--On 21. juni 2005 12:16 -0400 John Leslie <john(_at_)jlc(_dot_)net> wrote:
if a WG chair has posted nothing to the WG mailing list for a week, and
that WG chair has not told the WG he's on holiday, that WG chair is
probably not doing his/her job.
Much though I remain a staunch fan of Harald, I must call this too
simplistic.
yes, I did not think very much before sending out that message.... and as a
WG chair, I have often fallen silent for long periods of time too. But
usually I think that this was not a Good Thing.
This is based on trying to see the WG from the viewpoint of the working
group *participant*. People don't remember longer than one week - and the
job of "swapping in context" from notes, files and drafts is an expensive
one. So after a period of silence, it is hard to come back up to speed.
The WG chair should, to my mind, have committed to *always* knowing the
state of the group - what's going on, who's doing work, what's expected to
happen next week. But we cannot expect all participants to retain the same
knowledge at all times - and when they want to remember, they go back to
the mailing list, look at the last few messages, and think that whatever is
said there is "the truth".
If something has happened in the last 7 days on the list, there is usually
the need to sum up and draw conclusions. If stuff has happened off the
list, there's reason to tell the list what's been happening, and when they
can expect results. And if nothing has happened, there is reason to remind
the list why nothing is happening, and what the consequences of nothing
happening are.
After having considered the matter again, I stand by my comments.
Seven days.
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