On 8/19/06, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
And I see someone has added a beautiful and oh so apposite quote to [[m:instruction creep]]:
[snip]
- Wikis, Grafitti, and Process, Clay Shirky, 2003-08-01
Although I'm very much a part of the anti-process-bound crowd, I must ask: How many people were in Mr. Shirky's group?
Until it is demonstrated otherwise, it would be wise to assume that there is a difference between a group of a dozen carefully selected likeminded folks who are making a living doing something, and a project of thousands of constantly changing, self-selecting, unequally skilled people, who are largely just fooling around on the Internet.
I enjoy process when it quickly helps me figure out how to do something without reinventing the wheel on my own, and when it helps my work be more consistent with the rest of the project. I dislike it when it's used as a bludgeoning device by the weak minded to produce an easy attack against someone whos actions taken with deep understanding and careful consideration.