"There is as far as I know no Open Coworking Party Line..."
Stated, of course not. But as they say, perception is 9/10ths of the law. I'm in agreement that diversity is for the win. People should find the space and community that makes them happiest, that's the whole point after all. What's unfortunate -and seems to be looked over in some peoples' analysis of this essay - is that this space *was* home for the author. They went so far as to invite people into it, led community efforts and more. The ownership and participation that many seek was present here. I do agree with your point, Jeannine, that there is an undercurrent of conversation that's is more diverse. But it's simply not visible to most newcomers, the people who are most in need of guidance. To further illustrate my point - look at who has commented on this thread so far. We're preaching to the converted. It's the lurkers that we need to hear from. -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 11:42 PM, Jeannine <[email protected]> wrote: > There is as far as I know no Open Coworking Party Line to tread beyond the > basic values and it troubles me greatly if anybody who wants to is even for > one moment worried about saying whatever s/he thinks. > If there is a Party Line somebody better get me the memo before I am > politically incorrect again. > The purpose of the Wiki itself and the Upgrade Project is to present the > world with the glorious variations within Open Coworking and let the > members choose and talk about it. Isn't it? > I do feel the need to add that I am not for (most decidedly against) any > kind of Coworkiing Crusade; humans have an unfortunate tendency to define > our part of the elephant as the only real authentic part. But as I am now > aged, lol, I have come to this realization: there is in reality no One > True Faith; we are all just trying to create the piece of it we can see and > hopefully expand our understanding to include other parts of the elephant. > But a whole elephant is better than any part of it, even when I cannot see > what use that other part over there might be. It may be connected to a lot > of stuff I can; t see. > I am not prepared to say that the space referred to in your column did > anything "wrong" without knowing more about it. Here's an illustration for > you: I am in a relationship where we share all of our material goods and > also our debts. I know a lot of people who keep those things separate. I > am not prepared to say that those people are in a lesser relationship than > mine or to make any statement about how they should do things. I am just > glad they are not in a relationship with me as it would not work out. > > Most of my membership is not made up of coworking enthusiasts, they didn't > know what it was until I told them and they did not come for the community. > Though they are delighted to take part in it mostly. > In addition, the Coworking Wiki is served every day by people who are > members, ex members, never were members but like the idea. They are > cleaning it up and adding spaces and helping keep an eye on the spam. They > also serve; I am proud of them and happy to get to interact with them. > This conversation is mostly with the aforementioned Owners, Operators, and > Enthusiasts. The people not in those categories are not here I think; or > don' t take part in the conversation. But the column seems to me to be > about an enthusiast, whose disappointment is that he has not yet found the > right relationship, the right space. > I don't think this is solved by trying to make coworking spaces more like > each other. It is the increased diversity that is so awe inspiring is it > not? > I am amazed by it at least once a week. > On Tuesday, July 30, 2013 6:14:40 PM UTC+2, Alex Hillman wrote: >> >> As much as I appreciate the connectedness that we have in this community, >> one thing that I think is horribly missing from the global conversation >> about coworking is a deeper conversation with the communities of people who >> aren't owners, operators, and enthusiasts. >> >> I've gotten the sense that unless it's for praise, most coworking space >> members aren't comfortable speaking up as a part of this global community. >> >> I think that's a shame. Here's a glimpse of what we might hear if they did: >> >> https://medium.com/better-humans/c9d8c69f4592 >> >> -Alex >> >> >> -- >> >> /ah >> indyhall.org >> coworking in philadelphia >> > -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
