Re: Acorn on the Web

[John Strauss <jstrauss@gmu.edu>]

Poster: John Strauss <jstrauss@gmu.edu>

On Fri, 11 Oct 1996, Corun MacAnndra wrote:

> Before we start telling Rabah what we think he ought to do, I think it best
> that we know something first. I heard this afternoon that, apparently, he
> and every other kingdom Chronicler have been asked by the Society Chronicler
> to do this. 

There is no positive relationship between the supervisory level from 
which an encroachment of bureaucracy comes and its real world value.
In fact, the opposite principle often holds.

> THink about it a second before your anti-beaureaucracy glands
> kick in. What is the Acorn? It is an official publication of the Kingdom of
> (your name here), SCA, Inc. It says so on the inside of every issue you get.

That's fine. Rabah is the chronicler. He _has_ a warrant. No additional 
bureaucracy is needed to get the Acorn on the web. 

> It is my understanding (and I will admit to second hand knowledge here, so
> take this at face value, if I'm wrong, we'll find out soon enough), that the
> Society Chronicler wants to make sure that web sites for kingdoms are also
> "official publications". 

Two theories of organization are in opposition here. I would label making 
the various web sites that relate to the kingdoms and the various groups 
within them official publications of the SCA, Inc. a _BAD_ thing.

And I didn't see anything in Rabah's post to say that was the intent; but 
I agree that is where we are going, if this is something dictated to 
Rabah rather than Rabah's idea. The step between making a web page 
"official" and regulating its content is remarkably short. I would rather 
see the web pages flourish on their own. Can you think of a real need to 
warrant webmasters other than to control them? I give my friend Rabah the 
benefit of the doubt and I assume he wants to warrant webmasters to 
"recognise" them. I grant no such benefit to his higher ups. They know 
what warrants are for: one controls by withholding them.... 

Now, I believe that unofficial web pages would spring up as soon as any 
of this content control became burdensome; but if you don't think that 
someone will call such unofficial pages "dishonorable" or "discourteous", 
go read some of the more martian posts we recently had here about 
whether one could publicly disagree with Anointed Heads of State.



> If he want to institute warrants for web owners, that's his business
> until either Their Majesties say something about it, or until he steps down
> and the next KC changes things. That's the great thing about change, folks.
> It's one of the great constants of the universe.
> 

One of the great constants about bureaucracies is that they don't 
simplify. They only grow more complex and burdensome. In other words, 
change in bureaucracies only goes one direction. If a bureaucracy is 
about to grow a quantum level, the point to say "Wait a moment: let's 
think about this" is _before_ the change, not after.

No one is jumping on Rabah's case. Rabah is my friend. I _like_ Rabah. 
Rabah is a good and honorable man. My regard for Rabah as a man who knows
how to have fun and how to create fun for others is great. My respect for
him as someone who is doing a fine job at an office I would positively
SUCK at is even greater. 

But, if we have concerns about this step, the time to raise them is 
immediately. I would sure feel sheepish 4 years from now, when Lord 
Feeblebrow, Rabah's replacement twice removed, starts stifling people. I 
don't want Rabah to say to me, "Gosh Henry, if you had an idea this might 
happen, why didn't you say something back when I could have done 
something about it?"


|      John Strauss             |      aka Henry Best          |
|      jstrauss@gmu.edu         |      henry@poboxes.com       |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| "People don't quit playing because they grow old. They grow  |
|  old because they quit playing."     -Oliver Wendell Holmes  |


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