Below is an excerpt from a comment made on LinkedIn that makes a bold assertion about the opinion of the Open Space community regarding changes to OST within the context of Liberating Structures.
“Lastly the changes made to Open Space that have been made are counted a travesty by the Open Space community. Anyone on the OSLIST knows what Barry Owen and others have had to say about this.” \ I'm making an assumption that these changes are the ones articulated by authors Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless in their book “The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures” and presented as a "short form" of OST.\ \ Upon reading the description of OST in the aforementioned book, I did feel some discomfort at how the event structure was presented, but I didn't take offense and consider such a presentation "a travesty". It read to me as what an OST event would look like to an observer. Near the end of the chapter in the book, Harrison Owen is credited and the reader is advised to start with the user's guide if they wish to the OST meeting format.\ \ Apparently this caused quite a stir a few years back. A reference is made to [Barry Owen](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ACoAAADtVHYBKmACohG0Fe0-c0F4dAQSrDB_QaQ) as well as to "anyone on the OSLIST" having knowledge of this.\ \ I'm a member of the board of the Open Space Institute - US, and I've been on the OSLIST for a few years now, and I don't recall this issue being raised in public or in private. In addition, I couldn't find evidence here on the OSLIST either.\ \ As a board member of the Open Space Institute-US, I feel a deep sense of responsibility to fully understand these criticisms and to be able to publicly engage with those in the Liberating Structures community to ensure that the practice of Open Space Technology and the philosophy of Open Space is disseminated with accuracy and authenticity.\ \ Who among you is willing to help me understand?\ \ P.S. I wasn't aware that an entire community (especially the Open Space community) could hold a singular opinion, but maybe that's just me.
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