the 'os' weblog

Sat Dec 31 16:44:43 PST 2005

all good points and questions, harrison.

first, the weblog is not closed.  anyone can write to the list here
and ask for their post to be cross-posted.  anyone can comment now. 
elsewhere in the site are many other places to contribute directly,
for credit, and those i discuss below -- and in the site itself.

the simple fact is that i have just created so many new openings for
people to participate in the site that i couldn't possibly unveil them
all now, all at once... some are still taking shape and so this whole
business about closed is really just a bit premature.  every door is
half open before it's wide, and this door is definitely swinging
toward wide.  patience, please, patience!

and yes, the reason it is not totally wide open, is wholly technical
and (i hope) totally temporary, as i also thought i mentioned in my
response.  actually the reason is maybe more practical than technical.

consider that when you wrote the last book, practice of peace, you
shopped it around to folks, asked for comments.  you gave us a
deadline and some other parameters to work with.  you said you wanted
to know about some things and not about others.  we worked within your
frame, to create a book that was for everyone, but was still to be
authored by you.  we helped you write your book.

going back a bit in history, tales from open space was a collection of
stories, selected stories.  i wasn't around at that time, or not
enough to get invited to that party, but i'm guessing that you did not
publish the first dozen stories that came.  there is limited space in
a book and some editorial decisions had to be made.

the same is true in the website.  there is limited attention.  it is
an edited project.  there are practical (if not well-defined) limits
on how fast a group can give a story some working shape, test things
out, and make the invitation clearer so that more and more who are
less familiar with the process can understand and participate more
quickly.  there are only so many posts one set of readers can follow. 
when a blog moves faster than readers can keep up, they often check
out.

the other practical limit is on my time.  the process of managing the
site is not small.  in order to turn people loose with passwords and
such, they need to know something about how and why things are wired
like they are.  i'm still learning how all the software works.  i'm
teaching what i already know about that to a core group of folks who i
trusted to well-support my own learning about how to turn the whole
thing over to everyone.

here is what i said to somebody earlier today about this issue of
evolution and giving it away...

when osw.org was but 2 or 3 months old, all the pixels on a huge
bulletin board story-catching structure were still drying... i had
everyone here in chicago for osonos... mmp put up a page on teh wall
and said "open space websites" at the top... and asked for links... i
sat back in my chair and turned to the person next to me and said "see
that?  he's about to make the whole of my last six months work on
osw.org obsolete in another six months. " (and i was glad for it,
smiling, you know?)  i said, "and that's how it really should be, one
big list of os websites on one page, all just links to other sites."

so now, we are close to being able to realize this vision, with the
weblog being an ongoing, annotated list of links to those sites.
people who put up static sites will be mentioned once and again when
they redesign in three years.  people who mine the list and put up a
new paper every month will be mentioned monthly.  passion and
responsibility, attention and action, all finely and dynamically
balanced!  it really is open space in the elegance with which it
solves some really basic and potentially thorny issues.

on the oslist and inside of many openspace events, the mess is fine...
but if the proceedings documents came out looking like the "wall" then
we'd have a hard time selling it in many places.   the website and
weblog are necessarily a bit more like proceedings, summarizing what
had happened.  linking to many things elsewhere, but being essentially
tidier places, "books" of proceedings.

anyone can post anything on a site or on the list anywhere and ask
that it be posted on the weblog.  those who contribute often in that
way will certainly be asked to step up, join our monthly conference
calls, and learn somehting about posting directly.

you always said about OT, "please do come for the whole thing, as this
doesn't work well with drop-ins."  well, i'm just saying the same
thing for the weblog.  it doesn't work well with drop-ins.  there is a
body to it, and it takes time to understand and appreciate and know
how to operate in it.

we have a smallish group of folks who've committed their energies to
getting somehting going.  we have had one of what we've said would be
monthly confereance calls.  we've all committed to posting on a
regular basis.  we are working together in a backchannel blog to
discuss issues that emerge.  it's a very active process and one that i
only had energy to initiate with folks who were willing to show up for
the full 2.5 days.

and that is the choice that i claim... i only have to teach people how
to run this thing if they have convinced me that they're in it for the
whole thing.  as the thing gets going, holding its own shape, we have
suggested that we would bring in others only as fast as any one person
in the group is willing to work with and orient the new person to how
the whole thing works.  anyone in the group can choose to invite
another person, but only if they will take direct and personal
responsibility for making sure they don't get lost and won't delete
things that can never be restored.

i can only say that i have spent more than half of december working
more than full-time, all volunteer of course, to create this new
platform.  i'm still learning all of what it can do.  i'm so very
grateful for those who've stepped forward and become partners in this.
 so too, for those who have contributed funds toward expenses.  as
fast as we can figure out which end is up on this thing, we will begin
inviting others, in the way that feels best to us, in the way that we
can actually support.

we would never go to a company and demand that the chiefs invite the
whole company.  if a leader wanted to invite some core group that
would then invite and open spaces for more groups as they chose, then
i, for one, would be thrilled to work with them.

this weblog thing is not an event... it's an ongoing practice. 
posting to it directly is not a right, it's a privilege.  it seems not
unduly restrictive to ask people to send things to the list or to me
or another author for posting, rather than play tech support to
everyone with a passing thought about open space.

what's more there are lots of other ways that people can participate
in what can now unfold in the site.  anyone can post pictures at
flickr and they'll show up almost immediately in our site, with links
back to them.  passion + responsibility => credit.  when we post links
to lisa's papers, we'll post links to her site.  more credit. 
commenting on the blog is open to all. open credit for what you post. 
anyone with a new or existing weblog can be immediately added our list
of os weblogs.  that list appears on every weblog page, not buried
deep inside of the site.

other less public ways to participate would be to join a monthly
conference call, or read and comment in our backchannel "newsroom"
weblog.  as we figure things out there, i'll be posting a link to
that, where we are documenting all of our work and already assembling
the "orientation" materials so that new people can get up and running
faster.

the bottom line is that osw.org is a community project only because i
and a couple of other folks who've helped me along the way have done a
lot of work to cobble it all together.  it has never hung together as
a whole all by itself.  i've been trying all along the way to give it
away and am doing that as fast as the technology and my energy will
allow.

please stay tuned!  and if anybody wants to post things to the blog,
then just post them to the list and put a flag in the subject line.

we really have done a phenomenal amount of work and, in time, the
thing really will be opening and opening and opening.  of course,
since all of cyberspace is also open space, anyone is free to go start
their own blog and we will link to that.  it's unlikely that many
hundreds of us can all blog in one little stream anyway.  anybody who
is really bothered by how apparently slow we are moving is welcome to
get out there and try to blow by us!  i'm sure we'd all be the better
for the mutlitple outlets.

big hug and much love to you harrison... i'm napping as fast as i can!

michael

On 12/31/05, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:
> 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
>
>
>
> NEW EMAIL ADDRESS!!!!
> hhowen at verizon.net
> Harrison Owen
> 7808 River Falls Drive
> Potomac, Maryland   20854
> Phone 301-365-2093
> Skype hhowen
> Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
> Personal website www.ho-image.com
> OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives
> Visit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>
>
> -----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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--

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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