Comments on: agile open california 2008 http://malvasiabianca.org/archives/2008/10/agile-open-california-2008/ Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:54:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: David Carlton http://malvasiabianca.org/archives/2008/10/agile-open-california-2008/comment-page-1/#comment-111864 David Carlton Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:41:53 +0000 http://malvasiabianca.org/?p=1095#comment-111864 Thanks for the pointer, I'll take a look. Thanks for the pointer, I’ll take a look.

]]> By: John Cowan http://malvasiabianca.org/archives/2008/10/agile-open-california-2008/comment-page-1/#comment-111852 John Cowan Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:34:40 +0000 http://malvasiabianca.org/?p=1095#comment-111852 I'm rather fond of <a href="http://balisage.net" rel="nofollow">Balisage</a>, which is very different from an unconference: anyone can show up, and the talks not only aren't unplanned, they are based on peer-reviewed papers submitted to the conference well in advance (I wasn't able to go this year, but did review papers). But it's small, most of the returnees know each other although there is plenty of new blood each year too, and best of all the organizers provide looooong coffee and lunch breaks (45 minutes and 2 hours respectively) for people to have impromptu discussions, which are considered just as important as the papers. And by the way, lousy presenters, as judged by the how'm-I-doin' sheets, don't get to come back, no matter how stunning their papers may be. I’m rather fond of Balisage, which is very different from an unconference: anyone can show up, and the talks not only aren’t unplanned, they are based on peer-reviewed papers submitted to the conference well in advance (I wasn’t able to go this year, but did review papers). But it’s small, most of the returnees know each other although there is plenty of new blood each year too, and best of all the organizers provide looooong coffee and lunch breaks (45 minutes and 2 hours respectively) for people to have impromptu discussions, which are considered just as important as the papers. And by the way, lousy presenters, as judged by the how’m-I-doin’ sheets, don’t get to come back, no matter how stunning their papers may be.

]]> By: David Carlton http://malvasiabianca.org/archives/2008/10/agile-open-california-2008/comment-page-1/#comment-111756 David Carlton Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:19:33 +0000 http://malvasiabianca.org/?p=1095#comment-111756 Yeah, that's true. This particular situation was an interesting case (and, fortunately, far from a lynch mob): on the one hand, I think the speaker could probably have found a way to spend more time where the audience members were coming from. But, on the other hand, I think there was value in the thought experiment that the speaker was presenting (I certainly learned something from it), and I personally felt like playing along with the thought experiment more than some people did. Basically, the audience members had already internalized some ideas that were one conclusion that you could draw from the thought experiment. So starting from those internalized ideas has some value; but there's also value in being reminded (in a pleasantly concrete fashion) where those ideas are coming from, and also seeing if that chain of reasoning can lead you in other interesting directions. And then there's the fact that it's an open space, in which a wider range of give and take is expected and welcome. Yeah, that’s true. This particular situation was an interesting case (and, fortunately, far from a lynch mob): on the one hand, I think the speaker could probably have found a way to spend more time where the audience members were coming from. But, on the other hand, I think there was value in the thought experiment that the speaker was presenting (I certainly learned something from it), and I personally felt like playing along with the thought experiment more than some people did.

Basically, the audience members had already internalized some ideas that were one conclusion that you could draw from the thought experiment. So starting from those internalized ideas has some value; but there’s also value in being reminded (in a pleasantly concrete fashion) where those ideas are coming from, and also seeing if that chain of reasoning can lead you in other interesting directions.

And then there’s the fact that it’s an open space, in which a wider range of give and take is expected and welcome.

]]> By: John Cowan http://malvasiabianca.org/archives/2008/10/agile-open-california-2008/comment-page-1/#comment-111744 John Cowan Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:32:53 +0000 http://malvasiabianca.org/?p=1095#comment-111744 "The mere fact that you’re convening a session doesn’t give you any particular privilege to get the crowd to play along with you!" No. But that doesn't mean the transformation of the crowd into a lynch mob with the speaker as its target (as I have seen happen) should be tolerated either. Successful anarchy is a delicate thing, and commonly needs to be backed up by a whole lot of rules, originally implicit but later explicit as the inevitable pack of trolls invade. “The mere fact that you’re convening a session doesn’t give you any particular privilege to get the crowd to play along with you!”

No. But that doesn’t mean the transformation of the crowd into a lynch mob with the speaker as its target (as I have seen happen) should be tolerated either. Successful anarchy is a delicate thing, and commonly needs to be backed up by a whole lot of rules, originally implicit but later explicit as the inevitable pack of trolls invade.

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