Why is a grid sometimes useful?

Tue Aug 4 11:06:25 PDT 2009

I knew we would lure Michael Pannwitz into this conversation :-) Indeed it
is an old and rich conversation. And somewhere in there should be told
(retold) the tale of the 2108 German Psychiatrists. Michael alludes to it,
but the real fun (for me) happened when the group totally blew away our
(Michael's and mine) projections for number of issues. We had guessed 150
and felt that was probably large, and therefore safe. How wrong we were. If
I read Michael correctly, we finally ended up with 253 issues. Needless to
say our plans and expectations were stretched. But everything worked just
marvelously.

But the underlying issue for me here is not about orderly process and
methodology but rather the essential conditions for really juicy and
creative engagements - which in my experience are always messy. When you
actually know what you are doing, you can afford to put things in
pre-defined boxes. They won't always fit, and indeed usually don't - but it
at least seems like everything is in order. On the other hand, when you are
out on the edges of things - that predetermined order simply goes to hell.
And I think that is a very good thing! The trick is to fabricate a container
that is so flexible that it can deal with just about anything. I think we
have learned to do a pretty good job of that - but it is not about grids or
no grids. The real secret, as I think about it, is that the group becomes
its own container and we are the encouragers. Or something

Harrison

Harrison Owen

189 Beaucaire Ave

Camden, ME 04843

207-763-3261 (Summer)

301-365-2093 (Winter)

Website www.openspaceworld.com 

Personal Website www.ho-image.com 

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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Michael M
Pannwitz
Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 11:01 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Why is a grid sometimes useful?

Dear Fabian,

a "grid" is always useful.

Regardless of how the bulletin board is set up (an empty wall, a highly 

structured grid with spaces measured out so an issue poster will neatly 

fit into it, etc.)a "grid" will emerge, more or less selforganized.

There may be no bulletin board in the traditional sense in situations 

where people cannot read or write (John Engle has reported on this), 

issue bearers stand at a wall announcing their issue and people will 

then join them if thats their thing, too.

Ok, is that a grid?

When you have 2000+ people and 3 beginning times and 253 issues come up 

some folks find it easier to have about a third (appr. 80) posted for 

each of the three beginning times...others surf, others dont care about 

the issues but look around for "attractive" groups.

So, pretty regardless of the griddiness of a bulletin board people will 

do what they think is meaningful and productive for them.

In the evolution of my own practice (I can nicely see it in the photos 

that were taken at many events) I started out with a highly structured grid

1. there were rectangular spaces (just big enough for each issue poster) 

created with masking tape and the times given with starting time and 

ending time of the session and little rolls of masking tape placed into 

the rectangular spaces so you could walk up and stick your poster into 

the neat rectangular

2. the rectangular spaces disappeared, just the times were given, 

seperated with vertical strips of masking tape

3. postits (a separate color for each time with the room symbol and the 

starting time written on them) were introduced

4. as "walls" were frequently displaced by pinwalls, there was a 

separate pinwall or two pinwalls for each time

5. only beginning times for sessions were supplied (after all, the 

groups took as little or as much time as needed)

6. double sized postits color coordinated with the postits people were 

asked to stick onto their issue posters were used as the only 

orientation on the bulletin board or at each pinwall

Now, all the steps of reducing, expanding, using different types of 

Bulletin Boards etc. did, as far as I could tell, not substantially 

influence the unfolding of selforganisation in events I have been part 

of. And from what I have read in the other posts, the way Bulletin 

Boards and grids are being used is also a question of personal style, 

approach.

The main thing is that participant selforganize their own agenda, 

whatever it looks like, its their agenda, their structure, their grid, 

their order, their chaos.

To this, I give a lot of attention:

-I never interfere in the way people work with the bulletin board, grid, 

market phase (usually, for training purposes, I have one or even two of 

my team stand near the bulletin board and never ever do anything)

-I never suggest which issues might be relevant or not

-I never bunch issues

-I leave at the beginning of the market phase

-I dont stay in the circle when people start announcing their issues, 

imagining that the space expands better if I am not there with my 100kg 

cluttering the circle(only exception: very large groups, time 

restraints...but I am not sure there either...only time I was involved 

with a group larger than 500, ho and I were the microphone keepers in 

the circle, all the other groups, even those with 500, managed very well 

on their own).

Have a great summer and for those of you in parts of our planet where 

there is spring, fall or winter, enjoy!

Greetings from Berlin

mmp

Erik Fabian wrote:

> Hello,

> 

> I have been thinking about the bulletin board and the debate that

> happened a while back on this list about whether a totally free

> collage of session postings is somehow better than OS style events 

> that use a grid layout that notes time/locations.

> 

> I agree that the complete free flowing collage approach has an

> elegant appeal but I have been asking myself a different

> question...why do some OS style events even use a grid?

> 

> I wonder how did the use of the grid evolve at these events? What is

> their value?

> 

> I can only speculate on how these event evolved into using a grid (or

> if that is how they started out perhaps) but I have realize one

> advantage...they allow new participants to easily to join in with an

>  event that is already in progress.

> 

> When someone shows up late to a public event and encounters a messy

> session board it is hard, without further explanation, for them to

> understand what is going on, where it is happening, if it is

> happening, and if so when.

> 

> The original OS literature I have read usually emphasizes that

> participants are present start to finish. There are many obvious

> benefits to this but the relevant one here is that everyone is 

> present during the original board making. They have some sense of how

> it evolved into whatever mess that it becomes and how it changes as

> people go about the experience.

> 

> It makes sense if the original OS literature isn't accounting late

> arrivals that it doesn't need something like a grid to help late

> arrivals get oriented quickly.

> 

> Thoughts?

> 

> Cheerio, Erik

> 

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-- 

Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg

Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany

++49-30-772 8000

mmpanne at boscop.org

www.boscop.org

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