From nobody@chain.digitalkingdom.org Tue Dec 19 16:43:52 2006 Received: with ECARTIS (v1.0.0; list bpfk-announce); Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:43:52 -0800 (PST) Received: from nobody by chain.digitalkingdom.org with local (Exim 4.63) (envelope-from ) id 1GwpYl-0003Qj-5l for bpfk-announce-real@lojban.org; Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:43:51 -0800 Received: from rlpowell by chain.digitalkingdom.org with local (Exim 4.63) (envelope-from ) id 1GwpYk-0003Qc-Ak for bpfk-announce@lojban.org; Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:43:50 -0800 Resent-From: rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org Resent-Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:43:50 -0800 Resent-Message-ID: <20061220004350.GR13756@chain.digitalkingdom.org> Resent-To: bpfk-announce@lojban.org Received: from chain.digitalkingdom.org ([64.81.66.169]) by chain.digitalkingdom.org with esmtp (Exim 4.63) (envelope-from ) id 1GwS1Y-0001fF-7j; Mon, 18 Dec 2006 15:36:04 -0800 Received: with ECARTIS (v1.0.0; list bpfk-announce); Mon, 18 Dec 2006 15:35:58 -0800 (PST) Received: from nobody by chain.digitalkingdom.org with local (Exim 4.63) (envelope-from ) id 1GwBe7-00019j-Pb for bpfk-announce-real@lojban.org; Sun, 17 Dec 2006 22:06:44 -0800 Received: from nf-out-0910.google.com ([64.233.182.191]) by chain.digitalkingdom.org with esmtp (Exim 4.63) (envelope-from ) id 1GwBdu-00019K-9K for bpfk-announce@lojban.org; Sun, 17 Dec 2006 22:06:43 -0800 Received: by nf-out-0910.google.com with SMTP id c31so2823000nfb for ; Sun, 17 Dec 2006 22:06:28 -0800 (PST) DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws; s=beta; d=gmail.com; h=received:message-id:date:from:to:subject:mime-version:content-type:content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition; b=Kowy6ZTaD75sycOI/OJk+bAlf+oO+lQ+zAqXl0rVXjlug+fJlgqXmh4yzdOsnVmtQEchjSzZe/gyuzR0Ak7PRw7eo8gxsjINPzmh/QB4M1aLKdu6wHr7z8S94f63EbKMi/ecJedmDwyfDLdwysuL3//rcSEyc0LG9kI2p/THH9k= Received: by 10.78.39.16 with SMTP id m16mr2646550hum.1166421988436; Sun, 17 Dec 2006 22:06:28 -0800 (PST) Received: by 10.78.144.4 with HTTP; Sun, 17 Dec 2006 22:06:28 -0800 (PST) Message-ID: Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 01:06:28 -0500 From: "Matt Arnold" To: "Jay F Kominek" , "John Cowan" , "Arnt Richard Johansen" , "Robert LeChevalier" , "Pierre Abbat" , "Pierre Abbat" , "Robin Lee Powell" , "Mark E. Shoulson" , "Theodore Reed" , bpfk-announce@lojban.org Subject: [bpfk-announce] BPFK MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline X-Spam-Score: -2.5 (--) X-archive-position: 121 X-Approved-By: rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org X-ecartis-version: Ecartis v1.0.0 X-original-sender: matt.mattarn@gmail.com Precedence: bulk X-list: bpfk-announce Resent-Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:43:50 -0800 X-archive-position: 124 X-Approved-By: rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org X-ecartis-version: Ecartis v1.0.0 Sender: bpfk-announce-bounce@lojban.org Errors-to: bpfk-announce-bounce@lojban.org X-original-sender: rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org Precedence: bulk Reply-to: bpfk-announce@lojban.org X-list: bpfk-announce To: Arnt Johansen Jay Kominek John Cowan Bob LeChevalier Nora LeChevalier (through Bob because I don't have her email) Pierre Abbat Robin Powell Jorge Llambias Mark Shoulson Theodore Reed If you would do me the kindness, I would like each of you to raise your hand by emailing me personally to confirm I have the right email address for you. I'm CC'ing bpfk-announce, but its not the same as knowing which individuals I am talking to and knowing whose attention I have. Also, let me know if you only got one copy of this through bpfk-announce. Robin asked me to be cat herder for BPFK work. The job of herding cats is what I do with the vast majority of my free time, so I feel uniquely qualified. I define herding cats as coordinating any project whose workers are true volunteers, are not obligated by compensation. (I feel the phrase is inappropriate to refer to paid employees, no matter how catlike; but that's another matter.) Cats show up only when they want to and are motivated by friendship and/or personal fascination. My other specialty is graphic design, and I'm intensely interested in what the eventual resulting publication looks like. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it; I am not connecting that task to being a Shatner (excuse me, a "jatna", but "Shatner" is my mnemonic device for that word), but when the time comes if someone were to ask me for graphics before rushing off in haste to publish, I would feel gratified. What I am _not_ qualified to do is design a conlang. Just as in running a science fiction convention, my role is limited as follows: 1. Understand what tasks await doing, not necessarily knowing how to do them. 2. Assign tasks and track who is assigned to what. 3. Set deadlines and warn of their approach and arrival. 4. Keep current with everyone's contact info and preferred means of communication. 5. Talk to the volunteers a lot, asking for reports to check if they're active. 6. Seek replacements for the ones who went inactive or lost motivation. 7. Motivate active volunteers with vision, encouragement, small gifts, public thanks, or incentives tailored to their unique motivational drives. None of that involves knowing very much about linguistics or logic. I do not intend to arbitrate disputes over language, discuss linguistic issues, or even possess voting rights in BPFK. But with your permission I will keep you moving. Speaking of inactive volunteers, is this an effective list of them? And Rosta Adam D. Lopresto Craig Daniel Nick Nicholas Charles Hope (xod) Jordan de Long Rob Speer Adam Raizen I'm still working on making sure I have a handle on task #1, since parlaimentarian procedure is difficult for me to remember. I would ask myself things like "Does BPFK have bylaws?" and "Does it need to call a meeting to order through email?" and "Is BPFK part of the LLG, is it part of the Board, is the Board the same as LLG, etc?" and I kept mixing up Broca and Bancus, xod and xorxes. Then my head would spin rapidly on my shoulders. But I now feel confident to draw all these entities in a Venn diagram. In addition, BPFK was always somewhat magical to me in its nature. It was as if it were something done off somewhere, somehow, by incantations. Then I encountered this essay by Nick Nicholas, and it helped immensely, especially the sections "The BPFK's Job" and "Manner Of Operation". I feel Nick did an excellent job of explaining and I do understand it. Please let me know your comments if your understanding differs from his. http://www.lojban.org/tiki/tiki-editpage.php?page=Mini-dictionary In the event that understanding is uncontested, I'll get back to you each about your individual roles. sincerely, Eppcott