Ben> [many valid but lesser points elided] Ben> As I have historically, so do I also now, believe in a strong OGB and Ben> a strong constitution. I do not believe that this draft establishes Ben> either. Furthermore, I see no advantages in this new document as Ben> opposed to the existing.
The way I see it, the old document was too complex for the sort of community we've been trying to have, so we greatly simplified it. As a side-effect of that simplification, the OGB has less to do. It would be fair to say that we are thus weakening the OGB and the constitution; *I* would characterize that as secondary rather primary, though reasonable people can disagree. Let me try an analogy from a separate world that some of us share. In the Old Testament, God established the Law to give people a way to live in community. But the Law was complex and hard; the people were not capable of keeping it, so eventually God had to send a Divine Intercessor to save them from their sins. Well, we tried a complex set of laws to govern *this* community, but found that they were also more than people could really live up to. Since we lack divine power, we're left with the earthly option of simplifying our governance instead. Ben> With humility and respect, benr. Equally so; thanks for sticking with us despite our flaws. -- John http://blogs.sun.com/jbeck
