Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2005 21:48:51 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at KeithLynch.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Minutes

Elspeth Kovar <ekovar at worldnet.att.net> wrote:

> "possisble" has a typo -- I can't believe that I caught one that you
> missed!

Good catch.  I, too, am puzzled.  Not because I'm a perfect speller
(though I am pretty good), but because I ran a spell-checker *and*
had Wade proofread it.  I'm going to blame alpha particle migration.
Either that or sunspots.  I'd hate to think I picked up computer
cooties at work and conveyed them to Panix.  (I *have* had a fair
number of computer problems at work.  I'll list them in a separate
message.)

> I would also like for you to change "Capclave '06 Chairfan Elspeth
> Kovar apologized for missing recent meetings due to poor health."
> to "Capclave '06 Chairfan Elspeth Kovar apologized for the fact
> that, due to poor health, she's had to miss recent meetings and said
> that although they were working on the situation it was likely to
> continue for a while."

Done.

With your permission I'd like to recast it in the passive voice to get
rid of that floating "they".

> You may want to review the minutes of both meetings to see how often
> you reiterated that people were being late or absent.

I didn't mean to pick on anyone.  I think it's worthy of note if most
of the key people don't show up, as happened at First Friday.  I think
it's also worthy of note if most people show up only after the meeting
had already begun, as happened at Third Friday.  I certainly didn't
mean to single anyone out, or to bludgeon anyone.  I was hoping, both
at the meeting and on this list, to start a dialogue about whether we
should move our meeting time to, say, 9:45.  If not everyone who plans
to be at the meeting has arrived until then, and if nobody leaves
before 10:30, then I think it would make sense, and result in shorter
and more productive meetings.

I took out the mention in the Capclave '05 section that that item had
been done twice.  That was mostly just to make sure that you and Mike
didn't skip reading it, wrongly thinking that had been there for the
whole thing.  In particular, Mike has to decide what to do about the
Farpoint table-swap offer, which wasn't mentioned after he arrived.

> Your pointed "X person was absent" and nothing more, when there's
> often been something on the WSFA list about it or said at the
> meeting, is beginning to go from making a point to making it clear
> that there is no point in anyone saying that they won't be at or
> weren't able to attend a meeting.

I'm sorry it comes across that way.  If, say, one of the agenda items
is Wondercon, I think it's worth mentioning whether the Wondercon
chairfan was present for the item or not.  But I *don't* think it's
worth mentioning that they had said they'd be absent due to a nasty
case of the runs that smells really bad.

> I'm concerned that bringing up tardiness so many times here and in
> the Journal, and with much the same tone, will have the same numbing
> effect.

So many times?  When were the previous times?

> That said, I appreciate what you're trying to do.

Thanks.  I did spend most of my free time over the weekend on those
minutes, and I also got Wade to help, so it's good to know someone
appreciates the effort.

> And as one of the people who usually arrives just around the time
> that the meeting is starting I needed the initial reminders.  This
> past Friday there was the excuse of unexpected traffic but in
> general it's just my difficulty in getting out of the house and
> I'm sorry if it's been disruptive.

Would it help if the meeting was moved to 9:45?

Aiming to arrive around 8:45 would preclude all but the worst traffic
delays preventing arrival by 9:15, but clearly many people have to
work late, or have other things to do, and can't get out the door
that early.

I'm lucky in that my new workplace is so close.  Instead of placing
myself at the mercy of Metro, I walked to Friday's meeting.  I left at
6:15 and got there at 8:40.  It was a very scenic walk, with excellent
close-up views of Farragut Square, Lafayette Park, the White House, the
Treasury building, the Mall, the Washington Monument, the Holocaust
Museum, The Jefferson Memorial, the George Mason memorial, the Tidal
Basin, the 14th Street Bridge, planes flying directly overhead, various
kinds of boats passing directly underneath, Arlington Cemetery, the
Pentagon, the Navy Annex, and the 1981/82 Disclave hotel.