Ramblings of a Security Officer

Honestly, my take on the whole situation is not that Senan has failed us as a security officer, but that we have all failed each other.

We are (or aspire to be) Jedi; upholding the noble ideals of Jedi as documented in our Doctrine, our maxims and the Jedi code.
The majority of us have at least completed lesson 1 of the IP: I myself have almost completed half of lesson 2. Thus far, I have taken from the most basic of training offered here that we all are the force and the force is all of us. The separation of identity necessary for opposing beliefs is ego, something it seems we are supposed to be at least aware of if not keep in check.

It also appears to me in my brief time here that there is a lot of misunderstanding and over-sensitivity to offending other people and thus many of us censor what we write to avoid offence. Yet in doing so we are not true to ourselves and this leaves room for resentment to encroach upon the relationships we develop here.
Conversely, there have been tendencies to rely upon the perception of over-sensitivity in our community as an exemption from basic decency. I read somewhere that the line "They're a good person once you get to know them" roughly translates to 'they're a dick, but you'll get used to it'.
Can anyone here explain to me how any of these behaviours epitomise the ideals of the Jedi?

I see demands for respect from others (not necessarily in so many words) due to each of us clinging to our own perceptions of how much we bring to TotJo and thus how indispensable we are. See my signature for my thoughts on respect. I aim to earn respect by adhering to my own set of principles (which correlate with the stated principles of the temple); I neither ask nor demand it of anyone but myself. If others choose to respect me because of what I stand for so much the better, but if I don't respect myself and others first I have no entitlement to it.

Many of us are discontent with the current 'vibe' here, I suspect largely because we all feel we can do better both individually and as a collective.

And so we have failed each other when we cling to our differences rather than what we have in common.
We have failed each other every time we took the easy road and blamed our mistakes on our humanity rather than being the best version of ourselves and either rising above our first inclinations or remedying our errors poste haste.
We have failed each other when we accept behaviour unbecoming of a Jedi, whether through participation, failing to report it to our moderators, failing to address the issue at hand directly with the people involved or by airing our private grievances publically.
And we have failed each other each time we have allowed our failures to see another member of our community leave taking with them the wealth of knowledge and experience they have.

The solution, as I see it, (and yes I am aware that I am here proselytizing my own brand of 'How to TotJO') is for each and every one of us to take up the challenge of refraining from any judgement of another's Jedi path and instead see to it that we do not stray from our own path.

I hereby accept said challenge.

[/sermon]

Once upon a time there was a little chick called Chicken Licken who lived on a farmyard in the countryside

One day, Chicken Licken went to the woods. He stopped by an oak tree. Suddenly a tiny acorn dropped from the tree - wheeeeeeeeee! And hit Chicken Licken on the head - BONK!

Unfortunately, Chicken Licken didn’t see the acorn. He looked up the clear blue sky. “Oh, no!” he said “The sky is falling, I must tell the king.”

So he ran and he ran and he ran until he got to the farmyard where he met Henny Penny.
“What’s the hurry?” clucked Henny Penny.
“The sky is falling and I’m off to tell the king” cried Chicken Licken
“I’d better come too” clucked Henny Penny

So Chicken Licken and Henny Penny scurried off to find the king.
“What’s the hurry?” crowed Cocky Locky.
“The sky is falling and I’m off to tell the king” cried Chicken Licken
“I’d better come too” crowed Cocky Locky

So Chicken Licken, Henny Penny and Cocky Locky scurried off to find the king.
“What’s the hurry?” quacked Ducky Lucky and Drakey Lakey
“The sky is falling and I’m off to tell the king” cried Chicken Licken
“I’d better come too” quacked Ducky Lucky and Drakey Lakey

So Chicken Licken, Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky and Drakey Lakey scurried off to find the king.
“What’s the hurry?” honked Goosey Loosey
“The sky is falling and I’m off to tell the king” cried Chicken Licken
“I’d better come too” honked Goosey Loosey

So Chicken Licken, Henny Penny, Cocky Locky , Ducky Lucky, Drakey Lakey and Goosey Loosey scurried off to find the king.
“What’s the hurry?” gobbled Turkey Lurkey
“The sky is falling and I’m off to tell the king” cried Chicken Licken
“I’d better come too” gobbled Turkey Lurkey

So Chicken Licken, Henny Penny, Cocky Locky , Ducky Lucky, Drakey Lakey, Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurky scurried off to find the king.
“What’s the hurry?” snapped Foxy Loxy.
“The sky is falling and I’m off to tell the king” cried Chicken Licken
“Follow me, my feathery friends, I can help you find the king” smiled Foxy Loxy.

So, Chicken Licken, Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Draky Lakey, Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurky followed Foxy Loxy deeperinto the forest.

Foxy Loxy was just getting ready to gobble up the feathery friends when suddenly a tiny acorn dropped from the tree – wheeeeeeeeee! And hit Foxy Loxy on the head – BONK!

Luckily, Foxy Loxy didn’t see the acorn. He looked up the clear blue sky. “Oh, no!” he said “The sky is falling, I must tell the king.”

Foxy Loxy ran off and was never seen again. Everyone looked at Chicken Licken. “Are you sure the sky fell on your head” they said.



“Well ... maybe it was just an acorn” said Chicken Licken.

TopHat wrote: Senan,
I support your decision. While I cannot choose who my teacher would be honored to study under you..

You are more than allowed to choose your own teacher. The relationship is not a one way street. Its a two way agreement and half of that is your decision to make. Do not be afraid to seek out anyone you want to study with and build that relationship to see if you're a fit. Thats part of what the IP time is for as well..

Proteus wrote: Once upon a time there was a little chick called Chicken Licken who lived on a farmyard in the countryside....
)

Well that solves everything! amazing...:pinch:

Senan wrote: You [obi] have obviously disagreed with Ros' actions in the past, but I would hope going forward that you could address those issues with me or JLSpinner and we could take the issue outside of the forum and into an environment where we could figure out the miscommunications and points of contention together. I am confident that we could clear up a lot of misunderstandings.

I'm going to be brutally honest here. This is where the council fails in a most dramatic fashion. Ros has come to me many times as well with what I consider petty complaints. That's fine and I have accommodated them but it seems that when it comes time to return that favor, Ros and other members of the security team and council fail to follow through. Its the reason people do not bring complaints to the council but instead choose to handle them themselves.

Case in point is my recent incident where my thread was locked by hatter. I brought the complaint to the security team and to Ros. I was told it was taken to council for resolution. I wanted the thread unlocked and felt hatter was wrong in his actions. I enquired into this several times over the next 24 hours but the thread remained locked. The 24 hour lock came and went and still I heard no resolution. It effectively killed the thread and I had to once again prompt Ros for Status. I received a letter back from Ros basically trying to explain hatters action and if I wanted to edit my posts she would do it.

From this I get the idea that council decided I was wrong and hatter was right even though hatter was rude and condescending and demanding to me in PMs. In the letter the attitude he displayed was never addressed but I was asked for my input for suggestions for the future. I was told it would be taken to council and discussed and that Ros wanted to discuss these things with me. Thats been over a week ago and I have not heard a thing since.

The result of this interaction is that I feel the council sided unfairly with hatter to protect him and my thread was locked for 24 hours and instead of the council addressing my complaint they just stalled and let the time run out. I never received an apology from hatter for his rude behaviour and yet I was asked to modify what he perceived as my rude behaviour and the promise to discuss this has never happened. The council just stalls and hedges until the issue finally gets dropped from frustration. No resolution is ever forthcoming and the next time I see hatter hes in for it. This is a self perpetuating issue that is a direct result of the councils unwillingness to act in a decisive manner.

Sweeping issues under the rug solves nothing but its the council normal mode of operation. Its this attitude that caused me to reply to tellahane as I did in his thread. The idea that he sainted the council and demonized the membership is just ridiculous. I think the council is more to blame for the state of this temple than the membership has ever been.

Kyrin,

I have, this is me looking at a situation and making the best option possible. Understanding what is the right choice and by what I mean can be difficult to understand. Either you can accept my words or you can't. It's your choice whether it is a choice that is right for you I cannot say. All it seems is that you are interested in my thoughts which I'm flattered by but it gets us no where. All I can do is tell you my thoughts. So, it's your choice either accept my thoughts and experiences or don't. If you value my thoughts and comments you will utilize them to further yourself as a Jedi. If you don't value my thoughts and comments, then no matter how much I explain something to you, you will never be able be able to see what I see or think what I think. It's up to you, make your choice. I hope that it is the right choice whichever you may choose. Other than that I think I've explained all that need be explained. I'll leave it here. Your more than welcome to continue this conversation but only if you are willing to learn and understand my thoughts. May the Force be with you.

Kyrin Wyldstar wrote: From this I get the idea that council decided I was wrong and hatter was right

And while I acknowledge that might seem like a reasonable assumption from your perspective, it doesn't necessarily follow. TBH, I don't remember what the resolution to the thread lock was; that one got lost in the attention demands made on me and on us. A 24hr thread lock that is about to expire naturally can get lost in the flood of other stuff to which we have to provide some resolution.

There was going to be a whole 'nother paragraph here about the nature and extent of the attention demands, but I just don't have the bandwidth for it.

TopHat wrote: Kyrin,

I have, this is me looking at a situation and making the best option possible. Understanding what is the right choice and by what I mean can be difficult to understand. Either you can accept my words or you can't. It's your choice whether it is a choice that is right for you I cannot say. All it seems is that you are interested in my thoughts which I'm flattered by but it gets us no where. All I can do is tell you my thoughts. So, it's your choice either accept my thoughts and experiences or don't. If you value my thoughts and comments you will utilize them to further yourself as a Jedi. If you don't value my thoughts and comments, then no matter how much I explain something to you, you will never be able be able to see what I see or think what I think. It's up to you, make your choice. I hope that it is the right choice whichever you may choose. Other than that I think I've explained all that need be explained. I'll leave it here. Your more than welcome to continue this conversation but only if you are willing to learn and understand my thoughts. May the Force be with you.

It was just a conversation, nothing more. There is no need to get upset. You seem to have come to the erroneous conclusion that i am failing to understand your argument but that is not the case. I understand your position quite well. I just don't personally agree with it. However that does not make yours any less valid than mine and I apologize if that is what you perceived me to be implying. It seems that in order to move forward in this conversation you are demanding that I abandon my point of view and adopt yours. I'm not willing to do that as that was not the point of this, the point was to try and see things from different perspectives and then explore that, nothing more. In any case thanks for the conversation and I will leave it at that.

Atticus wrote:

Kyrin Wyldstar wrote: From this I get the idea that council decided I was wrong and hatter was right

And while I acknowledge that might seem like a reasonable assumption from your perspective, it doesn't necessarily follow. TBH, I don't remember what the resolution to the thread lock was; that one got lost in the attention demands made on me and on us. A 24hr thread lock that is about to expire naturally can get lost in the flood of other stuff to which we have to provide some resolution.

There was going to be a whole 'nother paragraph here about the nature and extent of the attention demands, but I just don't have the bandwidth for it.

Perspective shapes our reality though. Good communication goes a long way to solidifying a more accurate perspective and when that fails assumptions get made. your trying to justify a failure of the council and that has been the response every time this gets brought up. I am not attacking the council as I have been accused of so many times. I'm simply pointing out that the communication is severely lacking when it comes to the council. This is the thing I have been saying for years now. One small fix will alleviate a world of hurt feelings.


Edit: in my example above, one follow up asking me if I felt the situation was resolved to my satisfaction. And if its not continue the dialogue until it is. That never happens and so the animosity goes on.

Honesty is always welcome, Kyrin, and i appreciate that you and I have the kind of relationship that allows you to be brutal about things with me. That isn't the case with everyone, though, so I appreciate the warning up front

I have to admit that the situation you describe is more common than it should be. We as Council, or at lease myself as a Security Officer, haven't been very good at following up and officially resolving complaints. I don't want this to turn into another attempt to shift blame or cover for people on Council, but it is true that ultimately it is the job of JLSpinner and I to make sure these situations are handled properly. I'm glad Ros has made a personal effort to address things with you directly, and I can tell you that the conversations you mention that supposedly happened in Council did in fact happen. Many are still happening, actually.

I think our biggest issue is that thirteen of us (now twelve) in Council all have our own opinions about how to deal with conflicts. We also carry our own biases toward certain people based on past interactions. When a complaint is issued, we all have the best intentions of resolving it, but by the time we all chime in and debate it and try to find the answer in the official rules or past precedent, we end up in the same frustration that you are experiencing. We get distracted with other things or fail to reach a consensus and the issue just sort of disappears and festers until it bubbles to the surface again, only worse.

To be fair, I still don't know that you would have gotten the answer you would've liked or an apology from MadHatter, but you did deserve an official response from us regarding what we discussed and what was decided about how to resolve your issue. I see how we leave people to assume that we always side with each other as Councillors when we don't make the results of our conversations public.

I don't have the fix-all answer for this, but know that along with the sentiments I shared in the original post here, I am making an effort personally and working closely with JLSpinner and others on Council to clarify this process and procedure in the Pax Templi that will be released after this weekend. I, personally, have made it a goal of mine to provide anyone who issues a formal complaint with the best answer I can get via a PM and also at least notify people in any public posts involved that a resolution has been reached. It is going to take some practice and follow through on my end, but also some patience from our members as well.

I hope this gives you some hope that I am trying to address the issue you raised here. It is a fair critique, but in order for us to address it as Council, we're going to need members to buy in as well. Give us a chance to re-earn the trust we have lost and we'll do our best to earn it again.