bitch, bitch, bitch

[redbird]

Before seeing The Glass Blowers last night, I met Lise, Moshe, and Andrew Porter for dinner. In between various other stuff, Andrew asks me what happened to the rassef meetings. Nothing happened to them. He wanted to know why he isn't getting email anymore, and I explained that nobody is, and that they're announced on the newsgroup. So far, so good (or would be if I didn't find him irritating for hard-to-identify reasons). But then he tried to give me his email address so he could get reminders.

I explained, less patiently this time, that I'm not sending reminders by email. To anyone. That I'm doing the work, and it's enough work already, and if he's interested he can find the reminders on any of three different newsgroups. He claimed to be a fakefan in this regard; that's his privilege, but not wanting to read the newsgroup, or even skim it for subject lines or for threads started by me, doesn't entitle him to more of my time and energy.

It doesn't help that what he would generally do, when he showed up, is spend his time trying to convince other people to take home old fanzines that he didn't want anymore. If I were in a mood to make exceptions, I'd be making them for people who contributed to the conversation.

It also doesn't help that, in the same conversation in which he wanted me to do extra work because of software he won't use, he explained that he couldn't ask Harry Warner to write even a paragraph for two on a tight deadline, because Harry uses a typewriter, not email. Everyone, apparently, should use all but only the technology he finds convenient.

Comments

[aiglet.livejournal.com]

Well, not that this will solve the problem, but would you like me to set up and maintain a Yahoo!Groups or some such e-mail list for this?

I'm moving to the city in May and am planning on starting to show up to the get-togethers on a regular basis (along with soulchanger, who I've finally suckered into convinced to read the group, and I wouldn't mind putting in the effort to help out. (Also, let me know if there's any other sort of help you need -- I like the gatherings and think they're a wonderful idea.)

[aiglet.livejournal.com]

Oh, my lacking HTML skills! The "suckered into" was supposed to be struck-out, but I can't figure out how to do it... :(

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

I am an evil person, and think that since the group was originally created for the people who read the rec.arts.sf.* newsgroups to meet, that posting in those newsgroups is a reasonable way to announce the meetings, and that while it has been a kindness for Vicki (and others in the past) to send out email reminders, it's not necessary -- and people who don't read the group, but try to pressure Vicki into sending them personal reminders are being incredibly rude.

sigh I don't know if this is coming across properly, and I have very mixed feelings about Andy Porter -- mostly negative -- but this feels like another example of people not willing (NOT you, obviously) to do anything to maintain or support the group/activity, but wanting things made easy for their convenience. (Ask me, one day, about the number of people who have bitched about the locations, but never suggested, much less researched, another place.)

Rant, rant, rant. This bothers me in ways that I can't clearly express

[aiglet.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, I agree with you completely about the fact that announcing a get-together for r.a.sf.* on those newsgroups and *only* on those newsgroups is more than adequate, and that it was terribly rude to try to pressure Vicki into doing more work than she's already doing (and doing a wonderful job of, from what I've seen).

I just also know that sometimes not everyone who would like to come (and is a worthwhile person) has a news connection, and that maybe an e-mail list might be useful. I wasn't going to set one up without asking, though, and it seems as though no one really wants one, for understandable reasons, so scratch that idea. (Hrm... Brain is burbling over some ideas about Usenet outreach, but I'll think them over and write them up on my own journal.)

I do understand that idea of "people who aren't contributing asking you to do more work than you're already doing merely for their convenience" and have run into it in subtle and malicious forms running NonCon (http://www.noncon.net). ::sigh:: Which is, of course, why I offered to help (an offer that will stand open) -- I figured that if I was planning on being involved with the NYC r.a.sf.* community, the least I could do was take advantage of being young and enthusiastic and underemployed and be *useful*! (Or at least try... ;P)