On Wed, Dec 5, 2018 at 4:41 PM Paul Boddie paul@boddie.org.uk wrote:
But if something is worth doing, even if not everyone agrees, why does anyone need some kind of "sign off" from someone they've heard of? Just do what you think is right or interesting or enjoyable or useful, already! I honestly don't know why anyone would follow a mailing list on a topic if they didn't already know it was worthwhile.
interesting insights that you raise, paul (all of them), this one caught my attention in particular. occasionally i encounter people who follow some logical conclusion that i, personally, have reached... *without* themselves having reviewed the facts / data and associated logic. this completely freaks me out.
the second part is: i think that people know / feel that without "sign-off", the person (e.g. dr stallman) acting as a diplomatic gateway / channel to other resources and other people will not put them in touch with other people / resources if that person doesn't believe the proposal is workable.
given that large projects succeed based on collaboration, the high-profile person, who will have a lot more experience than them, becomes not just a "reviewer" of the proposal, but a channel and potential advocate as well.
put another way: if someone's not strongly convinced of the value of their idea, they're not going to stand up and make it happen when faced with someone who says "no", are they? :)
l.