[HPFGU-OTChatter] My Two Knuts (long)

[Iggy McSnurd]

>From: "joywitch_m_curmudgeon:
>During this time, it became more and more clear to me that Cindy's
>motives were not what I had originally perceived them to be.  After
>several months of working closely with her, I finally realized that
>her goals were not the best interests of HPfGU, but instead were
>personal.  I realized, through talking to a lot of other admin team
>members and several Moderators, that Cindy had lied about several
>supposed events, and had often manipulated the truth.  I finally came
>to the conclusion that what Cindy seemed to want was to run HPfGU
>herself, her way.

Iggy here:

On two different occasions I have been an admin on a MUD (Multi-User
Domain... it's a strictly text based RPG on line...) and have weathered
admin upheavals on those as well.  Unfortunately, those who often led the
charge when it came to "constructive realignment of power" were those who
did the least real work in the long run, and were the most stubborn about
feeling that their own way of doing things was the only right way to do
them.

This is not to say that every person who wants to work hard to see positive
change has an ulterior motive, but if you look at history, those who often
led revolutions in many second and third world countries (and some first
world ones as well) "in the best interests of the people" often did so for
power of their own so that they could be among the elite ruling class they
cast down.  Nor am I saying that Cindy was definitely in this trend, since I
don't know her well enough to make that call.

I'm just pointing out that one should always be careful about trusting
someone who says they can make things better if you just let them lead you.
It's much along the same lines of televangelists who say they can guarantee
you'll get into Heaven... for a small donation to their church, of course.


>From: "joywitch_m_curmudgeon:
>This was rather a startling conclusion, to me.  I mean, I *liked*
>Cindy.  She is smart, funny and  interesting.  She was my friend.
>And why the hell would anyone go to so much trouble to try and take
>over a discussion group about a children's book?  In fact, I still
>don't get it.  Nevertheless, I'm afraid it's true.  Cindy has
>consistently, first from her position as Moderator, then from her
>position as a member of the admin team, and more recently in her
>position on the FAQ team, tried to unduly influence and manipulate
>both people and circumstances in an attempt to gain leadership of the
>HPfGU community.

Iggy here:

As someone who has been betrayed and stabbed in the back by many a friend, I
know of what I speak.  The best way to gain influence is not through force,
but through endearing yourself to others.  Starting with one person at a
time, you can work your way up to small groups, then larger ones.  It's the
creedo of any good con artist.  "Earn their trust, show them you're their
friend, and fleece them behind their back."  (To this day, the one thing
someone can say to me that will put me on full alert is something to the
effect of "You know, I know exactly how you think and feel, because we've
led almost identical lives."  9 times out of 10, this meant that they were
conning me and going totry to make friends with me and then screw me over
somehow.)

As to why someone would bother to try and take over a discussion group about
a kid's book?  Well, first I would ask the question of "How many people are
in this group?"  Get power over the group, and you have some influence over
what those people say and what they read.  Even over as isolated subject as
a children's book, this is a great deal of influence.  Running the group is
a position of authority and power... regardless of whether you use it well
or not.

I've been amazed at how much of an impact I've had over other people in on
other mailing lists I've been on, just by discussing views that had nothing
to do with the list subject.  People were telling me that what I had
expressed had changed their lives.  This actually scared me, because I had
an understanding of how a cult leader could gather such a huge following.
Fortunately, I am an honest and nice guy... so I slowly started separating
myself from these people since I wanted them to think more for themselves.
(Trust me, you'd be amazed at what some people came to me with...)
Unfortunately, I could see some of these people possibly falling prey to
less savory people later on.

I'm not saying that Cindy was this type since, as I said earlier, I don't
know her well enough to fraw a reliable conclusion... but you asked a
question, and I answered it from my own experience.


I hope this helps somewhat.


Iggy McSnurd