response 1 of 92:

Sep 24 17:02 UTC 2006

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.

response 3 of 92:

Oct 1 04:45 UTC 2006

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.

response 5 of 92:

Oct 1 06:15 UTC 2006

I am sorry that you decided to resign, Mike.

response 7 of 92:

Oct 1 13:44 UTC 2006

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.

response 9 of 92:

Oct 1 14:18 UTC 2006

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.

 

response 11 of 92:

Oct 1 16:59 UTC 2006

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.

response 13 of 92:

Oct 1 19:00 UTC 2006

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

response 15 of 92:

Oct 1 21:55 UTC 2006

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.

response 17 of 92:

Oct 2 04:54 UTC 2006

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

response 19 of 92:

Oct 2 06:36 UTC 2006

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

response 21 of 92:

Oct 9 08:36 UTC 2006

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..  

response 23 of 92:

Oct 9 14:32 UTC 2006

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.