[maemo-community] Brainstorm: useful?

[From: Randall Arnold]

> ----- Original message ----- 
> From: "Quim Gil" <quim.gil at nokia.com>
> To: "List for community development" <maemo-community at maemo.org>
> Subject: Re: Brainstorm: useful?
> Date: Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:16:27 +0200
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ext Andrew Flegg wrote:
> >> Similarly, there's no chance of persuasion and debate. Mailing lists
> >> are a much more powerful tool, IMHO.
> 
> A mailing list can be a powerful to brainstorm about one topic. How much
> an you scale before it collapses, though?
> 
> Currently the Brainstorm forum has
> 
> Threads: 107 | Posts: 1,463
> 
> Yes, there are mailing lists that can afford such traffic and much more,
> there are good filtering tactics, and etc. All this tends to a setting
> where a very engaged and qualified minority can handle well the process,
> leaving all the rest outside.
> 
> The current Brainstorm/Talk forum (unfinished until there is an
> automatic integration) has an opposite risk of dispersion, but offers
> clearly better entry points to anybody.
> 
> I believe brainstorm (even without the Talk discussion) help
> summarizing, where we are. You can forget about a proposal, go back in 3
> months and still get a quick idea of where are we more or less.
> 
> For instance:
> http://maemo.org/community/brainstorm/view/watching_brainstorm/
> 
> Instead, if an intense debate in a mailing list goes quiet for 3
> months... good luck with the recovery. You rely on people's memories or
> on your own time going through the thread again. For instance: is it
> clear for everybody what should we do to improve the QA process?
> Immediate actions for Niels, for instance?
> 
> Sorry for not providing success stories, but the Brainstorm is still
> missing core features so I'm not surprised about not having them yet.
> 
> --
> Quim Gil


I have to agree with Quim here.  There is no perfect solution nor will there be, so we develop and use whatever causes the least harm sometimes-- with the goal of course of also getting value out.

To that point there ARE success stories despite claims to the contrary.  Maemo Greeters, if I may be so bold, was a runaway success and was fleshed out as a Brainstorm (which continued into the pilot).  Of course, it also proves the point about dedicated individuals being better equipped to implement solutions than a mob-- but implementation is just part of the process.  We still need the mob to contribute to the storming (albeit to a point, which is the job of a facilitator to identify).

I get the feeling some are suggesting the baby be thrown out with the bathwater here... but a shaky fledgling process does not invalidate the goal.  In this case, I believe it points to a need to refine that process, and we've been doing that.  Like with this thread.  ; )


Randall (Randy) Arnold
maemo.org community council
http://tabulacrypticum.wordpress.com/
> 

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