<div dir="ltr">From the outside, this looks like a pretty good example of how leaders *should* respond to a complaint. Members complained, and they responded by:<div><br></div><div>- taking the member complaint seriously<br>- issuing clear warnings<br>- giving specifics about what the problem was<div>- following agreed-upon procedures</div></div><div><br></div><div>Some questions to ask in cases like this:</div><div>- Why are people complaining about your behavior?</div><div>- Do you disagree with the code of conduct, or do you disagree with how it's being applied?</div><div>- Is the leadership applying policies unevenly? If so, how?</div><div><br></div><div>It sounds like you have a disagreement with a majority of the leadership, and at least some of the members about what types of behavior are acceptable. If this is really an abuse of power, there are probably a lot of bystanders who are just going along with things because they don't want to make a fuss. I second the suggestion of finding them privately. Otherwise, you have to decide what's more important to you: being a part of that community, or not having to follow their norms.</div><div><br></div><div>-Ed</div><div><br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 3:56 PM, peter <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:phm@riseup.net" target="_blank">phm@riseup.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<br>
Does anyone have advice/experience with the leadership abusing their
powers, doing unconstitutional/unethical things? (specifically:
bullying members with mental 'abnormalities').<br>
<br>
What happened? Did anyone try to stop it? Has anyone ever called an
EGM (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_general_meeting" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_general_meeting</a>)
about it?<br>
<br>
I'm attempting to do this at London Hackspace.<br>
<br>
<br>
Grievance Procedure Update - Peter Meadows banned for one year:<br>
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/london-hack-space/Io8vDQvaT84" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/london-hack-space/Io8vDQvaT84</a><br>
<br>
Notification of a second formal warning for Peter Meadows:<br>
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/london-hack-space/7WE1zuRWKbk" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/london-hack-space/7WE1zuRWKbk</a><br>
<br>
Fwd: Re: Your first formal warning:<br>
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/london-hack-space/bDlpFC6Lg2o" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/london-hack-space/bDlpFC6Lg2o</a><br>
<br>
Fwd: Re: Your behaviour in IRC:<br>
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/london-hack-space/uNFjdFI7tmY" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/london-hack-space/uNFjdFI7tmY</a><br>
<br>
<br>
Thread about my food getting chucked in the bin:<br>
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/london-hack-space/E4Gom_ave4c" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/london-hack-space/E4Gom_ave4c</a><br>
<br>
(I suspect this was done by a 'trustee' as revenge for me suggesting
'doorbot' should<br>
not be blaring out loud music into the space every 5 minutes.
(although nobody has owned up to doing it, (despite other members
insisting that it was not a mistake, and it was done with the best
interests of the space at heart)):<br>
<br>
<br>
Thread in which I'm accused of 'de-humanising' the cleaner by
calling it 'it':<br>
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/london-hack-space/gFJpT3zPj3c" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/london-hack-space/gFJpT3zPj3c</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
I think they invented the stuff about IRL harassment because they
would look silly banning me just for supposed 'trolling'. (I was NOT
'trolling').<br>
<br>
There is CCTV in the space, so we can determine very easily if I was
'following' people around. They refuse to give any details about
what the CCTV shows.<br>
They refuse to give any details about the nature of the real life
harassment. I can provide many witnesses that spent time with me day
to day in the space, and that will testify that I have not harassed
anyone.<br>
<br>
David Potocnik writes:<br>
<br>
"
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Anyway,
I've been linked to this discussion and I can't see a very
descriptive account of what actually happened. "Harassment" can be
a number of things and it is also perceived/felt (right?), so I
suggest being more expressive."<br>
<br>
And:<br>
</span><br>
"
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">This
is the second example of somebody being banned for other people</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">finding
them "annoying". With anonymity, the trustees become an</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">arbiter
of good taste (TM) at their own discretion, possibly backed up</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">by
howling wolves. Fine. I'm sure the Trustees are aware of the</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">problems
in both historic examples of various annoyances to</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">"civility",
and on the other side a modern trend in false harassment</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">accusations.
(Even if this is not the case here).</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">This
was actually apparent in the linked "it" email on<span> </span></span><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">cleaning</span><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">.
Peter</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">was
accused of "dehumanizing" (morally bad!) a<span> </span></span><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">cleaner</span><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">.
But when I</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">read
into it, what I saw was him/it playing an (annoying) semantic</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">game:
idea of doing away with normal conception of "human person". As</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">I
read it, this is only "insulting" if you read it through your own</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">moral
lens, the proper one. He/it wasn't being selectively</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">"dehumanizing"
either.</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">For
me it was an example of this person's somewhat annoying and</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">non-constructive
behaviour, as much as general cultural hegemony."<br>
<br>
And:<br>
</span><br>
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">"Guys, restating, I am not - or was not -
agitating on anyone's behalf.</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Related, nothing is being put "up for
debate", though things are</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">freely debated. (Etc. A careful reader
might have found more worrying</span><br style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8000001907349px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;display:inline!important;float:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">cues in follow up responses to my last
one.)"</span><br>
</span><br>
<br>
Then they accuse him of 'agitating' on my behalf. <br>
<br>
So clearly anyone that speaks up in my favour is going to get
bullied like this.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
They are now censoring my list posts, so I have no way to respond to
the false allegations.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
London Hackspace Ltd Articles of Association:<br>
<a href="https://london.hackspace.org.uk/organisation/docs/articles.pdf" target="_blank">https://london.hackspace.org.uk/organisation/docs/articles.pdf</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<a href="https://wiki.london.hackspace.org.uk/view/Organisation" target="_blank">https://wiki.london.hackspace.org.uk/view/Organisation</a><br>
<br>
</div>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">Edward L. Platt<div><a href="http://elplatt.com" target="_blank">http://elplatt.com</a></div><div><a href="http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt" target="_blank">http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt</a></div><div><a href="http://i3detroit.com" target="_blank">http://i3detroit.com</a></div><div><a href="http://twitter.com/elplatt" target="_blank">@elplatt</a></div><div><br></div><div>This electronic mail message was sent from my desktop personal computer. Please forgive any long-winded, overly-prosaic ramblings.</div></div></div>
</div>