[Pnp-wg] First things first

[Steve Kramer]

I appreciate the enthusiasm of everyone who has come forward with 
proposals - some of these look quite good and interesting, and I have yet 
to field my own.  But again, I feel we may be premature.

I believe that first, we should elect a facilitator, adopt some simple 
rules, and construct a short statement on the substance of what we shall 
decide.  Greg Gerritt nominated me, and though every fibre of my being and 
standing up and screaming at me that I'm an idiot for saying this, I will 
volunteer to serve that function, should I be elected or appointed to it. 
I could even set up a simple Web page, if people like the idea. Should 
someone else want to be a co-facilitator, or want to become one in 
preference to me, rest assured that I'll be your biggest supporter!

I would also like to ask that we come together in this task with as few 
pre-conceived notions as possible.  I'm troubled by the number of people 
who have announced that they cannot accept anything here unless it has or 
doesn't have A, B, or C.  That isn't an attempt at a consensus; that's 
simply being dogmatic.  I believe we should repudiate such thinking, and 
approach this with as fresh a perspective as possible.

Also, for those who have proposals, keep in mind that your proposals will 
likely not finish this process intact.  People will want to keep the good 
points, and lose the bad ones.  Different parts of different proposals may 
be grafted together.  The result may be something that none of us would 
label as our first choice, but everyone can more or less live with.  This 
indeed may be our best possible outcome.  Keep this in mind when making a 
proposal.

-- 
   Steve Kramer           ||         scooter (at) guisarme dot net         ||
   _____________________  ===================================================
  |  __/^\__        ,-^,|        "...Into the sea of waking dreams,
  |/~       \_     {  / |              I follow without pride,
              \/\   |!  |        For nothing stands between us here,
                /  / )  |___           and I won't be denied."
               (_  \ \     /
                 ~v^  ?_,-'         Sarah McLachlan, "Possession"