[Linux-aus] On Perspective

[Kathy Reid]

Couldn't agree more. Thoughtful, reflective and as always encouraging us 
to be our collective best.
Thanks Hugh.

On 07/06/16 17:06, ac wrote:
> hear hear
>
> On Tue, 7 Jun 2016 16:55:04 +1000
> Matthew Cengia <mattcen at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> +1
>>
>> I think "perspective," "constructive," "volunteers," and "importance"
>> are the key words I take from this email. I don't think there's
>> anything I can say that you haven't already articulated, Hugh. Well
>> done. To all LA volunteers.
>>
>> On Tue, Jun 7, 2016 at 4:46 PM, Hugh Blemings <hugh at blemings.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I confess a degree of regret on having to write this and that the
>>> matter of the VPAC events have taken the turn they have.
>>>
>>> For that matter I also dearly wish more of our membership would
>>> reflect on whether the email they're about to send will move the
>>> commons of Linux and Free/Open Source Software forward, or merely
>>> make them feel better in the moment.
>>>
>>> In this I do not refer alone to the current threads on the Linux-aus
>>> mailing list but rather the general trend over nearly two decades
>>> for an undue percentage of the traffic on the linux-aus list to be
>>> griping/trolling and then - often left to volunteers - defending
>>> actions, justifying decisions and so forth.
>>>
>>> This latter all too often _literally_ consuming hours of discussion,
>>> debate and checking to ensure a measured and appropriate response or
>>> solution to the crisis du jour.
>>>
>>> And so to perspective...
>>>
>>> Linux Australia and its membership do fantastic and, often,
>>> important work.  Much of it is unseen, most of the time things done
>>> right, fun is had, code is written, people learn new things, a
>>> career is started, perhaps even a career advanced and so forth.
>>> All great stuff.  Also, for most of us, the sole motivation for
>>> being involved as volunteers.
>>>
>>> But I'm struck that we sometimes lose perspective about the
>>> importance, in the grander scheme of things, of what we do.
>>>
>>> To start, I was, frankly, a bit annoyed that our infrastructure went
>>> offline precipitously but upon hearing the full story, once our
>>> very able admin team had extinguished most of the fires, this
>>> annoyance all but dissipated entirely.
>>>
>>> But the thing that really allowed me, for want of a better term, to
>>> find peace with the situation was the realisation that actually -
>>> it didn't really matter.
>>>
>>> Nobody died, no one lost revenue, no LA events were dramatically
>>> impacted.  What we do is fantastic, important and useful, but it
>>> isn't (and probably shouldn't) be _mission critical_.
>>>
>>> This is not to say for a moment that we shouldn't take our
>>> responsibilities or the work undertaken seriously, but rather that
>>> we should weigh the matter at hand in a broader light.
>>>
>>> Please - reflect and decide if an email that will ultimately come
>>> down to the criticism of an organisation, a team or an individual
>>> is warranted, or could perhaps be written in a more constructive
>>> tone.
>>>
>>> Last time I checked we were, at the end of the day, trying to
>>> accomplish largely the same set of fantastic, important and fun,
>>> but probably not mission critical things...  Perhaps then space to
>>> allow our interactions online and in person to better reflect these
>>> shared goals ?
>>>
>>> Thank you for reading,
>>>
>>> Kind Regards,
>>> Hugh Blemings
>>> President, Linux Australia
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> linux-aus mailing list
>>> linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au
>>> http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus
>>>
>>
>>
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