BOARD-L Archives

Archiver > BOARD > 2003-12 > 1070289725


From: "Pam Reid" <>
Subject: RE: [BOARD-L] Census Projects
Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2003 09:42:05 -0500
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20031130220640.00a2e720@pop.west.cox.net>


While I respect you tremendously, Mr. NC, I feel that this situation was
handled incorrectly. Yes, I did the wording for the links on my own, but
the AB members at that time approved it without complaint.

I too receive numerous messages from people who are confused as to who to
write concerning issues they have with one or the other of the CPs. I point
these folks in the direction of the person they need to contact and that
appears to solve the problem. Yes, this takes time on my part that I could
spend doing other things, but it is part of the hat I wear. People often
write to the webmaster since my address appears on every page. I do want to
say here that most of these messages were not complaints about the CPs -
just question regarding the correct person to contact to fix an error,
volunteer, etc. Yes, people are confused on the CPs and that is
understandable. But as it stands now, the only fair and proper way to treat
the CPs is in an equal and fair manner, which will lead to some confusion. I
also get similar messages about various states and counties and these far
outweigh the messages I receive involving the two CPs.

I stand by my original statement that BOTH CPs are a part of USGW - whether
the Board chooses to officially recognize that or not. I have spent MUCH of
my time as a Board member over the years attempting to reconcile the
differences between the two CPs so that USGW could have one officially
recognized CP and finally seat a rep, as called for in the bylaws. I have
not used this Board list as a forum for airing my opinions. I have used the
list to offer up suggestions and opinions on attempting a reconciliation. I
no longer believe that a reconciliation is possible. The two CPs never
worked together and it appears that they have no intention of doing so now.

All I want to see happen is for us to come to a general consensus on the
best way to handle the CPs considering the obstacles that we face. This is
not an easy issue and I don't believe I had ever attempted to take an easy
way out by offering opinions and no solutions. I have worked hard on the AB
and behind the scenes to do some good on this issue. These actions have
accomplished little beyond some dialogue that went no where. I do resent
the implication that my words here have anything to do with my "perceived
authority," or that I have used this forum to express opinions without
making any effort to reaching a consensus. I have no authority of any kind
and don't want any. Power plays NO role in my support of linking the CPs.
Power and politics play NO role in anything I have ever done for USGW.
Those who have worked with me over the years surely know this about me by
now. If I desired power and recognition, there are better avenues to attain
those goals than to slave over volunteer USGW work that only serves the
public. I have worked hard on these specific issues and have tried hard, in
the past, to get the Board to come to a consensus on this issue. My efforts
have been unsuccessful and that has been quite frustrating in that there
seems to be no willingness historically on the part of some members of the
AB (I am speaking here more of past AB members than to the current ones) to
see that this situation needs to be addressed, worked on, mediated, etc.
This requires REAL work, work that I have been willing all along to put
forth.

I only want the USGW to be the best source of information that it can be. I
don't believe that politics and personal vendettas should play a role in our
actions. We need to do what is best for the Project as a whole. Although
both CPs have made serious mistakes in the past, the time has come to try
and come to some sort of compromise that will make USGW better and stronger.

I have absolutely NO personal stake in this issue. I am not involved in
either CP and never have been. I am not siding with one or the other of the
Projects, though I do have strong opinions as to which CP actually has been
treated less fairly than the other. That, BTW, is a personal opinion. I
simply believe that the AB has let this important situation slide for a very
long time and it is imperative that something be done. We talk and talk
about the bylaws, yet we neglect the CP and a CP rep, which the bylaws
specifically call for.

Respectfully,
Pam

-----Original Message-----
From: Isaiah Harrison [mailto:]
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2003 2:01 AM
To:
Subject: [BOARD-L] Census Projects


There seems to be some misunderstanding regarding the changed wording and
relocation of some links from the National Site.

1) No one has been delinked. Some links were changed and reworded, but all
the links that were there are still there.

2) The AB never voted to have links to the census projects placed on the
main page of the National Site. The webmaster made that decision on her
own. The AB voted to "

3) The AB's resolution did not change the status of either of the renegade
census projects. It simply allowed for links to them.
This change was made because the AB recently had to respond to a complaint
regarding an issue with one of the census projects and because I receive a
couple or several messages each month from people who are confused because
there are two "USGenWeb Census Projects" or who want some or the other
census project issue resolved. The current wording and location leads
people to believe these projects have a different connection to the
USGenWeb Project than they actually do.

5) It is unreasonable to expect me, or any AB member, to abandon their
holiday plans in order to deal with a non-emergency issue, such as this one.

Just because I've made no complaint was made in the past, it doesn't mean
that I was ever happy with the misleading wording and placement of the
links to the census projects, or that there is not a valid complaint now.
Both the wording (projects made up of USGenWeb volunteers) and the
placement (on the main page) imply a relationship that is not there. Does
someone need to be a member of the USGenWeb Project to be a member of
either of the census projects? No. Do organizations generally link to
outside projects that use their name without authorization on the main page
of their site? No.

There is a census project that is part of The USGenWeb Project--The
USGenWeb Archives Census Project. That is the project that ought to be
linked to on our main page--not those census projects that steal the files
and run and choose not to be part of The USGebWeb Project. It is
unfortunate that so long as those links are on the main page of our
site, the census projects have no motivation to resolve their differences
nor to resolve their differences with The USGenWeb Project. They're already
getting the publicity they want--why should they make any effort to resolve
the basic problem.

However, in order to prevent this non-issue from taking over the time that
needs to be spent on other matters, I will yield to the opinion of the AB
and restore the links to their previous location and wording. It is
unfortunate that so long as those links are there the census projects have
no motivation to resolve their differences nor to resolve their differences
with The USGenWeb Project. They're already getting the publicity they want.

Perhaps this discussion of the situation will lead the AB to make some
effort to find a fair and permanent solution, but I wouldn't hold my
breath. The AB seems to be uninterested in devoting time or energy to any
issue that does not involve a threat to their perceived authority. They
seem too be far more adept at expressing their individual opinions on
specific issues than they are at putting in the effort to reach a consensus

-Isaiah


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