Post by chelseeyuh on Jul 12, 2010 14:39:03 GMT -5
I feel like lately the Moon has been in a state of total disarray and I wanted to address all of the problems that I see in the hopes that everyone will take a critical look at the tribe and be motivated to try to fix these things.
Firstly, there’s the matter of doing something to change the world. Frankly, in the 8 months that SPOTM has existed, we have done nothing to change the world. Most projects here are just something fun to pass time or try to bring the community closer. Sure, there are many people who just sort of joined the Moon out of curiosity or because it sounded fun, but there are also many of us who are here because we want to make a difference in the world and for whatever reason, this place seemed like it would enable us to do so. And now, looking back at all of the time we’ve been here, and realizing that nothing has been achieved, we’re disappointed. Some of us aren’t even sure whether or not we want to stay here any longer because of how disappointed we are in this community. And yes, I do mean “we,” because I’m not the only one who feels this way. I’m not trying to point fingers or blame anyone for the fact that we haven’t done anything to change the world yet; I just want to remind this community has a goal, and as of right now, we have done nothing to reach that goal.
In a not-so-obvious segue, this brings me to the triads. As some of you may know, I really dislike the triads. Maybe I would like them more if they were run differently, but as of right now, I don’t think they are contributing as much as Dan had expected them to. I will admit that the triads are useful because they help assimilate people into the tribe and make people feel like they belong, but even this is a stretch, as most triads fail, and even those that succeed don’t usually stay as close as they should. But my main issue with the triads is the triad projects. When I was in the first generation of triads, our instructions were to make a project which would benefit the Moon. If you consider only the number of active members, SPOTM isn’t that big, and there’s only so much we can do to make it better. Most projects just end up being creative, but not really useful. Even projects that benefit the Moon by bringing people together are of limited usefulness. If we’re here to change the world, we need projects that will benefit the world, not the Moon. These projects shouldn’t be so insular; they should do something to reach out and make a difference in the world. I’m not trying to single out the triads. As I said before, all projects have been like this. But with the triads, they are specifically directed to do this, and I really dislike that.
I also dislike that the triads are so formal. I know that usually you need structure in order to make things succeed, but I honestly think the triads could be more effective if they didn’t. The structure of the triads makes it so that all of the triads in one generation are releasing projects at the same time. If these projects need volunteers to help out, it is likely that they will all fail. It’s just not possible for 6 or 8 or however many projects there are to all get the number of volunteers they need. There are only so many people who can help out, and we can’t expect everyone to be a part of every project.
I’ve said this many times, and I still stand by my assertion that people should be forming unofficial triads. I feel like these would be infinitely more successful than the official triads. An unofficial triad will be doing what they do because they truly want to, not just because they feel like they need to be in a triad. And if they can set their own deadlines, they won’t feel stressed and end up hating the process, as, at least from my own experience, I know can happen.
I also want to address the recent drama that has been going on on the Moon. I’m fully aware that we can’t all love each other and we don’t all want to hold hands and sing “Kumbaya.” That’s fine. But that doesn’t mean we need to constantly attack each other, either. If you don’t like someone else’s ideas, you can politely disagree. We don’t need to lower ourselves to name-calling and mindless insults. We don’t need to revive old conflicts. We don’t need to judge each other based on a few poor choices they’ve made. The way some people have been conducting themselves lately has shocked me. We don’t need to like each other, but we do need to be civil.
Lastly, I want to address the secret project. I’m not going to say my opinion, because this isn’t the place for that, and if you really care you can go find it. But I just want to say that if you don’t like the project, you’re disappointed, you feel like it won’t be effective, etc., you don’t need to throw a hissy fit. You’re on SPOTM and you don’t like Dan Brown’s secret project? Big freakin’ deal. This isn’t a Dan Brown fan club. We’re going to continue to exist as a community regardless of what Dan does. I didn’t join the Moon so that I could be a part of his project. His project shouldn’t have a major effect on your activity on the Moon, so get over your disappointment and move on with whatever else you have going on here. Even if you absolutely despise the project, you should respect Dan’s attempt to show the world a new way of doing things and not try to bring him down. But really, I don’t think anyone hates the project. The people that are really against it have said that they completely agree with me. I’m being civil and respectful despite my opinion of the project. Why does anyone else need to start drama just because they don’t like what some video blogger plans to do for the next year? Getting angry about it is completely futile.
Firstly, there’s the matter of doing something to change the world. Frankly, in the 8 months that SPOTM has existed, we have done nothing to change the world. Most projects here are just something fun to pass time or try to bring the community closer. Sure, there are many people who just sort of joined the Moon out of curiosity or because it sounded fun, but there are also many of us who are here because we want to make a difference in the world and for whatever reason, this place seemed like it would enable us to do so. And now, looking back at all of the time we’ve been here, and realizing that nothing has been achieved, we’re disappointed. Some of us aren’t even sure whether or not we want to stay here any longer because of how disappointed we are in this community. And yes, I do mean “we,” because I’m not the only one who feels this way. I’m not trying to point fingers or blame anyone for the fact that we haven’t done anything to change the world yet; I just want to remind this community has a goal, and as of right now, we have done nothing to reach that goal.
In a not-so-obvious segue, this brings me to the triads. As some of you may know, I really dislike the triads. Maybe I would like them more if they were run differently, but as of right now, I don’t think they are contributing as much as Dan had expected them to. I will admit that the triads are useful because they help assimilate people into the tribe and make people feel like they belong, but even this is a stretch, as most triads fail, and even those that succeed don’t usually stay as close as they should. But my main issue with the triads is the triad projects. When I was in the first generation of triads, our instructions were to make a project which would benefit the Moon. If you consider only the number of active members, SPOTM isn’t that big, and there’s only so much we can do to make it better. Most projects just end up being creative, but not really useful. Even projects that benefit the Moon by bringing people together are of limited usefulness. If we’re here to change the world, we need projects that will benefit the world, not the Moon. These projects shouldn’t be so insular; they should do something to reach out and make a difference in the world. I’m not trying to single out the triads. As I said before, all projects have been like this. But with the triads, they are specifically directed to do this, and I really dislike that.
I also dislike that the triads are so formal. I know that usually you need structure in order to make things succeed, but I honestly think the triads could be more effective if they didn’t. The structure of the triads makes it so that all of the triads in one generation are releasing projects at the same time. If these projects need volunteers to help out, it is likely that they will all fail. It’s just not possible for 6 or 8 or however many projects there are to all get the number of volunteers they need. There are only so many people who can help out, and we can’t expect everyone to be a part of every project.
I’ve said this many times, and I still stand by my assertion that people should be forming unofficial triads. I feel like these would be infinitely more successful than the official triads. An unofficial triad will be doing what they do because they truly want to, not just because they feel like they need to be in a triad. And if they can set their own deadlines, they won’t feel stressed and end up hating the process, as, at least from my own experience, I know can happen.
I also want to address the recent drama that has been going on on the Moon. I’m fully aware that we can’t all love each other and we don’t all want to hold hands and sing “Kumbaya.” That’s fine. But that doesn’t mean we need to constantly attack each other, either. If you don’t like someone else’s ideas, you can politely disagree. We don’t need to lower ourselves to name-calling and mindless insults. We don’t need to revive old conflicts. We don’t need to judge each other based on a few poor choices they’ve made. The way some people have been conducting themselves lately has shocked me. We don’t need to like each other, but we do need to be civil.
Lastly, I want to address the secret project. I’m not going to say my opinion, because this isn’t the place for that, and if you really care you can go find it. But I just want to say that if you don’t like the project, you’re disappointed, you feel like it won’t be effective, etc., you don’t need to throw a hissy fit. You’re on SPOTM and you don’t like Dan Brown’s secret project? Big freakin’ deal. This isn’t a Dan Brown fan club. We’re going to continue to exist as a community regardless of what Dan does. I didn’t join the Moon so that I could be a part of his project. His project shouldn’t have a major effect on your activity on the Moon, so get over your disappointment and move on with whatever else you have going on here. Even if you absolutely despise the project, you should respect Dan’s attempt to show the world a new way of doing things and not try to bring him down. But really, I don’t think anyone hates the project. The people that are really against it have said that they completely agree with me. I’m being civil and respectful despite my opinion of the project. Why does anyone else need to start drama just because they don’t like what some video blogger plans to do for the next year? Getting angry about it is completely futile.