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<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#800080 size=2>I agree with your thoughtful and
heartful contribution. Thank you Chris</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#800080 size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#800080 size=2>Erich </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=chris@springbranch.net href="mailto:chris@springbranch.net">chris
weaver</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, April 01, 2004 2:36
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Open Space / Open List / The
Public Domain</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Dear OSLIST Community,<BR><BR>I am enthralled. This
thread is connecting deeply with my intellectual and<BR>emotional
passion. Both the specific list-related issues at hand and the<BR>window
into deeper learning are important to me. I notice as well how much<BR>I
care about the people who are posting, and how much I care about so many<BR>of
the people who are "listening." I am grateful to be conscious anew
of<BR>your presence in my life (via the magic of this list).<BR><BR>Let me
weave a basket - a context-container for looking at the discussion<BR>sparked
by the open-archives issue (including my witnessing this morning of<BR>my
friend Michael Herman finding himself in the HOT SEAT!) Needless to
say,<BR>this is not the only possible basket. It's mine - many people's
branches,<BR>my morning weaving :-)<BR><BR>Christine wrote,<BR>> I've
always considered this listserv as one giant open space, with the
same<BR>principles and law as any OST event.<BR><BR>This outlines the shape of
my basket. Maybe the list is like an OST event,<BR>maybe it's not.
Let's pretend it is.<BR><BR>Chris Mcrae wrote,<BR>> as someone who knows
what goes on at least 100 listserves, yours is the most<BR>interesting,
practical, communal, caring and open.<BR><BR>As a metaphor for an aspect of
this, Ashley Cooper wrote,<BR>> can you imagine walking down the street
(googling) and then just finding<BR>yourself in this community. that would be
amazing! i think that i would<BR>immediately plop down on the street and start
crying. someone like julie<BR>smith would walk over and put her arms around me
and... i'd know that the<BR>dream was real.<BR><BR>So: the OSLIST is an
uncommon virtual space, just as an OST event, opened<BR>and held with skill
and care, provides an uncommon space - uncommonly<BR>responsive, inviting,
creative. To my way of thinking: like being inside<BR>-- a
holographically-connected member of -- a healthy living organism.<BR><BR>The
reason I raised the question of how a healthy living system cares
for<BR>itself is that in my experience, a healthy living system has a
container, or<BR>a skin. As noted in the wonderful responses, the skin
is highly permeable -<BR>health depends on the thriving connection between the
encoded information<BR>"within" the system and "outside" the system. I
would assert that, while<BR>close scientific or mystical examination reveals
"within" and "outside" to<BR>be an illusion, the PRACTICE of skin, of
containers, of definition of and<BR>translation across boundaries, is a
requirement for taking part in the Big<BR>Dance.<BR><BR>All my EXPERIENCE with
OST and Open Space Organizations has been less about<BR>the removal of
boundaries and more about a highly rigorous engagement
with,<BR>experimentation with, and honoring of boundaries. In practice,
this means<BR>working with the givens.<BR><BR>So. In an OST event, who
determines the givens? In my experience of best<BR>practice, the givens
are discovered and creatively articulated in<BR>conversation between the
facilitator and the sponsor. The sponsor, through<BR>his/her connection
with the community being served/invited, articulates the<BR>givens, which join
the OST principles/law/method to form the skin for the<BR>event - the
container.<BR><BR>The quality of what HAPPENS in the space is deeply
influenced by the<BR>clarity, elegance, intention of the container that
defines it.<BR><BR>So, there's the basket.<BR><BR>As for Michael Herman in the
hot seat: It appears to me that you are<BR>feeling the heat that
sponsors, and sometimes facilitators, feel when<BR>participants in an OST
request (and demand) clarity about the givens, and<BR>when they ask questions
about who determines the givens, why, and through<BR>what authority.<BR><BR>In
your words Michael, one thing I hear is that you are reluctant to own
the<BR>role of sponsor or facilitator of the OSLIST. I can imagine
why. You never<BR>signed up (Hey, I'm just the volunteer tech
guy!)<BR><BR>But the reality that you have made some decisions about the skin
of the<BR>OSLIST and its permeability is clear. You, and the list
administrators at<BR>Boise State, are tinkering with some givens. A
number of people on the list<BR>are saying, "No problem, it doesn't matter to
me, I like the container,<BR>maximum permeability is desirable - go forth and
do good!"<BR><BR>Yet there are other voices too, which to me all arise from
the legitimate<BR>desire of participants to have a clear understanding of, and
perhaps a say<BR>in, the givens - the very practical elements of our
container. Therese has<BR>suggested that list participants be
technically empowered to delete specific<BR>postings from the archives.
Marei has requested that archives be closed for<BR>now and that a
participatory decision-making process be employed for<BR>conisdering the
accessibility of the archives and also the FAQs. Birgitt<BR>has
requested clarity on who is making decisions and taking actions that<BR>alter
the givens, and she has claimed authority for her own personal<BR>postings and
withdrawn her consent that her words be openly available to<BR>search
engines.<BR><BR>To me, these <suggestions, requests, demands> remind me
very much of<BR>legitimate concerns often directed at the SPONSOR in an OST
event, or at the<BR>organizational leader of an open space oranization (and
believe me Michael,<BR>I've been there). Even if such concerns appear to
be a "minority opinion,"<BR>if the sponsor simply brushes them off or ignores
them, there is a<BR>resounding effect on the quality of the space, which can
include a partial<BR>closing of the space.<BR><BR>Thus, the awkwardness of the
current circumstance.<BR><BR>Based on my experience with Open Space, the
quality of the space of the<BR>OSLIST from this moment on will indeed be
influenced by our shared clarity<BR>on the question of WHO'S THE
SPONSOR? WHO'S THE FACILITATOR? In other<BR>words, who determines
the givens?<BR><BR>It's easy to say that we're all the sponsor and the
facilitator. If that's<BR>the case, then the requests for a
participative decision-making process make<BR>a lot of sense. Some
voices have suggested that we don't need such a thing,<BR>it would be
cumbersome, it might not even be possible. There's no doubt<BR>that
someone or a group would need to shoulder the responsibility of<BR>designing
and managing such a process.<BR><BR>I am going to close this post like a big
unanswered question mark, because I<BR>don't have an answer. But I do
have a personal "conclusion" to this very<BR>heart-felt message.<BR><BR>My
posting was largely inspired by Marei's, which expresses what I feel
very<BR>well. The container matters. The container influences *
the way we<BR>interact with eachother * I do believe in trust, and in
open sharing. The<BR>availability of the archives is not an issue of
great importance to me (with<BR>the possible exception of my posting in 2001
about using snot to hang<BR>posters on the wall....on the other hand, you
should go back and read it!)<BR><BR>What DOES matter to me very much (as you
can tell) is the quality of the<BR>space. I hope that the list remains a
space that moves toward wholeness,<BR>which is impossible if the space is not
wide open to vulnerability and<BR>passion. A space where a person can
plop down on the sidewalk, shed some<BR>tears, and receive comfort. If
the list is like an OST event (or even<BR>moreso, an Open Space Organization),
then we need to know who's the sponsor,<BR>who's the facilitator, and how the
very real responsibilities of these roles<BR>are carried and made manifest
among us.<BR><BR>With Love,<BR>Chris<BR><BR>PS - I just read your reply
Michael to Therese re: Delete Function - Thank<BR>you for your continuing
facilitation of collaborative
sponsorship!<BR><BR>*<BR>*<BR>==========================================================<BR><A
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