I suspect what you are are seeing is the very typical behavior of "here's what worked before, let's do it again". We always fight the last war.
It worked before. But, those were the days before email was ubiquitous, and most communications was phone or face-to-face, and if you wanted to get a message out from one to many, it had to be at a crowd that was gathered.
It was, in my recollection, a rubbing of noses, as well as the only place to tap 3-4 people and say "wanna run an event?" It was also the simplest and easiest way to get all office and activities on one page with each other, and to announce upcoming gatherings.
Clearly, the Internet has modified the logistical need for "everyone in a big room" meetings. Council, having been in and of itself largely boring and sometimes controversial, was not an entertainment draw. So (I theorize in my extended absence), people felt they didn't HAVE to go, so they stopped going.
Purely administrative meetings can be smaller, faster, and more efficient.
If there is never a NEED to gather, then the gathering may stop. But the subordinate value, of the pressing of flesh, the "hey howdy" in person, the sharing of food (Tosci's!), also has a serious communal value. If that was lost, then (again, I theorize) the tribal sense of belonging doesn't get reinforced and the tribal identity fades, and the tribe suffers.
I had a long hallway-conversation with Catrin about this, a few years ago: we'd literally bumped into each other in a hallway near a pediatric dental office. :-) I tried to make a strong case for something that is entertaining and which cannot be accomplished through the Internet - such as a monthly Carolingian University lecture, and a hands-on demo of something after, followed by ice cream. :-)
If people don't gather, they will stop gathering, and stop identifying with the other people. Full stop. I don't think that Council is the right place for the gathering, either. But it is a monthly necessary meeting with cachet from the past, so it's not a BAD idea. It's just an adequate one.
This is everyone's duty, and also no ones persons duty.
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Date: 2012-01-27 01:58 pm (UTC)It worked before. But, those were the days before email was ubiquitous, and most communications was phone or face-to-face, and if you wanted to get a message out from one to many, it had to be at a crowd that was gathered.
It was, in my recollection, a rubbing of noses, as well as the only place to tap 3-4 people and say "wanna run an event?" It was also the simplest and easiest way to get all office and activities on one page with each other, and to announce upcoming gatherings.
Clearly, the Internet has modified the logistical need for "everyone in a big room" meetings. Council, having been in and of itself largely boring and sometimes controversial, was not an entertainment draw. So (I theorize in my extended absence), people felt they didn't HAVE to go, so they stopped going.
Purely administrative meetings can be smaller, faster, and more efficient.
If there is never a NEED to gather, then the gathering may stop. But the subordinate value, of the pressing of flesh, the "hey howdy" in person, the sharing of food (Tosci's!), also has a serious communal value. If that was lost, then (again, I theorize) the tribal sense of belonging doesn't get reinforced and the tribal identity fades, and the tribe suffers.
I had a long hallway-conversation with Catrin about this, a few years ago: we'd literally bumped into each other in a hallway near a pediatric dental office. :-) I tried to make a strong case for something that is entertaining and which cannot be accomplished through the Internet - such as a monthly Carolingian University lecture, and a hands-on demo of something after, followed by ice cream. :-)
If people don't gather, they will stop gathering, and stop identifying with the other people. Full stop. I don't think that Council is the right place for the gathering, either. But it is a monthly necessary meeting with cachet from the past, so it's not a BAD idea. It's just an adequate one.
This is everyone's duty, and also no ones persons duty.