Re: Resigning from chair

Hello Sarven,

I am grateful on many levels for your reaching out to me. It’s not easy to own up to our own shortcomings and I wish more people - me included - had the courage and presence of mind to do so every time the situation calls for it. I am also humbled by your continued decision to trust my judgement and leadership, even in times of friction and particularly considering how much more experienced you are. I’m not paying lip service, here; it’s a lovely gesture and I acknowledge that. Thank you.

While I was always aware of the fact that there is a silent majority that passively follows the conversation while (mostly) keeping out of it, in the past few days and through the kindness of all who reached out in private I’ve realized just how big this majority is and just how unfortunate it is that this group is able to drive so many people out of the conversation.

At this point there’s a problematic set of ingrained behaviors that I don’t think will ever change, though I still hope it will. I could get past that but, in order for me to truly reconsider, I would need a tangible sign from the silent majority that they do, indeed, agree with the process [1] that we’ve settled on and that they do, indeed, recognize the progress [2] made so far as a legitimate continuation and evolution of all that took place before my time as chair.

I cannot, at the same time, be the chair, be the editor and also argue for the legitimacy of my own chairing and editing. That’s a clear conflict of interest. However, I also cannot continue absorbing these implications of forking, railroading and disrespecting both the group and its legacy amidst the silence of the group at large. A silence which, by the way, I completely understand and would never dream of thinking of as a slight or a fault. Engaging is emotionally stressful and exhausting, and we can all do with less of those. I am not sure that *I* would engage and I surely don’t expect others to do so. I’m just stating my requirements.

If the group can do this and if, perhaps, we can commit to helping each other maintain a professional conduct, I will seriously consider chairing again.

Best,
Jacopo.

[1]: https://github.com/w3c/WebID/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md
[2]: https://github.com/w3c/WebID/blob/main/spec/identity/index.bs

Received on Wednesday, 27 March 2024 22:04:38 UTC