Hello At its 11 Jan 2006 meeting, the Community Council (CC) considered a number of issues raised by Ian Lynch and Adam Moore regarding Ryan Singer's demotion from MarCon. The CC resolved that the Marketing Project (MP) leads should lead a discussion on this list and attempt to resolve the issue within the project.
I would now like to open this discussion as requested. (The CC minutes are here: http://council.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=discuss&msgNo=862) The following [1] "What do MarCons do?" I send to all potential and new MarCons that I have recruited. It is also included in the SMP wiki. I wrote [2] to Ryan on 20 Dec 2005 revoking the MarCon role with the following reasons including the "What do MarCons do?" as described above. It was a very difficult step for me to take, and there appeared to be never a right time to send the mail, but when I did act several people took exception to this action. I have learnt from this issue, that action, particularly one that may be unpopular, should be done sooner rather than later. Contrary to the belief of some subscribed to this list, I do not act arbitrarily nor take decisions lightly. OpenOffice.org largely consists of volunteers over many time zones. Decisions are made slowly so as to include as many people as possible, and this has been misconstrued as bureaucracy turning the wheels slowly. Where there is time, it is an effective process as most people who are going to have something say, do. And those that do, get on with it. John, I, and many others here are volunteers. Unlike many subscribers to this list, I have no affiliations and the only conflict of interest is my time. I gain nothing from my activities here except the satisfaction from working with a successful team and carrying out tasks with new found colleagues and friends. Naturally, I do not accept the substance of the complaints made to the CC, and I take exception to the tone of some of the messages posted to the list. Online archives host these discussions so that others may determine for themselves the contribution that each of us make. My observation from this incident is that part of our mentoring of new participants into Marketing Project roles (and OpenOffice.org generally) requires them to recognise and understand the underlying philosophy or culture of our project. It is a privilege not a right to be a member, but I realise that guidelines if they exist are dispersed and not easily absorbed quickly such that new volunteers may become an effective and welcomed member of our community. To move forward, I would like to ensure that future instances that may be caused by lack of communication or poor information do not occur and that therefore, John and I will help MarCons understand their roles. The real problem as I see it is that there is a lack of guidelines for MarCons and others in the project. There has also grown a habit of personal attack and character assasination on the list which are spoiling this list as a place where people 'want to come to work'. There was a time that all subscribers to this list knew each other or came to know each other through participation in activities together. The project has grown exponentially, and a greater number of potential visitors who wish to contribute do not know the culture of the various projects, especially if they have not participated in an open-source/free software project prior to finding us at OpenOffice.org. I feel that OpenOffice.org's success in promoting OpenOffice.org the product has led to some of the demand for process and resources, or as a minimum documenting what many of us take for granted. The preparation of the "What do MarCons do?" came about as I wished to be consistent in my response to all that contacted me privately, and in a form that I could post to this list and elsewhere. The basic objective of the OpenOffice.org Marketing Project is to market OpenOffice.org, remembering that OpenOffice.org is both a product and project. Currently, most people and activities are focussed on marketing the product. To rectify this imbalance, may I suggest that future initiatives should include addressing the project/community so that this is communicated to all stakeholders. For example, since reconsidering "What do MarCons do?", I think it would be prudent to add: * understand the structure and function of the Community Council * knowledge of open-source and free software especially OpenOffice.org For John and I to facilitate and assist those that wish to positively contribute to the OpenOffice.org Marketing Project we need to be able to provide guidelines as to how our project works beginning with how it works now. If other long-standing members would like to assist with documenting this, please let me know and we'll get underway perhaps using the wiki. I thought to begin as a set of questions and answers from which guidelines may then be drawn. I am happy to give freely to assist you to successfully market OpenOffice.org. Jacqueline McNally Lead, OpenOffice.org Marketing Project [1] ---///--- What do MarCons do? A MarCon: * is available and responds readily to individuals and organisations that contact them with regard to OpenOffice.org. * liaises with the Marketing Project Leads in representing, and coordinating relationships with OpenOffice.org. * conducts research and is aware of OpenOffice.org marketing opportunities in their area, e.g. potential users, conferences for OpenOffice.org to attend etc. * distributes OpenOffice.org press releases if applicable to their region. * conducts presentations and seminars if requested. * shares ideas, thoughts, plans, what has worked and not worked with OpenOffice.org. * uses the OpenOffice.org Marketing Project as a resource and requests assistance and ideas to assist them to market OpenOffice.org in their region. * joins the Marketing Project and offers their specialist skills to contribute to the goals and activities of the Project. * subscribes to or monitors [email protected] and [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---///--- [2] ---///--- Hello Ryan I am sending this message to you privately to request that you step-down from the MarCon role. The Project Leads are responsible for the recruitment of and liaison with MarCons. I was hesitant about awarding the role to you initially, as I was advised otherwise, but I decided to give you a go. I have copied below the currently minimal requirements as to "What do MarCons do?". The most important being communication, and I find that you have not communicated or liaised with John and me as best you could. There are several reasons that it would be of benefit to OpenOffice.org that you are removed from the MarCon role. The most recent being an apparent conflict of interest as a MarCon and being a contact person for the OpenDocument Fellowship. Specific examples of not communicating are: not following through and reporting back on your contact with Mozilla, not responding to mail with regard to DLS earlier this year, and responding in a very rude manner to one of our supporters and contributors to the 100 Club. Also, I have not seen any activity or received feedback with regard to distribution of press releases in the USA - West Coast region. I wish to advise that removal of the MarCon role is effective immediately. Your name will be removed from the MarCon page, and your email address removed from the MarCon lists during the next update of the web page and mailing lists. Jacqueline McNally Lead, OpenOffice.org Marketing Project ---///--- --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
