Subject: Chat with Scott Mintz
From: Scott Mintz <scott.w.mintz@gmail.com>
To: barriticus@gmail.com

Scott: in any case, i'm currently not debating this point as there are other things to discuss
me: sorry, fucking net cut out
me: one sec
me: not sure if you got last message
me: As I said, I think that compromise I've suggested is best solution
me: regarding Campbell
me: he obviously has extraordinary experience and has been very helpful and active
me: but no one is indispensable. Hopefully we will be able to get everybody on the same page, but there are certain things that I have to stick to
me: basically, it should immediately concern a programmer when his audience doesn't like some features
me: and when one of those people is the guy who designed the original schematic
me: I'm hoping that we can get this revolved tonight
me: and there are other features he could add
Scott: i don't think it's worth getting as bent out of shape on this as it seems
me: but they've have to be things that promote info as a reward for high marks, rather than deter
Scott: i don't think campbell is married to the idea
me: good, then
Scott: and as a group we're creative enough to come up with a solution that meets all parties needs
Scott: it would be shortsighted in my opinion to have this decision reflect on the whole
Scott: i concur with both parties as I see campbell's reasoning and I understand your concerns.
Scott: While never implemented the investing website I belong has long tackled the idea of implementing a probationary period on new persons as new persons don't always understand the culture immediately.
Scott: but like i said, it has not been implemented.
me: right
me: basically I don't want anything that prevents two people to connect if they choose to do so
me: and both of those components prevent them from doing so
Scott: the first defintely does
Scott: but that can be changed so communication is possible
me: the second does to the extent that one does not gain enough points by virtue of having done certain things
me: and that radically changes the design
Scott: instead of a probationary period, would bloggers be against an endorsement period?
Scott: well what if i said every person starts with 1000 invites
Scott: do earn more they need to get more points?
me: what problem do you think that will solve?
Scott: not saying this is likely but to the extreme
Scott: i can send my invites to a million friends who then all give my works thumbs up
me: someone who can do that will be recruited and brought into PM's main crew
Scott: i meant in a negative way :)
me: I know what you meant
Scott: aka hey guys, vote for me
me: but such a person clearly has an organizational structure that few people have
Scott: yes
Scott: maybe you're right
me: that's very, very rare
Scott: on the invites
me: look at Facebook
me: do you have 100 people liking your stuff?
me: I don't
Scott: i hardly have 100 friends
me: I have occasionally 2 people
me: I have hundreds and many are fans
me: some are good friends
me: and I get maybe two or three "likes"
me: the thing about all of this is
me: although I haven't had the time to do so
Scott: i see your points
Scott: and im even learning towards your decision
Scott: but i think it's important to recognize one aspect
me: I have a lot that should have been explained early on
Scott: by limiting invites it puts an onerous on the individual to ensure they use their invites wisel
Scott: wisely
Scott: creates a sort of elitism and quality check
me: yes, but let's say they don't
me: let's say they invite 200
me: then they have two hundred people sending them their posts
me: are they going to sit there all day pushing all of these posts?
me: and who will accept those pushes?
me: if someone does, then let them
Scott: ok fair points
me: the thing about the schematic is that it does these things automatically
Scott: if this is something that is a deal breaker for bloggers then i concede it's not worth the risk
me: and I don't think that enough thought was put into either of those things
me: I'm not perfect
me: but I've spent a great deal of time on this question
me: and have experience in blogging, networking, media start-ups, etc.
me: so by virtue of what I've seen
Scott: in life it's the black and white questions that are easy
me: I do have sort of a head start
Scott: it's when there's no clear right or wrong that debate is necessary
Scott: as for the probationary period, i'd like to discuss it further. Specifically modifying it to be less restrictive and more about endorsement.
Scott: if possible
me: we can certainly discuss it
me: but it's going to be hard to convince me to knowingly turn off bloggers and prevent people from getting started using our full functionality right off the bat
me: Scott, people aren't going to give us a lot of time
Scott: i understand that
Scott: we need to expand rapidly
me: I know full well that I would likely just forget about it
me: no, no
me: I'm not talking about expanding rapidly, really
me: rather that a lot of people are not going to sign up and then work through whatever probationary period metrics that have been decided on
me: Again, I'm using myself as a barometer
Scott: i take that point
Scott: which is why i'd eliminate the restrictions
me: "Would I be likely to use this, and how happy would I be with it?"
Scott: what i'm suggesting is to still make it so that for this X period if you invite me, then eveyrthing i push will say "endorsed by BB"
me: And if the answer is "maybe" and "whatever," then it's a non-starter
me: oh, that's infe
me: fine
me: I don't care if there's a tag saying that
me: just no probationary restrictions
Scott: ok well then see
Scott: we're already making compromises :)
Scott: this alone "should" make sure a person invites people they truly want to be associated with rather than someone who is simply going to "like" them
me: at any rate, there are any number of networks that can be devised
Scott: at least that's my rapid-fire thoughts on it, which can change at a moment's notice
me: and experiments can be done in terms of us limiting various actions
Scott: of course
me: but I'm not going to tell Glenn Greenwald or even some clever but small-time blogger that he needs to collect points to invite some colleague in
Scott: ok well in my mind starting bloggers would have X amount of invites to give no matter what, like the Gmail system, but yes, i see your point
me: as I noted, although we've had discussions about these things and you guys have put some thought it, I've obviously been going over this with a lot of other people of varying backgrounds, none of whom are less qualified to assess these issues than is anyone else
Scott: certainly when designing system it's important to get feedback from end users
Scott: which is why I'm not too concerned about this as I always think compromises are possible, and if as you say this is a deal breaker, then I don't think it's worth instituting, especially in its current form.
me: anyway, I'm sure we can work it out this evening
Scott: agreed
Scott: onto other things
Scott: did you read what I wrote before and wihle you got disconnected?
me: yeah, went to my mailbox
Scott: thoughts on the website?
me: haven't thought about it much yet
Scott: i think it's important so we can proceed to expand beyond just your contacts, not diminishing your contacts, just helping to better broaden our people base to secondary and tertiary contacts
me: of course
me: I don't have much I can do regarding website other than to select content for it
me: which we're also doing with the wiki now
Scott: if a portion of tonight can be directed towards someone who can help design the site
Scott: we have tons of information and my concern is that it needs to be presented as best as possibly for the new comers
Scott: also i think listing certain key people i.e. mano, lipp, yourself will provide sticking power