[p2p-research] On Alex Rollin stated intentions to expel me from the P2P Foundation board

Wed Aug 11 22:20:01 CEST 2010

Thanks Sam,

my intention is to allow Alex to use our material in his own venue, as I
find it unacceptable to have someone in the organisation whose stated
intention is to remove me ... let's help alex to that and remove this
energy-sapping conflict

my intention is no longer to leave the wiki or the P2P Foundation, but to
clearly state that I want to continue to build it, with people who share the
ideals and trust me, but with a boundary condition (for the moment, at some
point if I really mess things up and people feel that way, I can leave) that
those whose explicit aim is to expel me, should find another place.

Alex and I cannot work together and his is not happy in a situation where he
has to take my concerns into account. He wants everything, and I can't
accept nothing, so let's stop the hostile takeover, but give Alex all the
resources he needs to realize his own dreams and ideals.

Michel

On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 3:07 AM, Samuel Rose <samuel.rose at gmail.com> wrote:

> Michel,
>
> You have my support on this. If someone wants to push you out of P2P
> Foundation, then I will work with you where and how you see fit in a
> way that continues to allow me to collaborate with you on this work. I
> support whatever you decide to do.
>
> On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 3:33 PM, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Dear friends,
> >
> > Though my critique of Alex has been harsh, I have explained why I thought
> > that was necessary, I have always made the disctinction between his
> > contributions, and the fact that I was opposed to him imposing new
> > technological directions for our wiki without process and taking into
> > account the opinion of its main contributor.
> >
> > Alex of course retorts that all his propositions are viewable (some of
> them
> > indeed are, many changes are not), but they are of such a volume that it
> is
> > not possible to process by the communty, nor by myself. The result is a
> > rapid escalation of changes, most of them beneficial, but some of them
> > greatly complicating the editorial work, which I oppose. I never said
> this
> > before, but I'd like to reveal now that from the very first day, Alex
> > actually stated that he did not intend to ask for my permission or
> opinion
> > on any matter, which is actually fine, as long as I have the same
> freedom,
> > which I have not if technological changes are
> imposed.faceted_search_ui_search_page
>  >
> > Because of my double evaluation, which recognizes alex's key
> contributions
> > and importance, I even yesterday proposed to James Burke in a Skype
> > conversation to reserve a place for Alex in the new board, pending our
> > decision on which process we would use to make the choices. Because we do
> > not have a membership, the idea was to propose a list of names, publish
> it
> > on the list, and wait for reactions, in order to reach a consensus. Since
> we
> > are seriously considering building a membership organisation, at some
> point
> > in the next few years, probably this will happen through elections.
> >
> > This for the context, why the urgency.
> >
> > Alex has sent me a private letter, which I'm not suppose to divulge, and
> I
> > will not, but it also contains a threat.
> >
> > Namely the following: "You can bet I will vote you off the board as soon
> as
> > I get a chance, but in the mean time you would do very well to keep this
> > kind of thing under wraps."
> >
> > Cleary Alex is not happy with the public discussion, hence the threat of:
> > "be quiet or else" and at the same time, I'm unwilling to keep it under
> > wraps, he knows that, we knew that, so the next step is already declared.
> > This is valuable information.
> >
> > But I do think that his threat and position as a overt enemy in the
> > organisation I have created with James, is not acceptable. I talked about
> a
> > hostile IPO before, and perhaps nobody else saw this or felt this in
> quite
> > the same way as I did, and of course, the primary issue was the
> imposition
> > of a new policy and direction that I did not approve of.
> >
> > This is different, and a step in the escalation in which Alex declares
> > himself an enemy.
> >
> > I do not think this is acceptable. Therefore, it is a matter of principle
> > for me that Alex Rollin will NOT sit on the board, and I'm reinforced not
> > only in the belief that there should be a fork, but now that this fork
> > should be OUTSIDE of the P2P Foundation.
> >
> > Thanks for sharing your perspectives.
> >
> > My position is clear: it is not workable to have a declared enemy,
> opposed
> > to the very organisation I have founded and tried to create.
> >
> > Once again, the P2P Foundation is pluralist, and strives for peer
> governance
> > and democracy, but I do believe there is a justifiable boundary when
> > sometimes declares an open civil war.
> >
> > Building the P2P Foundation is both a personal project and a collective
> > project, where hopefully the collective can transcend the personal at
> some
> > point, and obviously, I have my own limits. Nevertheless, I believe my
> > personal contribution has been necessary and important, and that the
> > continued growth of our work should be based on trust. We are not yet at
> a
> > stage where factions vie for dominance, and perhaps never should.
> >
> > What I'm now asking is indeed trust. I have made an evaluation of Alex
> > Rollin, I have tried first to privately convey my unhappiness at imposed
> > policy stages, then made the issue public in face of any progress, but
> > making a careful difference between the attempt to moderate the
> > technological changes, and Alex' otherwise positive contributions.
> >
> > Alex however, is playing a different game, and clearly states his
> intention
> > to expel me and to see support for this. It seems to me that this is a
> time
> > of choosing, and I hope my friends and P2P Foundation supporters will
> > support my continued efforts, and that since Alex finds my presence
> > unacceptable, should found his own, using freely of course, all the
> material
> > that has been collected so far, which is a commons for all to use.
> >
> > Michel Bauwens
> >
> > --
> > P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  -
> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net
> >
> > Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
> > http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/p2presearch_listcultures.org
> >
> > Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens;
> > http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens
> >
> > Think tank: http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> --
>  --
> Sam Rose
> Future Forward Institute and Forward Foundation
> Tel:+1(517) 639-1552
> Cel: +1-(517)-974-6451
> skype: samuelrose
> email: samuel.rose at gmail.com
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>
> "The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human
> ambition." - Carl Sagan
>

-- 
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