the 'os' weblog

Harrison Owen hhowen at verizon.net
Sat Dec 31 15:21:34 PST 2005


Michael -- I must confess that this discussion definitely got my attention,
especially when I noted that Tree signed her note (which apparently
initiated this whole thing) "warmly." Having come to know, respect, and
enjoy this woman over several years, I have learned that when she says
"warmly," that may not equate with "warm fuzzies." And the tenor of her
communication would seem to confirm my suspicion. And while I might not have
expressed myself in quite her words, I did find similar thoughts arising in
my mind -- or more exactly the question. Why is this weblog "closed?" Not
being an ardent blogger myself, I guess I assumed that there must be some
technical reason -- something like "too many cooks might spoil the broth"
But that once the tekkie-quirks were ironed out -- the weblog would be free
and open to any one who cared to participate. Just like this grand old
OSLIST! 

But when I read your response, I began to wonder if something else might be
going on. That "wonderment" only increased when I saw --

 "i must admit that it's also a subjective process, i only invite people
whose activities, here in this list and in other online communities, i
respect, trust and cherish -- and who have made it clear to me that they
share these feelings about me and the work i've already done.  why would i
hand over the fruits of 7 years work to people who i thought didn't value,
respect and understand it, or me?  of course, nobody would.  nor probably
should.(Michael h.)"

The thought did occur to me that I could have said something similar about
20 years ago when Open Space Technology emerged full blown from a martini
glass. Or 15 years ago when OST suddenly appeared to be something useful,
and maybe even important -- since it kept showing up in full page feature
stories in such odd places as the New York Times, The Washington Post, The
LA Times, etc, etc. But I didn't.

And if I had, I think it is arguable that we would not be having this
conversation at this time. Some folks have wondered why I didn't patent,
trademark, copyright, or other wise protect this wondrous creature. My
reasons were threefold. First, I was too lazy. Second -- it wouldn't have
done any good, and worse, I would have spent my whole life defending the
indefensible (some fool franchise). And thirdly -- (and this is the reason I
am proudest of) I actually thought it (OST) could do some good -- and the
only way that was going to happen was to be open and free. All of it! What
we think, what we've learned -- just give it away. And I think that is the
way it has come down -- just looking at it 20 years after :-).

So Michael, I am not trying to beat on you. You know that I love you. You
also know, or should know, that I, along with thousands of other folks in
the world, are profoundly grateful to you for all that you have done over
the years in the construction of www.openspaceworld.org. But open it up,
man! Let it all hang out -- unless there is some technical reason for
keeping it close to the vest until the time is ripe. And in that case,
please let us know what the issues are -- who knows we might solve them?

Harrison 



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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Michael
Herman
Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2005 4:50 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: the 'os' weblog

you raise a fair question, tree.  and you obviously care a lot about
opening space in the world.

in many ways your question touches on the very heart of what open
space really is and means, and how do we make it work in more and more
different venues.  a community gathering, a corporate group, an email
list, a website, a weblog... all very different spaces, with (perhaps
subtly) different challenges and demands on leaders and participants.

what follows here is my best (if longish) shot at articulating what i
can assure you are the best of intentions, the most careful
consideration, and the cleanest technical practice in discovering and
developing the future of the open space world weblog and website.

to your question of open or closed...

some years ago, i did an open space with a corporate group -- 140 of
the top people in a fortune 150 company.  attendance at this weeklong
retreat was very restricted.  was my part of it really open space, or
not really open space because many thousands were not allowed to
attend?

another time, a major chicago foundation sponsored an open space
event.  they contributed significant resources and sent the invitation
on their own letterhead, but the 300 leaders they invited from
throughout the food industry in chicago were all hand-picked, based on
one foundation officer's personal sense of what each leader would
bring and contribute to the mix.   we did all the normal stuff, big
cirlce, issues, talking stick, proceedings.  was this not open space,
just because all of chicagoland was not invited?

in both cases one or a few individuals did a bunch of work to create a
space, and to invite others into it.  yes, sometimes open space is
done as we did it in peoria, with full-page ads in the local
newspapers, inviting the entire community to come meet on the future
of education in peoria.  AND... in many other cases, US West, AT&T,
and countless other organizations, open space invitations have been
carefully crafted and distributed by some one or few people -- for
some limited number of friends and colleagues.

that an invitation list has limits does not make the space less good,
or less open.  i think what matters is that it fits whatever the
purpose is, as the convener(s) understand it.  notice that even in
peoria, much of the followup work fell to school district staff.  in
that situation, history (training) and active, daily commitment
(employment) matter.  attendance at the open space meeting did not
qualify anyone to take a position as a teacher.  that invitation is
open, but limited.  and rightfully so.

the open space weblog is first and foremost *about* open space.  this
would be hard to disagree with.  it also strives to be a decent, fair
and public practice of open space.  i think we are doing well with
that one, too, as we continue to learn our way into this process of
expanding invitation.  for now, showing up on the oslist doesn't
automatically entitle anyone to post directly to the weblog.  perhaps
one day it will, but not yet.

as such learning curves are often uncertain and chaotic, i strive
personally to resist any temptations to suspect maliciousness, deceipt
or wrong doing.  in line with this, i have to believe that you mean no
harm in bringing these questions and bringing them as strongly as you
do.  note too, that i'm glad to discuss such things here on the list. 
these questions can only make the whole of the website stronger.

as the one person who has paid weekly, and many times daily, attention
to the care and feeding of the website, for going on seven years now,
as the primary funder and developer of the site, and as the only
person with complete knowledge of how and why it actually functions
technically, i believe it is both my right and my responsibility to
decide how, when, and to whom i hand over this knowledge.  i am most
definitely working to hand over the reins of this project to a larger
number of people.

it is a slow, careful process.  i must admit that it's also a
subjective process, i only invite people whose activities, here in
this list and in other online communities, i respect, trust and
cherish -- and who have made it clear to me that they share these
feelings about me and the work i've already done.  why would i hand
over the fruits of 7 years work to people who i thought didn't value,
respect and understand it, or me?  of course, nobody would.  nor
probably should.

still, if you think that something is very wrong with the way that
this particular website is operating, you are of course fully entitled
to go someplace else, reading and linking and contributing anywhere
else that you can learn and contribute.  there's nothing wrong with
that, it is in fact the one law we have!  so go for it!

many thanks for your question and the chance to think these things
through some more.  as i say, i/we are doing our best at learning our
way into this space and the articulation of our process and practices
comes slowly, carefully, respectfully and with the wish to be as
generous and open as possible, every step of the way.

a happy new year to you, and to all who've read this far!

michael






On 12/31/05, Tree Fitzpatrick <therese.fitzpatrick at gmail.com> wrote:
> I am appalled that there is a thing out that purporting to be an open
> space weblog that is not open.  I do not like the occult nature of
> having some people 'in' and able to post while others cannot.
>
> So long as the putatively open space weblog remains closed, I shall
> never even look at it again.
>
> --
> Warmly,
> Tree Fitzpatrick
>
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--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
300 West North Ave #1105
Chicago IL 60610 USA
Phone: 312-280-7838
mherman at globalchicago.net
skype: globalchicago

http://www.michaelherman.com
http://www.globalchicago.net/wiki
http://www.openspaceworld.org

Executive Facilitation ...getting
the most important things done in
the easiest possible ways.

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