Some links
An amazing amount of really interesting, food-for-thought posts have been coming out lately, some of which I want to share because they particularly struck a chord.
Github, transparency, and the OTW Archive project by
skud, which takes a look at coding practices in general, and analyzes Archive of Our Own in particular.
So, what I would expect to see here is a big branch for the skins work that’s going on, and another for any Yuletide-related preparation, and another for any other set of work that’s being done. The skins and yuletide stuff, being fairly major projects, should be fairly long-lasting branches. But they’re not there.
It's very illuminating, both for anyone trying to understand what went wrong with the latest release for AO3 as well as explaining good coding practices and how large-scale software development projects function in general. Make sure to also read the comments, where more people are sharing their experiences.
This post is really only vaguely about the OTW. by
epershand, on how working hard is a sign of working wrong.
Every time I hear "but I worked hard" my heart screams out that working hard is the WRONG THING TO DO.
I so, so, so agree with this post. I have colleagues who gleefully cancel meetings at the last minute because "I saw I have a double appointment at the same time". From their tone, I suspect they expect me to be impressed with how popular they are hard they work. I'm not. I just think they suck at time management/workload management. "No" is not an ugly word, especially when you can add a "not now, but later" (and mean it).
"But I worked hard", while commendable, can never be an excuse or a reason to forgive faulty results. Try "I did my best". It may still mean you're the wrong person for the job or that the process is borked, so the results weren’t right in some way, but your best is all that people should expect.
OTW Elections by
ruric, which is more about the communications challenges OTW faces than about the elections per se.
And you need to sort out your comms which takes time, and often that's the one thing you don't feel you have. Who are your audiences? What are your core messages? How do people feedback? How do you consult and how often? How quickly can you act on complaints, feedback and consultation? What mechanisms or channels do you have for replying to feedback/consultation/complaints in a (and here's the critical bit) timely fashion? How do you get to those hard to reach audiences? Are you speaking to your audiences in language they understand? Better still do you have a bunch of enthusiastic and committed ambassadors who can get out there and do the legwork for you? Are your decision making processes transparent and open.
I...feel like I'm being channeled :) Even better,
ruric says they signed up as volunteer for Comms, so yay! OTW has found an experienced Comms person! And someone with some solid experience in non-profits, too.
2011 OTW Elections Voting - The Process! from
otw_news, with information on the elections process.
A lowest-preference vote is different from leaving a candidate off your ballot entirely. A low-preference vote can still eventually cascade into a high-preference vote through elimination of other candidates in that cycle. Leaving a candidate unranked means they don't get your vote at all.
If you are eligible to vote, please do so, and do so wisely! I'm endorsing, and will be voting for Julia Beck, Jenny Scott-Thompson, Nikisha Sanders, and my fourth candidate will be Betsy Rosenblatt.
This entry was originally posted at http://scribblesinink.dreamwidth.org/270201.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
people have commented.
Github, transparency, and the OTW Archive project by
skud, which takes a look at coding practices in general, and analyzes Archive of Our Own in particular.
So, what I would expect to see here is a big branch for the skins work that’s going on, and another for any Yuletide-related preparation, and another for any other set of work that’s being done. The skins and yuletide stuff, being fairly major projects, should be fairly long-lasting branches. But they’re not there.
It's very illuminating, both for anyone trying to understand what went wrong with the latest release for AO3 as well as explaining good coding practices and how large-scale software development projects function in general. Make sure to also read the comments, where more people are sharing their experiences.
This post is really only vaguely about the OTW. by
epershand, on how working hard is a sign of working wrong.
Every time I hear "but I worked hard" my heart screams out that working hard is the WRONG THING TO DO.
I so, so, so agree with this post. I have colleagues who gleefully cancel meetings at the last minute because "I saw I have a double appointment at the same time". From their tone, I suspect they expect me to be impressed with how popular they are hard they work. I'm not. I just think they suck at time management/workload management. "No" is not an ugly word, especially when you can add a "not now, but later" (and mean it).
"But I worked hard", while commendable, can never be an excuse or a reason to forgive faulty results. Try "I did my best". It may still mean you're the wrong person for the job or that the process is borked, so the results weren’t right in some way, but your best is all that people should expect.
OTW Elections by
ruric, which is more about the communications challenges OTW faces than about the elections per se.
And you need to sort out your comms which takes time, and often that's the one thing you don't feel you have. Who are your audiences? What are your core messages? How do people feedback? How do you consult and how often? How quickly can you act on complaints, feedback and consultation? What mechanisms or channels do you have for replying to feedback/consultation/complaints in a (and here's the critical bit) timely fashion? How do you get to those hard to reach audiences? Are you speaking to your audiences in language they understand? Better still do you have a bunch of enthusiastic and committed ambassadors who can get out there and do the legwork for you? Are your decision making processes transparent and open.
I...feel like I'm being channeled :) Even better,
ruric says they signed up as volunteer for Comms, so yay! OTW has found an experienced Comms person! And someone with some solid experience in non-profits, too.
2011 OTW Elections Voting - The Process! from
otw_news, with information on the elections process.
A lowest-preference vote is different from leaving a candidate off your ballot entirely. A low-preference vote can still eventually cascade into a high-preference vote through elimination of other candidates in that cycle. Leaving a candidate unranked means they don't get your vote at all.
If you are eligible to vote, please do so, and do so wisely! I'm endorsing, and will be voting for Julia Beck, Jenny Scott-Thompson, Nikisha Sanders, and my fourth candidate will be Betsy Rosenblatt.
This entry was originally posted at http://scribblesinink.dreamwidth.org/270201.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
people have commented.