Pausing the Radical Ticket Sale initiative
It’s time for me to take a step back from this initiative.
tl;dr There's a lack of clarity on how Kiez Burn makes decisions. It feels like some people think I'm trying to somehow harm Kiez Burn, and they're doing their best to obstruct me. I wish to feel supported.
History
Two weeks ago I went to a Kiez Burn workshop hosted by Remy and Waldo. They explained the consensual doocracy process and told us that anybody in the community could make any decision so long as they listened to the people who would be impacted by it. I was inspired. I decided to try a slightly new kind of ticket sale. I shared the idea with them and others at the workshop.
Who decides
After this workshop, I believed that if I followed the process, and listened to feedback, I'd ultimately be free to make a decision on this topic. I understood that this was the commitment Kiez Burn e.V. was making to its community. I no longer believe that to be true.
In conversations with both Waldo and Alexxx, it seems clear that they are not fully committed to "let fail what the community does not carry". They also do not fully support that anybody can make any decision.
Stubborn
I feel disappointment. I'm sad that the commitments Kiez Burn e.V. made publicly and in writing are not being followed through on. I'm sad that it took me so much work and heartache to find this out.
At this point, it's time to recognise that I'm only continuing in this mission because I'm being stubborn. It's pretty clear that several members of the board are uncomfortable with this proposal, and do not want to see me make a decision to take it live.
It seems they wish for me to modify the proposal until it is within the realms of what they think is comfortable. It seems they to ultimately decide what kind of Kiez Burn we will have.
Pause
It's time for me to take a pause on this initiative. There is a board meeting on Tuesday, I've asked for clarification on the consensual doocracy process. I hope that the board will release a clear statement that they are 100% ready to stand behind the process, and are willing to see Kiez Burn 2020 fail completely if the community does not carry it. This is the vision that I signed up to support, and that I signed up to work under.
Until that happens, personally, I no longer have enough enthusiasm or energy to continue fighting this cause. CJ shared that this process is exhausting. I wish that had been made clear to me upfront. I feel exhaustion. I wished to feel excitement and that I was working inside a radically supportive community.
Community
I believe in the Kiez Burn community, and I fully trust that we will, together, bring about exactly the Kiez Burn that we want. I do not see this level of trust from some members of the board.
I hope that at least clarity will arise from this process.
I'll take a few days break from Talk, and will check messages again after the board meeting on Tuesday.
CJ Yetman Sat 1 Feb 2020 4:02PM
Thanks Callum. While I don’t agree completely with how you have characterized everything, I’m glad your being honest about how you feel. If it makes you feel any better, I think you were damn close to gaining the support you needed, which would have been a big win for this process. I’m disappointed that the concerns or advice that came from certain people felt like criticism or outright “blocking” of your proposal. I don’t see it that way, but it’s important that you felt that way. We need to find a way to address that.
Alina, also known as Universe Sat 1 Feb 2020 9:50PM
Thank you @Callum Macdonald for this radical initiative.
I see this as a hard (for both parties involved) but at the same time very healthy exercise for the development of the new-style KB org.
And also to see that it ran into trouble/caused difficulties for both parties.
Please know that you are not alone - I am sorry Ito be going back to BL again, but there is a clear link in terms of do-ocracy and surrounding tools that inspired the new decentralised - yet still fuzzy - KB way.
I have been watching and participating in a very heated discussion about the membership sale and prices for BL 2020. Two Advice Process leaders left because AP burnout. A new one took over, an emergency meeting followed and now the sale is starting.... It's been a battle.
I hope you come back from the break refreshed and still motivated - I am hoping to see more action like yours in the near future. Please don't give up!
Alina, also known as Universe Sat 1 Feb 2020 11:53PM
@Callum Macdonald I would also like to drop this one here. Very relevant: https://talk.theborderland.se/d/u8vN1Pbh/advice-processes-on-talk-cost-more-than-they-re-worth
Keegan Mon 3 Feb 2020 1:21AM
I think when radical change is being done there is a lot of work required to make sure everything works, Borderlands is a great example of it. Until you get into the process it is hard to know how much work will be required and what issues come up in the advice process.
I also believe that the board wasn't blocking it more just delaying to confirm information that I believe is relevant to the membership process. I championed the membership process for Burning Nest and it was a process with lots of conversations and talking to people, I too also got very frustrated with it as I wanted memberships (tickets) to go on sale in September or October last year to keep the hype going. We should our first half of the 19th of Jan. There were a lot of small things that came up between then that hadn't made it onto my radar but also meant that for next year, we can really make some of the changes I would like to see.
I think one of the biggest issues (after reading the entire thread) was that information and discussion were happening everywhere and people missed some comments which lead to repeat questions etc. Some of it may be information not making it up to the top section. For me, I am not 100% sure what the exact situation and proposal are after reading it but feel I have a fair idea. I think to go through it all and making sure it's currently all up to date and sending people back to there to read before posting would help a lot!
I also think that you are very close to getting your proposal over the line and just need to give a couple of people some time to get the info needed for the advice. I think it is a really good concept and there are a couple of tweaks that could make it run really well.
I am going to add my feedback to the main AP and would be happy to work on this further.
Leon Noller · Sat 1 Feb 2020 3:36PM
Thank you for openly sharing your emotions and what happened from your perspective. Interested in the boards point of view of what happened.