Guest Editorial

Z1C - The Zone 1 Circus
Commentary on zone leadership by one of the grunt sysops
Douglas C. Myers, 1:270/720, doug@mdtnbbs.com

Though I've been on Fidonet since the eighties, it's only been recently that I've joined the Z1C conference. Z1C is billed in BACKBONE.NA as the Zone 1 Coordinator contact echo. My most immediate impression is that I've never seen a post by Bob Satti, the current and long-time Zone 1 Coordinator.

Despite the absence of Bob, the echo Z1C is very active, teeming with what seems to be hundreds of messages a day with conversations which range from mere diatribes to deep and meaningful discourse. If it were a political echo, I'd say that all is as it should be. But it's an echo for coordinator contact, and that doesn't seem to be happening.

Is Bob's absence acceptable behavior? I've been asking around and trying to follow all the threads, and expectations seem to be mixed and contradictory. Here are some of the more widespread expectations I've encountered:

1. The ZC and all of the rest of the coordinators (usually expressed as "*C") should be leading Fido into the 21st century, providing the sense of direction for the rest of the people there.
2. The ZC and *C should only serve as nodelist clerks and let Fidonet alone to run itself.
3. The ZC and *C are charged with the administration of Fido, but should only act at the express direction of the sysops whom they represent, who's expressed will must be in the form of a democratic election or referendum.

Despite the contradictory expectations, I believe that the onus falls on Bob Satti to define his own role. The great egalitarian movements over the centuries notwithstanding, there has never been a case where the masses organized themselves except through a leader. Their focus may have been through the existing leaders, or through a revolutionary who unseated these leaders, but the principle of leadership is unwavering throughout all history.

The bad news is that Bob Satti doesn't have a public mandate right now. The good news is that he therefore doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to. He can denounce leadership if he wishes - the job of coordinator is kinda vaguely defined and could be anything from a nodelist clerk to the King of Kings. But if he wants to lead, then he's going to have to talk with the people.

If he wants to hide, that's fine with me. I can even sympathize - the reports of the conflicts he had to endure would be daunting. One doesn't really need a lot of contact with a nodelist clerk anyway. But if he wishes to hide, then he's going to have to reconcile himself to the fact that folks will find a leader somewhere and at some time. It could be a moderate who will work with him to the greater good of Fido, or it could be a demagogue who only wishes to unseat him.

--
| Fidonet: Douglas Myers 1:270/720@fidonet.org
| Internet: doug@mdtnbbs.com
| Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own.

| From Mdtn_BBS @mdtnbbs.com [ In the Heart of Three Mile Island ]