Reflections

In an update from last time, the people are listening, and I thank them for their support.

Today is the anniversary of a dark day for Americans, and the tension of the subject is what I wish to avoid. Instead I'll discuss another upcoming rememberance, a subject that has a tad more relevance for this blog. As we approach the one-year anniversary of my leave from the Dark Council, I find that a lot of the same problems that plagued the leadership still exist.

Respect

Respect is something that is truly lacking in the club. Written personal attacks are on the rise, with influential members getting harassed on a daily basis. I’ll admit this is nothing new… I received the same treatment for nearly all of my time as Herald – but it is inexcusable. I’m hoping that the now released wiki project will help form the realization that these high ranking members, the same ones who people are criticizing about ‘resting on their ranks’, have done or are doing more for the club than many others.

On the contrary there is also something to be said about humility. Those that lack the mental constitution to keep their accomplishments low-key are just asking to be ridiculed. I know I have bolstered myself up as being something great, but my occasional outburst is nothing compared to the constant showboating that may spark the hatred of others.

There is not much I can do to change the minds on either side. I think people need to just drop the subject on both sides. The problems are rather trivial, and there’s no need to make it personal.

On another note, I find that a lot of the problem with respect in the Brotherhood comes from either the lack of information provided or the abundance. If a Council member has a large project they’re working on, one that they know is going to take a long time, they usually keep it quiet. If this secret project consumes so much of their time that they have very little room for anything else, they are accused of “doing nothing” and the torches and pitchforks come out as the masses demand the Council member’s removal.

At times a large project is announced in the beginning stages, and the Council member underestimates the timeframe. This leads to missed or extended deadlines, or a prolonged period of time between updates that were not anticipated. Again they are accused of “doing nothing” and the torches and pitchforks come out as the masses demand the Council member’s removal.

During both of these times it’s common for the DC to get blasted with trivial criticism, but such is often from people who talk big but fail to produce. Plainly put – if you say you can do better, prove it. Don’t complain about how things are – improve them. Unless you’re doing that, keep your negative, non-constructive criticism to yourself.

Responsibility

Even though I’m not directly in charge I have just as much responsibility and overall power as I did when I was on the Council. Up until recently I was working directly for the Grand Master, carrying out whatever tasks he thought fit to give me. Now that I’m part of the SCL office I have an elevated state of responsibility, and the impact was rather insignificant to me until recently, when it was pretty much thrown in my face that people expect me to be some sort of leader. Two instances really brought me to the state of understanding: One on IRC and one in the Forums/IRC.

The first I mentioned last time. Having OPS means you’re in charge. Now I really understand what impact that has, even if people view me as some sort of joke.

The second comes from … well it’s in relation to what I was saying earlier. If you’re always seen strutting your stuff, people will eventually react negatively. This is exactly what happened, and though the victim’s backlash against me wasn’t appropriate it was understandable. Truth is – not everyone gets along. If they leave it private it’s none of my concern. If someone decides to take the arguments public, then it is my problem.

The remarks against this person were uncalled for, but whining about it was also rather immature. Asking politely to have something removed would have been received a lot better than going off on me in some sort of emotional tantrum.

Podcasting

The entry of ‘Words’ you’re reading was supposed to be my first podcast version of this commentary, but I just can’t bring myself to record my own voice. Aside from that the subject matter in this entry isn’t one I want to record as the first. I don’t want it to start off with me complaining about the club as a whole.

Plus, Blogger doesn’t have built in podcast file support, and I’m not about to use my personal bandwidth to host a file. Perhaps I’ll make one anyhow… but that is to be determined later.