Re: DIsmissal from ticalc.org - some clarifications
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Re: DIsmissal from ticalc.org - some clarifications
I agree. I'm not sure I quite follow things, but it looks like someone got
fired from ticalc.org for, among other things, breaking into a rival site
and deleting some files. Apparantly he also had some big differences of
opinion regarding the operation of the organization. He was asked to
document what he did so that he could be replaced (fairly common; I've never
been fired, but both times I've left jobs for better ones my employer asked
me to do that and to write up a job description indicating what I actually
did -- as opposed to the job description I was hired for. I've heard of it
when someone is about to be dismissed too).
Then it sounded like he complained to the list about it, hoping we'd force
ti-calc to take him back.
I feel bad for him, as I would anybody who got fired, but I really don't
think a global forum is the place to take up his grievances.
Tim Dixon tdixon@fwi.com http://www2.fwi.com/~tdixon
"I hoped that You would write to me a message in the stars, as if the
stars themselves were not enough." -- from a Pam Thum song
----- Original Message -----
From: Silent <soldevi@USXCHANGE.NET>
To: <CALC-TI@LISTS.PPP.TI.COM>
Sent: Monday, March 08, 1999 3:55 AM
Subject: 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
>