[HP4GU-FAQ] Re: Harry FP and Leadership

[pennylin]

Hi --

Cindy wrote: <<<<<<I gotta tell ya, however, that I am bewildered by the persistent suggestions that this group has functioned without leadership.  Unless
I am hallucinating, I was one of the leaders of this group for quite a
while.  For instance, one thing I did as leader last year was to prod
Neil to locate and upload his Quidditch draft, review it, decide that
it was worth completing, and ask Ali off-list to finish it, which she
graciously agreed to do.  I really didn't think the FAQ list was a
contentious or unpleasant place then, despite the fact that I was
functioning as official (and later de facto) leader.  

Sorry to be so very *prickly* on this issue, but it would be as though
people suddenly started saying that HPfGU never had anyone experienced
in intellectual property.  We clearly did, and it was Heidi -- who did
good work and a lot of it.  It would be rather revisionist to suggest
otherwise.>>>>>>>>>

Well, this may be just semantics, but I viewed your role as the HPfGU Moderator whose had current province over the FAQ group, rather than the FAQ Group Leader per se.  Prior to the time that the HPfGU Moderators decided to appoint one of their number to sort of "oversee" the FAQ Group, it ran itself without any real leader.  Of course, the group had fallen into quite a bit of inactivity and was in desperate need of new blood when Cindy took over the role of Moderator Rep to the FAQ Group, so I don't mean to suggest that the group was functioning just fine prior to Cindy taking on more of a leadership role.  I suppose I was the leader of sorts of this group for a time, simply by virtue of the fact that I was the sole moderator when this group began its work.  But, I didn't really regard myself as the group leader so very much.  I did try to prod people into completing the tasks they'd committed to, but without much success.  Which, I think, is frankly just the mode of operation here to be honest.    

People feel that this is very much a volunteer, leisure activity, and they resent being "guilted" into working on the FPs (as Ali suggested earlier today).  Or, at least that's my take on it looking back with hindsight and sort of processing my own current feelings.  So, I'd still say that we should not undertake to create a Taskmaster/Leader for the group, as I think the end-result will be more and more people slinking off into the shadows, hiding from the Taskmaster since they just haven't felt like doing any FP work in the past weeks/months/years.  No, I'd prefer that things remain as they are, all things considered, because, well, I just don't think instituting a Taskmaster would have the desired result of more completed FPs and more updated FPs, in a more timely manner.  I think we should just accept that people will do what they will do.    

Penny


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