This is the staff and board alert item.  Post pointers to items in other
conferences that require staff or board attention here.

92 responses total.

There is ongoing discussion in the garage conference, item #27, of replacing
grex's custom password hashing algorithm with the standard OpenBSD
algorithm.  Please read the discussion and post your comments.

thanks, dan

Perhaps we should start another website that has pointers to additional
places that staff and board should monitor for impoartant discussions. 
Or perhaps a public access cable timeslot.

The thing is Staff issues are discussed in the Staff conference. 
Period. Board issues are discussed in coop.  Period.

It has always been this way and everyone entering either of those
organizations is briefed on this.

Items that need the attention of either group that must be raised by
someone without access to the two above fora is sent to the board and/or
staff mailing list.  Everyone who joins Grex is briefed on this fact.

There are well established methods of definitively reaching either
group, and it makes no sence to require yet more time from volunteers to
check myriad additional locations for things that someone wishes them to
keep informed of.

One of the basic principles of effective leadership is to act as a
member of the team rather than as an individual and comply with accepted
protocols and communication channels.  Even if you feel correct and
justified in acting completely on your own.

I know the things that are told to a staffer when they join the team.  I
know the hoops that they have to go through.  I find it impossible to
believe that anyone has been admitted to staff without knowing what an
honor it is to get that priviledge from the board, how select and
controlled the process is, and how much discretion the board gives to
staff with regard (only) to reacting to security breaches.  Anyone who
claims otherwise, I believe, is subconsciously or knowingly choosing to
ignore such because they are so sure of their actions as to regard
themselves as above review.

Everything reguarding non-emergency action is discussed by staff and
board.  Making a posting in an obscure location and claiming that lack
of response is equal to consent or claiming that they should have known
is a thinly veiled attempt at justifying renegade behavior.

re #3:
> I know the things that are told to a staffer when they join the team.  I
> know the hoops that they have to go through.  I find it impossible to
> believe that anyone has been admitted to staff without knowing what an
> honor it is to get that priviledge from the board, how select and
> controlled the process is, and how much discretion the board gives to
> staff with regard (only) to reacting to security breaches.  Anyone who
> claims otherwise, I believe, is subconsciously or knowingly choosing to
> ignore such because they are so sure of their actions as to regard
> themselves as above review.

Thanks, I guess..  The above helps crystallize a decision I've been leaning
towards for a while now and to which the recent situation had contributed.

Effective immediately, I wish to resign from Grex staff.  Will someone
please delete my staff-related group memberships and remove me from
staff-related mailing lists?  I'll explain more about my reasoning later
in the unlikely event that people care to know why..

I am sorry that you decided to resign, Mike.

:-(

I care to know why.

Mike is (sorry, now was) one of Grex's finest Staff and technical 
resources.

Again, it's wankers that spoil Grex staff... and, it is obvious, again, 
who the wanker/s are.

 :(

Gosh, mcnally. I am sure sad to see this turn of events. I have always
thought that you have some of the best judgement of anyone around here
so naturally I will respect your judgement about this. But I sure will
miss your contributions to grex and hope that you will choose to come
back to staff some time in the future. Even if you dont, I hope you
continue to  comment on things because it is nice to have a voice of
reason in the mix.

 

I always enjoy reading mcnally's responses, which are very well written and
well thought out.  Mike, please explain why you are resigning and consider
unresigning.  I consider grex a good place to practice dealing with a wide
variety of people including some with poor social skills but good intentions.
Nobody is perfect (TM).  

I'm surprised, Mike.  Yes, I'd care to know why.  You've got the kind of 
technical expertise that Grex needs, you've been making valuable 
contributions, and you're a team player but not afraid to speak your mind. 
You're not a behind-the-scenes manipulator, prima donna or drama queen, 
and you don't have a high-maintenance ego.  In short, from my perspective 
you've got the desirable qualities and lack the undesirable ones.  I'm 
sorry to see you go and hope you reconsider.

Add me to the list of people (/etc/passwd?) who hope mcnally reconsiders,
perhaps after the stress he alluded to in his personal life is over.

In any case, I'd be pleased to see him continue to participate in BBS and
party.

Thanks for your help, Mike.  Looking forward to your item.

I too am curious as to why.

Regarding #3; Then what is the point of garage?  I thought that was the place
for the user-population at large to interact with staff.

I agree with Sindi, I always stop and read Mcnally's postings unlike
some others, I always find them well thought out and pretty much right.
I also wish you would reconsider Mike.

ditto

 indeed it is a great loss for grex to lose mcnally :(

mcnally and spooked now, too.  Grex is hemorrhaging staff members.

It is no wonder with the culture and 'leadership' within it.

Welcome to Grex, where our biggest export is staff members.

So..

Back in #4 I promised to try to explain my decision to resign from
staff.  It's been hard deciding how much information I wanted to share
about my reasons because they're intimately tied to things going on in
my personal life, but although I may skimp on the details I'll try to
hit the highlights.

Several of the responses commenting on my decision to leave have
made positive references to my judgment.  I'm pleased to hear that
people have thought highly of me in that area but it touches on my
biggest reason for resigning from staff.  At the current time,
due to a combination of factors chiefly involving an ongoing conflict
at work and recent unhappy news about a close family member's health,
I have found myself dealing with an increasingly unmanagable stress
load.  I have always believed that the best course of system
administration for a system like Grex requires patience, restraint,
and detachment, but those are three qualities that I've been running
short on lately.

I said in #4 that the recent incident helped contribute to my
decision -- it did so by reminding me of the divisive and disruptive
effect a hastily-chosen staff decision can have on the membership
of the system.  To put it bluntly, at the current time I wouldn't
say my judgment is in tip-top shape and I don't like the thought of
being provoked into overreacting or making a rash decision, so I'm
removing the risk of my doing so by removing myself from staff.

I do have some thoughts on how we might go about trying to reform
the system administration culture we have to attract more volunteers,
but I'll have to share those later..  

Best wishes, Mike, for resolution and thanks for all you have done
and do for Grex.

Thanks for the explanation, Mike. I hope that things in your personal 
life start looking up for you. 

I am particularly looking forward to hearing your ideas on how to 
attract more volunteers. I have been thinking about that a lot lately 
but have been drawing something of a blank. 

I hope things improve for you soon Mike.

re #21
Thanks for sharing, Mike.  I knew you'd have the best reason for resigning.
Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.  Work and family problems
at the same time can be an enormous strain.  Be sure to treat yourself well
physically and emotionally...get some alone time and stress relief through
an activity you enjoy when you can.  It is very important.  Sleep and eat
well, too.
Best wishes.

Thanks for your work mike and best of luck.

Sorry to hear it, Mike; I hope things get better for you soon.

thanks, mike, and good luck.

Mike - I hope things take a turn for the better.  When you're up for it,
we'd like to have you back on the Grex staff.

Always glad to hear what you have to say Mike, good luck and hope you
can return.

How many staff members are left now?

It depends who you ask. Could be 3 to 33.

According to /etc/group:
bhoward,gelinas,glenda,i,janc,kip,mdw,remmers,srw,steve

Of those, bhoward is inactive these days; kip is inactive; mdw is inactive.
So that leaves gelinas, glenda, i, janc, remmers, srw, and steve.

Out of the remainder:

'gelinas' is inactive (mostly reads confs maybe monthly)
'glenda' does not do many (any?) staff activities *that I know*
'i' does not do staff activities *that I know*, but is mainly cfadm
'janc', 'remmers' may do the odd job here and there
'srw', I think he still handles the vast bulk of staff email
'steve' is probably the most active, and even he is not that active 
     anymore (and is sometimes counter-active/defeatist)

Who picks grex up when it crashes?  Spooked, what were you doing as staff?

Regarding #35; That's a good question (who picks grex up when it crashes).
Unfortunately, for the most part, we don't know, since those who do it can't
bring themselves to update the motd or post in agora for the most part.  Hmm.
Bummer.

Yeah, I'm a real slacker.

A true bum.  But it's not always you; a short time ago, I believe Glenda
rebooted grex.

I say stone 'em all.

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