Re: DIsmissal from ticalc.org - some clarifications
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Re: DIsmissal from ticalc.org - some clarifications
At 08:37 PM 3/7/1999 -0500, you wrote:
My my... aren't we the insensitive little jerk...
>
> And we care because.....?
>
> ----------
> > From: Bryan Rabeler <brabeler@ISD.INGHAM.K12.MI.US>
> > To: CALC-TI@LISTS.PPP.TI.COM
> > Subject: DIsmissal from ticalc.org - some clarifications
> > Date: 07 March 1999 19:44
> >
> > Chris Dornfeld e-mailed about my recent comments on the dismissal
> situation.
> > He had some clarifications and corrections to make and signaled that I
> should
> > post them.
> >
> > > I checked my non-ticalc.org e-mail and discovered two e-mails, one from
> > > Magnus and one from Chris. Magnus had sent me the carefully crafted
> dismissal
> > > letter which the four coordinators wrote. Chris sent me a ZIP file which
> > > contained the files in my home directory, and said that my mail was
> coming soon.
> > > I still haven't gotten my mail, I suspect every piece is being read to
> get
> > > missing information for the people who are going to takeover my sections.
> >
> > Chris has told me they are looking for passwords in my mail. A legimate
> reason.
> > But nonetheless, they will be looking for other things as well.
> >
> > > The first incident that I can remember is the so-called "TI-Files hack"
> > > incident, which occurred in early November, 1998. What happened was I
> got the
> > > FTP password to the TI-Files from a member who was resigning, I logged in
> using
> > > that password, and deleted about 15 files in the main directory. I knew
> TI-
> > > Files made backups once a week and that doing this wouldn't cause any
> unfixable
> > > damage, it was more or less a joke. But nevertheless, nothing can take
> away
> > > from how unprofessional and disrespectful this act was, and I am sorry
> for it.
> > > I made a public apology on November 10, 1998 in the form of a news
> article on
> > > ticalc.org.
> >
> > I was reluctant to make an apology on the front page of ticalc.org and
> thought
> > it was unnecessary at the time. Only after pressure from the rest of the
> staff
> > did I post the apology. However now that I look back on it, I feel it was
> the
> > right thing to do.
> >
> > > appreciate me at all. Then after I voiced my concerns about that, Chris
> > > e-mailed me with a metaphor saying I was like the cook in a restaurant
> and they
> > > were the owners. That made be feel *SO* much better.
> >
> > Chris said I didn't understand that analogy.
> >
> > > I know what a lot of you must be thinking, "Why go through all this
> > > trouble to stop this new policy?" Well, the way the staff worked up
> until that
> > > point was good. We were able to talk about things as a team and work
> through
> > > our disagreements. Now the coordinators would run things and have the
> final
> > > say. If we didn't like their decision, then too bad. Does the book
> "Animal
> > > Farm" ring any bells here? I even changed my nickname on IRC to
> "Snowball"
> > > because of this. Now the nickname fits perfectly.
> >
> > Chris said I idealized the old staff situation too much, that my style
> > demands constraints, and that my decisions must be overridden some of the
> time.
> >
> > > In the end, I was the only one who strongly disagreed with the new
> > > proposal. Only after Chris told me that I could be a coordinator after
> the next
> > > election did I reluctantly vote for the proposal. Now that I look back
> on it, I
> >
> > Chris told me that I would have a chance to be a coordinator after the next
> > election, and that maybe six months down the road, it would be highly
> probable
> > that my past experience with TI-Files would be water under the bridge. I
> > misrepresented the facts there and I just wanted to make that part clear.
> >
> > > At the end of January, it came time for the first coordinator elections
> > > after the proposal had been agreed to. Each staff member e-mailed their
> vote to
> > > the staff mailing list. I don't remember exactly how everyone voted on
> the
> > > second question, but this is pretty close. I voted no along with Ahmed,
> and
> > > Kirk voted yes. None of the others voted. It could have been different,
> but I
> > > know the vote was 2-1 in favor of new coordinators. However, after Chris
> > > "talked" to Ahmed, Ahmed changed his vote to undecided, so the vote was
> tied at
> > > 1-1, which isn't a majority. Chris said that Ahmed didn't even
> understand what
> > > he was voting for, and therefore his first vote was not valid. I do
> question,
> > > however, Chris' motive for initially contacting Ahmed about his vote.
> >
> > Chris and I agree here that Ahmed probably didn't know what he was voting
> for.
> > However where we disagree is on the motive of Chris contacting Ahmed about
> his
> > vote. Chris admits his motive was to keep the current coordinators,
> however he
> > maintains he approached Ahmed in an impartial way. Believe what you want.
> >
> > > added them one by one, so Kirk could not mess up my work. This entire
> situation
> > > came about because the coordinators felt that they could tell me how to
> run my
> > > section, something they told me they wouldn't do when I opposed the staff
> > > structure.
> >
> > Chris contends he didn't tell Kirk to work on the archives at the same time
> as
> > me. However, Magnus clearly told me that, as I stated in my previous
> mailing.
> > Chris also confirms that he was telling me how to run my section but
> somehow
> > this didn't go against the guidelines. How that can be is still a mystery
> to me.
> >
> > > which I was "unwilling to compromise". Perhaps I fail to understand why
> I, as
> > > the veteran file archiver here, know less about doing file archives than
> the
> > > rest of the staff. Why doesn't the "expert's" opinion count here?
> >
> > Basically, Chris said that I don't always make the right decisions about
> the
> > file archives.
> >
> > > staff structure, it is much easier to dismiss someone than it was
> before. Plus,
> > > I believe that one of the main reasons Chris told me to write up
> documentation
> > > on how I handle the file archives was so someone else would know how to
> do it
> > > after they "disposed" of me. The thought of such a thing makes me sick.
> >
> > Chris admits this one, however at least he wasn't going to fire me the
> second he
> > got the document.
> >
> > > conspiracies and cover-ups. I believe this new staff structure and
> coordinator
> > > thing will eventually ruin ticalc.org. The coordinators discuss
> everything in
> > > secret and don't have to explain everything to the entire staff.
> >
> > Chris says I'm not a coordinator and I shouldn't be talking about what I
> don't
> > know. That's probably true, but I do know that the coordinators talk among
> > themselves in secret.
> >
> >
> > --
> > Bryan Rabeler <brabeler@isd.ingham.k12.mi.us>
> > Former maintainer of The Fargo Archive
> > Former ticalc.org staff member
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