Some months ago, we were having a problem with nagara who chose to do their civic elsewhere and failing to credit the Point with those hours. In my opinion at the time (and I still hold with it), this is less of a problem then some believe; nevertheless, it did take up a lot of discussion time in assembly meetings. A Tellurian suggested a public announcement asking nagara to please take some time to fill out the transfer forms. This notice was made in the Point forums, and in the forums for the Elms, and in a few other places where it would be likely to catch the eye of the “offenders.”
I won’t say the response was overwhelming, but it was enough of a response that my colleagues in the assembly have stopped grumbling, which (personally) is all I can ask.
There has also been an interesting side-effect: a lot of nagara have been sending me email asking me to explain the details of civic labor-time transfer (which I couldn’t do, because I don’t know them), and expressing an interest in doing some gift-work in the Point–so now a lot of our time in the assembly meetings is devoted to trying to figure out the best way to use these offers.
As someone with a deep love of the Point, both its past and its present, I have to say I’m delighted to be having these conversations. I have no idea what we’ll come up with, but I just wanted to inform those of you with an interest what the results of the last discussion were.
So there’s no assignment system for civic tasks? How does that work for nagara who live in the Point?
Same as everywhere, jeffy: nagara volunteer for whatever civic they wish–the unpleasant ones with only a few hours, or the more popular ones with more hours. Or it may be I’m missing your question. Try again?
That was part of it, Dak. So nagara get the same credit for a small amount of time fixing a sewer or a longer time pruning trees?
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My question was inspired by the fact that you were having to discuss how to employ gift-workers. That implied to me that the system relied on residents knowing what needs to be done. How do people know the relative value of a task? I don’t mind washing windows, but particularly dislike painting. But I know people who feel the exact opposite so I’m curious how that would work. Is there just a big list somewhere?
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I’m particularly interested in the ways people decide what to do with their time. I’m bad at it myself. I see an array of tasks with varying levels of effort and reward even just around my household, and I get stuck and can’t decide what I should do. Mostly, I end up talking to people on the internet which wasn’t even on the list. So I’m fascinated to hear how other folks manage.
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(OT linguistic query. In that last paragraph would “nagara” have worked everywhere I said “folks” or “people”? It seems like that’s how I’ve seen it used, but one of my other mental quirks is not wanting to look like a doofus so some confirmation would be nice.)
Jeffy: as in all areas of human endeavor, there are some people who are really good at one thing, and others are good at a different thing. Those people who are good at organizing and prioritizing things are generally put in charge of doing so, and it becomes their problem to figure out what needs done first. Of course, anyone who *thinks* they’re good at organizing and prioritizing is permitted to try. Oh, and we do everything by both committee and consensus. It’s tons of fun, and sometimes rather entertaining. I imagine the closest Tellus comes is the House of Lords and the House of Commons in London, to give you an idea of the happy chaos.
A nagara is a citizen of Port Outreach, so, yes, in a way you could use that term for ‘people’ or ‘folks’. It would be a type of compliment to use that term. Another term, based upon nagara is ‘nagarei’, a term of respect for someone who isn’t actually a citizen. So, I suppose it’s your choice which term to use. Both are respectful and complimentary. (There’s a non-complimentary term, too, for those who take more than they give: nagarello.)
I can guess from context what ‘doofus’ means, but, could you confirm?
Mags
I don’t know as much about this as I probably should, so I might be giving you wrong information. But as I understand it, the computers that figure these things out base them mostly on how hard the job is to fill. If no one is willing to do something for six hours a month, try five, then four. And if everyone wants to do a certain thing, raise the number of hours per month to nineteen or twenty. I think that’s how it works. For the most part its invisible; you get online, see what’s available, and pick.
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No, I wouldn’t have used nagara in that paragraph, unless you limit your contact to citizens of your, um, I don’t think city is the right word here. County? Nation-state?
Mags, a doofus in the sense that I used it is someone who is clueless about social standards with maybe a touch of willful ignorance.
Thanks for the expansion of the civic process. That makes perfect sense. I should find one of those organizing people to help me out!
Dak, thanks for adding in the computer angle. Of course if would be computerized! And your two takes on the nagara question in their very contradiction answer the question better for me than either would alone. Probably you are looking for the word “country” which is pretty close to nation-state. A county is a smaller jurisdiction, usually larger than town and maybe containing a few. What a difference an R makes.
What sorts of things are being considered for the gift-workers to do?
There are a number of houses in the point that could use a touch-up, which requires fairly close human supervision. I think we should run a full check of all the water mains coming into the area, because it seems to me they’ve been slow, which might indicate lime buildup. The new PMF is ugly, inefficient, and needs to be torn down and rebuilt so is not only easy to use, but isn’t an eyesore (I fought hard against the design when it was proposed, but I lost. I was still right). Those are a few of things, anyway.
What’s a PMF?
Oh, sorry. You know, I had to look it up? Embarrassing for someone with pretensions as an historian. It stands for Public Manufacturing Facility, which shows how old the term is. It just means a place where you can go to have something fabricated, or to use the tools for fabrication. In short, it’s a place full of drills, punch presses, saws, welding gear, and some of the larger more complex devices for making things like refrigerators and furnaces and such.
Oooh! I want a PMF!
Jeffy, you just might get one. TechShop is trying to open a location in Seattle.
It’s actually called a peemuff. You’re OLD, Dak.
– Darin
Peemuff? Oh, the things they do to my language!
I’ve heard both terms.
– Jarre
Thanks, MG, that looks cool!
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