WikiSysop at 06:52, 1 March 2007

2007-03-01T06:52:50Z

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i think it feels corporate not
intentionally, but because it was written with corporate funders in
mind - less of a goal and more of a by-product. while we definitely
need to put it in language that is resonant to get the funding, it
should definitely not mean compromising or misrepresenting what we
will do. the hope is to get all of your help to tweek it and get
things right.

i've been thinking of this is as a sort of base layer into which we
can insert specific issues/ examples/descriptions/language on why/how
anonymity or related issues matter, how to think about them, etc.,
and briefly mention some of the works we'd undertake within this
project. it could mention warming effects, for instance, propose the
design of framework for analysis of different approaches to
identity, or writing a popular article arguing that it's the basis of
emerging democracies.

our views don't need to be consistent and we shouldn't represent them
as such - what we are going to do is explore, flesh out our
collective understanding (and disagreements), and give the means for
others to understand it as well. perhaps what would make this more
comfortable and straightforward is if this document did more to
acknowledge the diversity of views - seeking to actually leverage
that - not for the purpose of having readers choose one perspective,
but gaining an understanding of the different perspectives,
identifying points of contention/divergence, and creating analytical
tools (and other paths) for delving into the assumptions/values/
implications of different technology and policy decisions related to
anonymity.

with respect to the function of the doc, it is primarily fundraising,
but should also serve as a broad description of what we want to do.
there are no precise deliverables for it, and although we don't want
to mislead the donors, it's an academic endeavor not a consulting
project, so we do what we think is important/effective to explore the
subject. as long as we manage those expectations (best done by
clearly communicating what we want to do, albeit persuasively), this
should be a great project - a wonderful complement to identity
metasystems, a chance for you all to pursue the slice that is most
interesting to you, and an opportunity to raise awareness of these
issues.

does that make sense? do you feel like you can weigh in better? all
of you, please re-orient me if i am getting it wrong/explaining it
poorly!

thanks,

c

Colin on Corporate Tone - Revision history

WikiSysop at 06:52, 1 March 2007