Maybe this will help, maybe it won't

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Hello,

I was talking with a peer about the particular PGEU problem that I am
currently arguing on the following thread:

http://archives.postgresql.org/pgsql-eu-general/2008-01/msg00128.php

I wanted to see if I could explain my position outside of the thread to
allow the thread to stay productive.

I am aware that there are variable levels of cultural idioms in all
countries. Americans have theirs, Canadians, Germans... all of them.
Whenever I make a comment about the succinct nature of PeterE's
responses, the response I get back is, "He's German". It's not
derogatory, it's a statement of a particular cultural perspective.

I on the other hand am trying to look past cultural divides. This
isn't about Europe or America or Japan. This is about PostgreSQL. I
don't care if you are a Platypus from Australia, if you known and love
PostgreSQL I want you involved.

To take it back to a practical example. I posted the following email
about PostgreSQL Conference East a while back:

http://archives.postgresql.org/pgsql-eu-general/2007-11/msg00051.php

One of the responses I got back was, "Why do Europeans care about an
United States conference?" My response to that was and still is:

"It is not an United States conference. It is a PostgreSQL conference
being held in United States".

Because we are all members of PostgreSQL you should care.

I specifically ignore (much to others dismay) cultural, racial and sex
boundaries because I believe those boundaries are the implicit bases
for most problems created within the world as a whole.

If we take the idea of no boundaries to PostgreSQL we have
(initially) three distinct cultures that will end up applying:

1. EU
2. JPUG
3. NA (north america)

(note there are others that are forming like Pg.BR)

I believe it makes absolute sense to have legal organizations in
place that represent the community in a regionally. They should however
be representing the PostgreSQL community as a whole, strategically
located within their particular geographic region.

The problem arises when you limit who can be active within a particular
organization. When an organization generates artificial limitations
based on cultural divides you are not representing PostgreSQL as a
whole. You are representing a subset of PostgreSQL which will in the
long run creates rifts and weaken the global fabric of our community.

I see this to some degree within the JPUG community already. They
barely participate in the larger community. Now there are some even
larger cultural and language concerns that assist in the divide but
those concerns don't exist for the EU community.

The macro community of PostgreSQL is based on the idea of meritocracy.
The tallest order being an invitation to -core. Through the hard,
diligent, responsible and respectable work of the contributors you
garner different levels influence, respect and responsibility.

The current path of the micro community of EU is that the meritocracy
is limited. Someone from Chile could in fact become one of the most
beneficial members to the the EU community and yet never be in a
position to authoritatively influence the direction of the
micro community itself. That removes a lot of the attraction to
crossing regional divides and create bonds between the micro community
and the macro community.

If we continue down this path we are going to end up with a bunch of
micro communities that have zero distinct tie to the larger macro
community of PostgreSQL.org.

Sincerely,

Joshua D. Drake

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