new space.  and the momentum and connections and
learnings we make in the development of that site will be tremendously
important as we then address what the .ORG site should be and become.

KEEPING ON AND STAYING TUNED

of course, we can continue to post all kinds of contact information,
stories, quotes, research, links and the rest into the .ORG site (as
it's currently configured) while the .NET site is taking shape, but the
larger structural and philosophy questions will not really be answerable
until we figure out what the .NET space is all about.

so, stay tuned to the list here for the invitation to .NET... we've just
got to give the room one more scan to make sure that we haven't
forgotten the tape or the markers or any of our favorite posters... the
OpenSpaceWorld.NETwork is about to get born!

thanks to everyone who's been a part of the last many years of
developing .ORG, i know and regret that there are people i've missed
naming here.  even so, i hope you will join us in the development and
use of the new .NET space... please stay tuned...

'til soon, michael

--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
300 West North Avenue #1105
Chicago IL 60610 USA
(312) 280-7838

http://www.michaelherman.com - consulting & publications
http://www.globalchicago.net - laboratory & playground
http://www.openspaceworld.org - worldwide open space

...inviting organization into movement

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