In Praise of NCI that was

Exactly how I feel well put

Long Before NCI came into existence I started planning to do something like NCI. Then the shelter popped up and NCI and rather than reinvent the wheel I chose to support both the shelter and NCI in any way I could. The work both did was monumental. Both Travis and Karl deserve every kudo that can be tossed their way.

This whole thing saddens me beyond belief.

And not only great regular classes, but freebies, and groups for new people that answer questions on the spot.

If you're going to cite that as a source then you may as well cite this far more reliable source:

Congratulations to Carl on a long and very successful time at NCI. Best wishes on your next endeavors.

I wonder if Brace had any idea how long her group would last and how many people it would help learn the ropes of SL.

Interesting to note your bias here; Carl was standing up for what he believes in while others were just out to give him grief. It did not occur to you that others believe in the just cause of freedom of association.



Like a political agenda or a "war" as you put it? Irony!!

That's what bothered me about the referenced blog post, the idea that "presumption of innocence" and "freedom of association" are somehow signs of radical libertarian extremists.

If that's the case, the USA was founded by radical libertarian extremists.

Kind of reflects the current climate here, then. If the Founding Fathers could see this nation's own citizens being searched at airports, their identity cards microchipped and all the rest, they'd never stop spinning in their tombs. :/

Some people seem to be assuming that NCI has either disappeared, collapsed, or has had an irreversible culture shift.

None of these occurrences have happened. In fact, the changes that exist now were partially in reaction to an irreversible culture shift that was threatening to occur.

As it stands. NCI is still the NCI everyone remembers. It's the exact same people in the sandboxes, in the classrooms, and in the events. The community is still all there along with all the resources that existed before.

At last! A source of clean energy!

Yes, yes it was.

I'll chime in to praise the NCI that was. Good luck, Carl. This is the end of an era.

The whole thing makes me terribly sad.

I just want to thank Carl for all he has done for the community, all the time and care he put in to building SL through NCI. I wish him all the best moving forward.

LOL.

To me, that seems to be one person's opinion of what happened.


I know, I know ---- I read it on the interwebs, so it must be true.

Oh hell no - they would stop spinning so they could dig and burrow as far away from us as they could get.

Um, at this stage they'd be zombies. So they would head towards you(r brains).

1 Newbie Volunteer went to Infohub with the griefer group visible in her profile.

2 Griefers from that group had come on several occasions and griefed Infohub Caretaker's property.

3 Infohub Caretaker began banning anyone with this griefer group in their profile.

4 Infohub Caretaker banned the newbie volunteer because she had the griefer group in her profile while she was on land the Infohub Caretaker had control over.

5 Banned newbie Volunteer complained to Newbie Volunteer Group officials. Newbie Volunteer was told that if she dropped the griefer group she could re-gain access to Infohub. Banned newbie Volunteer refused.

6 Banned Newbie Volunteer decides to launch a metaverse-wide campaign to discredit Infohub Caretaker and clear banned Newbie Volunteer's name by mass posting about the issue - Fail.

7 Newbie Volunteer Group Exec. Director makes a no greifers allowed rule for Newbie Volunteer Officers because of all of the metaverse chatter (started by the banned Newbie Volunteer) regarding the issue.

8 Banned Newbie Volunteer does not like the Newbie Exec Director's rule and publicly complains about it and makes a public exit from Newbie Volunteer Group.

9 Newbie Volunteer Group mob sides with banned Newbie Volunteer. Newbie Volunteer Group Exec Director/Founder resigns.

10 Banned Newbie Volunteer goes back to Newbie Volunteer Group and keeps her griefer group membership.
____________________________

Carl, you have done a exceptional job in developing and maintaining an internet project that worked with people from all around the world.

During your sabbatical please consider writing an e-book on your ground-breaking best practices to develop internet volunteer groups. Please consider including a chapter on getting the right officers in place, abuse of power and deliberate undermining.

-Peace

Take your lies somewhere else, Lias. Your agenda is off topic here. (=_=)

touchy banned newbie volunteer.

Scratch and sniff.

The soul of NCI has left the building. All that is left is the husk. Maybe it still can be used for good, but it will become a shadow of what it once was without Carl.

I know he won't like me or anyone else saying that... that NCI is, and has always been, bigger than one person... but it doesn't change the fact of the matter. For what it is worth, I hope he is right, because it deserves to have the legacy that he paid for it with the years of his life that he poured into it. If it is squandered, I can think of no worse insult to him.

That said, it is not uncommon for organizations to require detachment from the more "seedy side" of things in order to function properly. As a Guardian at the Isle of Wyrms, I likely would not be allowed to remain in a group associated with griefers, like the PN, and keep my Guardianship. That situation represents an untenable conflict of interests. Even if the Isle looks past it and sees my value as an individual, they don't need the excess baggage and hassle of having to explain to others why I am affiliated with such people, and still am allowed to hold a position of such responsibility and authority there. I doubt I would be asked to never associate with such people, but I would be expected to make sure that I had no visible public ties with/to them.

I don't see this situation any differently. My groups are not who I am. Whom I choose to associate with is immaterial. However, I understand the necessity to mitigate even the appearance of impropriety, let alone any actual impropriety. Even still, I would expect there would be nothing saying that I couldn't have a personal/private alt which is still in such groups. As long as I can maintain divestiture of the conflict of interests, it should never be a problem.

That's where I think the wheels came off the wagon here: that certain people didn't understand the nature of the problem, and ended up creating an impossible situation for Carl to reconcile; all because they couldn't tell the difference between group identity and personal identity.

It is the main reason I *ABJECTLY DESPISE* "groupthink", and why I don't associate my identity with groups. It leaves me free to detach myself from whatever baggage any particular group may have, and allows me to truly be me. As a result, I don't let my affiliations/associations turn into untenable conflicts of interest, leading to what amounts to massive drama and epic fail, as evidenced in this debacle.

I've stayed out of armchair quarterbacking this thing in the forums, as I watched the drama unfold, and after this post I will continue to do so. And, while I freely admit that I did a hack and slash quote job with both of those posts, particularly yours Immy, I think the point of this thread is that, for right now, NCI seems very different indeed.

Almost certainly that NCI was an outsiders' dream, a place with a good reputation where we could send the scores of new players we bump into finding their way in through the early days of their SL. That may not have changed, time will tell and I wish the organization well, but Carl was the person I most strongly associated with NCI. Sure, a group that large that does as much as NCI is made up of many members who are critical to its success, but a leader, a public figurehead even, sets a tone and can be a large part of what establishes credibility for an entire organization. (It seems that last part is at the core of the troubles - who NCI wants to be moving forward regarding their policies about officers - and that is fine, but this thread was created to discuss the successes of the past.)

He's not my friend, so I only know him through forums, websites, and a public gathering we both happened to be at inworld, but I've always been ... he inspired respect, at least in me. Taking a moment to mourn the loss of someone like that to a group which, in the end, serves the entire community seems appropriate to me, and there is no need to hurry that along as if nothing has happened and everything is as it was.

And that is all I have to say about that. Who wants pie?

QFT

Man, I took my first class in SL ever just the other day and it was at the NCI, grabbed Carls maps there too. The school looked fantastic, I looked around and TPed here and there a bit lost for a while.


I wish you all the best Carl and thank you for your efforts. It's people like you and a few others who have these incredibly helpful and positive kind of set ups going on in SL that really make the game inspiring.


Take care.

Ok, I started reading on this. Very sad to hear that Carl has left NCI. I wish him luck on his future endeavors.