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Obduction Backer |
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 6:15 am Posts: 587
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I am also of the strong opinion that this (official or unofficial) Guild should not be overly structured and restricted. It’s apparent (to me) that, even with these initial attempts, the hierarchies involved are already becoming inordinately complex and topheavy.
I’m in agreement with Jojon on a number of points here. I think that there are ways to structure the Guild more organically, without using a top-down model.
And in order to support honesty and democracy in the Guild, I believe it’s imperative that an easy, honest system of voting or polling be established by which members or subgroup members can weigh in on even small issues, and the results can be viewed as open-display databases. These votes could be Guild-wide or within subgroups, but need not be cast by all members – if you’re not available or not paying attention, your vote simply is not there.
(No, I don't have a readymade solution for what I just proposed, but a starting point for such research could be here)
As Age Creation projects are proposed and discussed in the open group at large, various individuals will be attracted to some, while unsound or impractical proposals will naturally fall by the wayside. When core Age Project groups form around a concept pitched by advocates, these groups may elect to have one or more coordinators (as opposed to leaders), whose function would be to maintain the schedules agreed upon by the project participants, to fill gaps in the project’s skillsets, and so on. But the opinions of the active participants would remain the driving force, and the coordinators would act as facilitators for those opinions. The frequent-vote principle should permit the group at large to feel that consensus opinion is always the rule. Conversely, members of one Age Project may prefer to have one or more traditional "leader" types, while other more driven groups may not even want or need a coordinator.
As an alliance of creative individuals working entirely on a volunteer basis in every timezone on the planet, I feel it’s unrealistic to force a weekly schedule of in-cavern meetings – especially when there are so many options available online, for either realtime discussion or non. Face it, a huge majority of Age Creation work is not going to be done in-cavern.
And as someone who has worked in these fields for many years and has dozens of friends with all the skills in these categories, I can say that none of them possess or utilize only one of these skills. Sure, they might take a paid job where they only do modeling – but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have strong opinions about the texture work that goes on their models. So in a volunteer environment like ours, it doesn’t seem to make any sense to limit the creativity and involvement of our group in any way. If someone wants and has demonstrated the skills to model and texture and animate a character, and the coordinator determines that the project schedule can be met, then why not?
That said, it would still be helpful - as an ongoing focal point - for there to be a members-only Guild website to act as a repository for the Guild's knowledge, to encourage the group by displaying work-in-progress, and to foster a sense of unity and common purpose. But the advantage of keeping the Guild project-based and project-driven is that our members will never be of one artistic or aesthetic temperament, and it will be futile to try to force all the various pegs into any common hole.
So my vote here falls into that same similar and simple pattern:
1. Which of the following ranks should be included in a ranking system?
a. None - every member has equal rank, even on an age creation team.
3. How does a member become a team coordinator?
b. Each age development team must nominate and vote for this person.
9. How should departments be organized?
a. There should not be any departments - only age creation teams.
Lastly, while I applaud the efforts of everyone involved in the advancement of this cause, and I have huge respect for everyone that’s been involved in all the various agebuilding efforts over the years, please keep in mind that this does not automatically confer upon you authority that can only come from the members of the group at large. As an example, you have every right to use the Guild imager to call meetings. But until the members of the Writer’s Guild bestow it upon you through election, you do not have the authority to decree exclusive rights to its use.
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