[pp.int.general] A PPI Announcement

Fri Jul 10 01:47:53 CEST 2009

I hope we can all learn from your experiences.
The movement really does neet more people who are ready to put all their
effort into things without monetary payments. We all work for a reason other
than own gains and that is beautiful. Let us keep on communicating with each
other. It is clear that the pirate parties have more than enough work to do
within the borders of their respective countries, but it would be a tough
deal to rebuild the international infrastructure later on should we, even
temporarily, abandon it.

Joonas "JoonasD6" Mäkinen
Vice chairman of the Finnish pirate youth organisation

2009/7/10 Andreas Larsson <andreas.larsson at piratpartiet.se>

> best of luck to you Andrew and thank you for all the work you have
> done for the movement during the past 3 years and will continue to do
> in the future :)
>
> Best regards
> Andreas Larsson
> Lead North District
> Swedish Pirate Party
>
> 2009/7/10 Andrew Norton <andrew.norton at pirate-party.us>:
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> >
> > Ok, time for more of a personal announcement. I'm stepping down from
> > PPI, and indeed all pirate party positions, as of the end of the month.
> >
> > Part of the reason is that after 3 years of work, I feel a bit 'burnt
> > out'. It's been 3 years of work, learning laws, and languages, and
> > getting to know many of you. The problem is though, that despite my best
> > efforts, one of the main goals of PPI - to improve communication between
> > parties - has not been met. Over the past year especially, I've lost
> > count of the number of times I've had a request for comment, or a
> > journalist phone me, and ask my positions on something, and not know
> > what they're talking about, even after checking my email. When I have to
> > go hunting through news sites to find out information, thats not good
> > communication. As a movement that has garnered global interest, we must
> > be able to effectively use the media to our advantage.
> >
> > To many of you, this won't be a big shock, as I have talked to most of
> > you that needed to know (mainly party heads/boards, and if you're one of
> > those and didn't know, re-read the previous paragraph again and wonder
> why))
> >
> > The big problem though is the lack of tools. Part of what I see as the
> > function of PPI is to help get new parties started, such as in Canada
> > and the UK. however, I'm limited by the amount of help I can provide.
> > There is only one of me, and I'm limited to what I can do, to the tools
> > I can create myself. That's not so bad when it's a culture or country I
> > can understand, but when I'm having to learn a language as well (as with
> > Brazil) I have a lot less time tos pend actually helping. Heck, it took
> > more than 2 months to get my access level on the PPI site so I could
> > create any content, and I usually just don't have any time to do that.
> >
> > In the end, a lot comes down to this list, and even then it's misused. I
> > just checked, and there's over 200 subscribers to this list. Who are all
> > these people, and why do so very few participate? Worse, some that do
> > participate are often more concerned with correcting terms to be
> > 'ideologically pure' rather than addressing the content of them and
> > involving in a productive discourse - acting as a zampolit in essence -
> > we all know just how well those people actually inspired and assisted
> > the people they claimed to be helping.
> >
> > So, one of the things I'm doing now, is asking if there are any
> > volunteers for the job. More importantly, I'm asking all current parties
> > to pledge to support whoever succeeds me and give PPI the support it
> > needs, so it can give the support the parties need right back. No more
> > leaving a consultation response until the day of the deadline for 3-4
> > people to write; no more press statements on behalf of us all, that most
> > didn't even know about; and most importantly, no more assuming that
> > because you've got a piece of paper saying you've got a degree, or some
> > relevant job experience, that you know everything about that subject
> > than anyone else - the people in power now have more experience
> > singularly than all of us combined, and by that logic we shouldn't even
> > bother.
> >
> > By the same token, at the end of the month, this email address will no
> > longer be valid. That's why I gave my personal one - ktetch at gmail.com in
> > my democracy research email the other day. I know one person asked me
> > why, and the answer was simple - this is a job. If it's a job I no
> > longer have, I don't get to keep it. You don't get to keep your email,
> > or cellphone(mobile/handy) number that were provided by a job, this is
> > no different. Perhaps one of the biggest disappointments that I've had
> > over the past year, is seeing how many party officers around the world
> > have not considered it a job, albeit an unpaid one. That is what it is
> > though, and it's one I no longer have the personal strength to continue
> > with at present.
> >
> > I will still be around though. I'll be continuing on my work as a P2P
> > researcher, and working with some of the news sites. I'll still be
> > writing my studies (indeed my inspiration for the democracy one came
> > after I'd decided this) so I will doubtless still communicate with many
> > of you.
> >
> > However, when I listen back to the recordings made 2 years ago, in
> > Vienna, I realise just how little of what was decided was done. The
> > quick, easy short-term stuff was done, certainly. The more complex, more
> > involved, or just plain old more effective things though, did not. A
> > month ago, we had a victory in the European elections, but just think
> > how much greater it might have been, had we communicated better, and
> > worked more effectively.
> >
> >
> > Regardless, I hope this email gives you food for thought.
> >
> > Andrew
> >
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> > ____________________________________________________
> > Pirate Parties International - General Talk
> > pp.international.general at lists.pirateweb.net
> > http://lists.pirateweb.net/mailman/listinfo/pp.international.general
> >
> ____________________________________________________
> Pirate Parties International - General Talk
> pp.international.general at lists.pirateweb.net
> http://lists.pirateweb.net/mailman/listinfo/pp.international.general
>

-- 
Joonas "JoonasD6" Mäkinen
Varapuheenjohtaja, viceordförande
Piraattinuoret - Piratungdom

Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Faculty of Science
University of Helsinki

gsm +358 40 700 5190
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