On Dec 4, 2012, at 11:38 AM, Jonathan Rochkind <rochk...@jhu.edu> wrote:
> While I agree with ross in general about suggesting technical solutions > without suggesting how they are going to be maintained -- agree very strongly > -- and would further re-emphasize that it's improtant to remember that ALL > software installations are "living organisms" (Ranganthan represent!), and > need ongoing labor not just initial install labor.... > > I don't agree with the conclusion that the _only_ way to do this is with a > "central organization" or "my organization which has shown > commitment through z" > > I think it IS possible to run things sustainably with volunteer decentralized > not-formal-organization labor. > > But my experience shows that it _isn't_ likely to work with ONE PERSON > volunteering. It IS more likely to work with an actual defined collective, > which feels collective responsibility for replacing individual members when > they leave and maintaining it's collective persistence. FWIW, this is more what I meant (although stated much better). That is, a clearly defined plan, with a group that is dedicated to the ongoing maintenance of said plan. The journal is a good example of this. On the other hand, a non-distributed approach (see: OSU's commitment with Drupal and Mediawiki) is also fine, as long as the institutional commitment is there. -Ross.
