Re: [Fsfe-uk] Just a Minute

[Martin Keegan]

On 15 Apr 2002, Martin Coxall wrote:

> > Shortly into the meeting, the group split into two tables, as per the
> > agenda. One table carried on the discussion detailed in the minutes. The
> > other table (at which Mr Coxall[*] was present) had a much more
> > free-ranging discussion, which was basically unminutable. 
> 
> Unminutable only if you define minutes as would, say, a management
> consultant. What you have written there passes more comfortable for what
> I would consider useful minutes than that embarassing document I saw
> last night.

I wasn't presupposing any particular flavour of minuting - but the
discussion was very free-form, and no-one took any notes.
  
> > I expect Richard Smedley (sp?) gave up on attempting to minute the
> > discussion which took place at Table 2, and that his minutes if any didn't
> > make it into the amalgamated version posted to the list. I can't see how
> > anyone could have failed to note the Hands/Coxall spat, even if they'd
> > been half-way down the road! That it didn't make it into the minutes even
> > as a one-liner "There was much heated discussion of the interrelationship
> > of software patents and free software, and how this should affect AFFS as
> > an organisation" strikes me as questionable.
> 
> Indeed. It certainly appears as if all dissent were simply airbrushed
> out.

I think you're going too far, there.

What happened was that there was no opportunity for people who hadn't been
on the mailing list a long time to say "actually, I disagree with the
agenda, can we do things differently".  Both before the group split by
tables and after it had recoalesced I requested consideration of how AFFS
was going to recruit new members. Both times the call seemed to fall on
deaf ears, and the other five or so matters on my mental list just didn't
seem worth raising. 

Mk