When is Open Space Not Open Space

[Sheila Beauchemin]

Hello all,

I'm very new to Open Space and am still feeling my way around.  While 
discussing Open Space with a former colleague (and potential client) 
recently, I was surprized to hear her take on this method.  She was 
familiar with it, and indicated she had indeed delivered two or three Open 
Space sessions - one for about 80 people and another for about 300.  
However, her description of how the events were managed was not strictly 
speaking, "by the book".  Here's what was described:
- all participant were given post-its and asked to identify their topic 
areas and put up on the wall.  Then, these were themed by someone and 
participants were then given 3 votes and asked to place check marks next 
to those items of highest importance to them.  The topics with most ticks 
then became the breakout session topics.
-  these sessions were short - only 2 hours in one example
-  circle was not created
-  results were mixed.

So, my question is...though I am definately all for adapation to meet 
circumstances, when is "Open Space" not open space?  And, how do you 
counter the perception that what was done is what you understand to be OS?

Thanks for any thoughts on this - Sheila

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