[Xmca-l] Re: What are we doing here?

[Christopher Schuck]

The only thing missing from Rod's analogy is the background music: what
would the Star Wars "Tatooine Theme" sound like for XMCA?

I don't have any immediate technological or design suggestions because I am
truly technologically and spatially challenged. It certainly seems like
some additional way of stepping back and getting the view from 10,000 feet,
through some kind of map or tool capturing some of the relationships and
connections that are harder to keep track of on the ground, could be
helpful (in a way, that's what Rod's initial post in starting this thread
was all about, verbally speaking). One big obstruction to seeing better on
the ground is the number of running parallel posts that aren't necessarily
always about what their header says they're about; another is the quick
time frame where everything is always morphing and leaving people in the
dust; another is the emotional involvement which has a way of focusing and
prioritizing certain locations over others (you're looking more closely and
engaging more, but less energy left over to look around). For me the time
frame has always felt like the biggest barrier: there is no alternate way
of participating when you are a "slow" thinker and poster. But if we were
to designate a "Slow Swim Lane" like before, that might become such a
self-selecting population that no one really wants to be there and there is
a sense of missing out on all the good stuff going on at XMCA Central.

Again, I haven't been part of this list all that long, and only
sporadically involved. But I when I do participate, I find myself wanting
to know something more about the people I am messaging with; at least, some
context for who they are and their connection to the community (respecting
boundaries of privacy, of course). When someone's header lists a website or
name I have sometimes checked them out, especially if I liked one of their
posts. For instance, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Greg Mcverry
teaches at Southern Connecticut State University, since I am from New Haven
and have taken many classes at Southern over the years (and would never in
a million years have connected Southern and XMCA in the same sentence!).

Chris

On Sat, Nov 5, 2016 at 6:02 PM, Walker, Dana <Dana.Walker@unco.edu> wrote:

>
> On 11/5/16, 1:18 PM, "xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu on behalf of
> Christopher Schuck" <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu on behalf of
> schuckthemonkey@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>     "As part of any effort to make discussions more inclusive, it might be
>     worth specifying the kinds of problematic dynamics being targeted.
>
> Chris, I found this analysis of ways that people might feel shut down or
> shut out of discussion in XMCA very insightful.  How can we use it to guide
> us through the dim light and hurly burly of this inter-alien bar that is
> XMCA? (I do think Rod’s analogy is right-on, and very funny). This is
> another example of how the email thread could be enhanced by a more
> spatial, less linear representation of our thoughts, emotions, and
> practices, as in a website or blogsite where we could post, edit, revisit
> your description of seven moves that engender marginalization when we post
> to the group.  We might even begin to develop a consensus about what we are
> all doing here, both ethically and conceptually.  Topical threads could
> have their own spaces, to help avoid the confusion of names (who said what)
> and ideas.
>
> Dana
>
>
>