baskets, containers, sponsorship, & the quality of the space

[Birgitt Williams]

Chris,
Your metaphor of a basket is a great one, as is the look at this list from
the perspective of paralleling an OST meeting. I too resonate with an
understanding that a healthy living system has mechanisms for looking after
itself including  having a skin or container. Some containers are so large
that the container is the universe. Others are smaller. If the container via
'givens' had been in place, we all would have known what this space is for
and what it is not rather than living in the world of assumptions. This also
would have assisted Michael Herman in his leadership role with the list and
the website. All containers created by the theme (purpose) and the 'givens'
are containers that change over time in accordance with the organism. Change
over time is a community process with agreements by the community, a
collaborative approach.

Others have also contributed great value to this discussion and I extend my
thanks.

For me, the quality of space on this list is dependent on defining
a. purpose of who we are as a community ie: is this a community or is it a
think tank from which ideas are to be harvested. If it is the former, one
kind of space is open. If it is the latter, it is a different quality of
space.
b. identification and agreement about the 'givens' for this list. There are
unlikely to be many, givens get revisted over time because they change.
Clarifying the givens clarifies the space that is open, what it is open for
so that those who participate can do so with informed consent. Thank you
Ashley for your suggestion of how to do this.
c. a decision making process for this community. Decisions have been made on
this list and whether they have been in the hands of a few or perceived to
be in the hands of a few, for sure decisions have been made that have
affected all on the list (present, past, future) without checking for the
will of the community
d. a decision to be made by this community about the archives of the list
being open to being searched by the search engines of the world wide web
(and they continue to get more sophisticated). The decision would need to be
made for achives up to the present being available this way. Another
decision could be that any materials generated from this point forward would
be available as archives to the world wide web search engines

Michael H, I appreciate that you were in a difficult although well
intentioned postion as a result of your decision to open the archives to the
world wide web search engines. In the early days of the list, prior to even
Harrison joining it, people like myself were extremely active on the list
with lots of personal conversations as we worked to 'build' the community. I
thank you for letting me know that the archives do not hold a record of
these early days. Never-the-less, I agree with Marie's suggestion that we
stop having the archives open to the search engines and reopen them only
after a community decision making process. Because so many people are
involved who are no longer on the list, it is wise to include them in this
decision making. Anyone who wants to research the archives can end up doing
so by subscribing to the list and so it is still open but just not as open
as if it was searchable through the search engines. For me personally, with
the other business ventures that I am in a leadership role in, I do not want
my thoughts so easily accessible through search engines (esp as they get
more sophisticated in their searches). I  have heard plenty on this list
saying that it is 'too bad' for people like me who did not know our work was
to be archived and public the way it is. If that is the will of the
community, I will just have to live with it and make my decisions
accordingly, but I would like to know that it is the will on the list rather
than how it is currently left.

Peggy, as for being someone who spoke up about a decision once it had been
made, I wish to let you know for the purposes of studying this that it was a
most unpleasant role, one I do not want to get in again on this list, and
one in which my feelings got hurt a lot both on the list and off-list. You
know me well enough that seeking truth is important to me and that I have
had courage over years to speak out when I wanted to see something made
right from my perspective. So, you will also know that it must have been
very unpleasant for me to choose a future that will not have me repeating
this role on this list or in this community.  I choose to stay subscribed to
a community forum that has mattered a lot to me in the past in and which I
was willing to put my energy but am barely hanging in there after many years
of having been a member of this community. Some might see this as self
organizing being successful--the voice that was willing to speak out with
her passion and opinions being silenced. I am emotionally weary  of it all.
I don't have very much passion for contributing. I will wait to feel what is
right for me.

 I wish you all joy, peace, God's grace and blessings, and that you prosper
in all things,

Birgitt





-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of chris
weaver
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2004 8:17 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: baskets, containers, sponsorship, & the quality of the space


(This is a re-send of my previous post (Open Space/Open List...) with a new
subject-line for easier tracking - thank you.)

Dear OSLIST Community,

I am enthralled.  This thread is connecting deeply with my intellectual and
emotional passion.  Both the specific list-related issues at hand and the
window into deeper learning are important to me.  I notice as well how much
I care about the people who are posting, and how much I care about so many
of the people who are "listening."  I am grateful to be conscious anew of
your presence in my life (via the magic of this list).

Let me weave a basket - a context-container for looking at the discussion
sparked by the open-archives issue (including my witnessing this morning of
my friend Michael Herman finding himself in the HOT SEAT!)  Needless to say,
this is not the only possible basket.  It's mine - many people's branches,
my morning weaving :-)

Christine wrote,
> I've always considered this listserv as one giant open space, with the
same
principles and law as any OST event.

This outlines the shape of my basket.  Maybe the list is like an OST event,
maybe it's not.  Let's pretend it is.

Chris Mcrae wrote,
> as someone who knows what goes on at least 100 listserves, yours is the
most
interesting, practical, communal, caring and open.

As a metaphor for an aspect of this, Ashley Cooper wrote,
> can you imagine walking down the street (googling) and then just finding
yourself in this community. that would be amazing! i think that i would
immediately plop down on the street and start crying. someone like julie
smith would walk over and put her arms around me and... i'd know that the
dream was real.

So:  the OSLIST is an uncommon virtual space, just as an OST event, opened
and held with skill and care, provides an uncommon space - uncommonly
responsive, inviting, creative.  To my way of thinking:  like being inside
-- a holographically-connected member of -- a healthy living organism.

The reason I raised the question of how a healthy living system cares for
itself is that in my experience, a healthy living system has a container, or
a skin.  As noted in the wonderful responses, the skin is highly permeable -
health depends on the thriving connection between the encoded information
"within" the system and "outside" the system.  I would assert that, while
close scientific or mystical examination reveals "within" and "outside" to
be an illusion, the PRACTICE of skin, of containers, of definition of and
translation across boundaries, is a requirement for taking part in the Big
Dance.

All my EXPERIENCE with OST and Open Space Organizations has been less about
the removal of boundaries and more about a highly rigorous engagement with,
experimentation with, and honoring of boundaries.  In practice, this means
working with the givens.

So.  In an OST event, who determines the givens?  In my experience of best
practice, the givens are discovered and creatively articulated in
conversation between the facilitator and the sponsor.  The sponsor, through
his/her connection with the community being served/invited, articulates the
givens, which join the OST principles/law/method to form the skin for the
event - the container.

The quality of what HAPPENS in the space is deeply influenced by the
clarity, elegance, intention of the container that defines it.

So, there's the basket.

As for Michael Herman in the hot seat:  It appears to me that you are
feeling the heat that sponsors, and sometimes facilitators, feel when
participants in an OST request (and demand) clarity about the givens, and
when they ask questions about who determines the givens, why, and through
what authority.

In your words Michael, one thing I hear is that you are reluctant to own the
role of sponsor or facilitator of the OSLIST.  I can imagine why.  You never
signed up (Hey, I'm just the volunteer tech guy!)

But the reality that you have made some decisions about the skin of the
OSLIST and its permeability is clear.  You, and the list administrators at
Boise State, are tinkering with some givens.  A number of people on the list
are saying, "No problem, it doesn't matter to me, I like the container,
maximum permeability is desirable - go forth and do good!"

Yet there are other voices too, which to me all arise from the legitimate
desire of participants to have a clear understanding of, and perhaps a say
in, the givens - the very practical elements of our container.  Therese has
suggested that list participants be technically empowered to delete specific
postings from the archives.  Marei has requested that archives be closed for
now and that a participatory decision-making process be employed for
conisdering the accessibility of the archives and also the FAQs.  Birgitt
has requested clarity on who is making decisions and taking actions that
alter the givens, and she has claimed authority for her own personal
postings and withdrawn her consent that her words be openly available to
search engines.

To me, these <suggestions, requests, demands> remind me very much of
legitimate concerns often directed at the SPONSOR in an OST event, or at the
organizational leader of an open space oranization (and believe me Michael,
I've been there).  Even if such concerns appear to be a "minority opinion,"
if the sponsor simply brushes them off or ignores them, there is a
resounding effect on the quality of the space, which can include a partial
closing of the space.

Thus, the awkwardness of the current circumstance.

Based on my experience with Open Space, the quality of the space of the
OSLIST from this moment on will indeed be influenced by our shared clarity
on the question of WHO'S THE SPONSOR?  WHO'S THE FACILITATOR?  In other
words, who determines the givens?

It's easy to say that we're all the sponsor and the facilitator.  If that's
the case, then the requests for a participative decision-making process make
a lot of sense.  Some voices have suggested that we don't need such a thing,
it would be cumbersome, it might not even be possible.  There's no doubt
that someone or a group would need to shoulder the responsibility of
designing and managing such a process.

I am going to close this post like a big unanswered question mark, because I
don't have an answer.  But I do have a personal "conclusion" to this very
heart-felt message.

My posting was largely inspired by Marei's, which expresses what I feel very
well.  The container matters.  The container influences * the way we
interact with eachother *  I do believe in trust, and in open sharing.  The
availability of the archives is not an issue of great importance to me (with
the possible exception of my posting in 2001 about using snot to hang
posters on the wall....on the other hand, you should go back and read it!)

What DOES matter to me very much (as you can tell) is the quality of the
space.  I hope that the list remains a space that moves toward wholeness,
which is impossible if the space is not wide open to vulnerability and
passion.  A space where a person can plop down on the sidewalk, shed some
tears, and receive comfort.  If the list is like an OST event (or even
moreso, an Open Space Organization), then we need to know who's the sponsor,
who's the facilitator, and how the very real responsibilities of these roles
are carried and made manifest among us.

With Love,
Chris

PS - I just read your reply Michael to Therese re: Delete Function - Thank
you for your continuing facilitation of collaborative sponsorship!

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