Re: [unrev-II] Is "bootstrapping" part of the problem?

From: Jack Park (jackpark@verticalnet.com)
Date: Tue Jan 02 2001 - 08:23:52 PST

  • Next message: John J. Deneen: "Re: [unrev-II] Is "bootstrapping" part of the problem?"

    From: Henry van Eyken <vaneyken@sympatico.ca>
    > On threadmaster.
    >
    > The thread, I feared - well, still do - may collapse under its own weight.
    That
    > would be a pity. Some contributors appear to feel the same and have made
    some
    > effort at condensing some of the ideas presented. And thgis led me to the
    notion
    > of persons interested in "taking charge" of a particular thread or related
    > threads to function as a threadmaster. The threadmaster would organize,
    strip,
    > encourage, seek solutions to conundrums, seek external sources o
    expertise,
    > edit, etc. and eventually contribute a story to the Bootstrap site. That
    story
    > would be consensual in the sense that authors in the thread are not
    slighted,
    > that they agree to how they have been represented, etc. One might say that
    the
    > threadmaster, in the words of a famous contributor to this forum, turns
    > information into knowledge or, phrasing it along not too dissimilar a
    line,
    > makes information into a story for a better sticking to people's mental
    ribs.
    >
    > Threadmasters would function one thread at a time and after completing a
    thread
    > (perhaps serve to bring out a modified version once in awhile) take a
    deserved
    > rest to later get fired up again and put his/her experience to bear on
    another
    > thread.
    >
    > Isn't this the sort of thing that may make good discussion forums better,
    more
    > widely useful discussion forums?
    >
    > Henry

    For me, if for no-one else here, perhaps the most illuminating suggestion on
    this list has been Eric Armstrong's notion that IBIS can/should manage
    threads. I once poked out the idea that a Beadmaster was needed (Herman
    Hesse: _The Glass Bead Game_). I have recently suggested that what is also
    needed is a kind of central repository of words and their meanings (an
    ontology) such that all threads can remain 'on the same page', or, at least,
    drift from the page with complete visibility of the drift and its
    intentions. Threadmasters, it seems to me, is an idea that wants to find a
    common ground in all these suggestions.

    In another illuminating post here, Garold Johnson points out, very clearly,
    IMHO, some problems associated with a priori structure in a discussion
    space, and suggests continual refactoring as a means of at least controlling
    such issues.

    Get this: nbci.com is announcing (at least on TV) that they have something
    called QuikClick or words to that effect. The idea is this: click on any
    word and you get a popup with links to more information on that particular
    word (or phrase, whatever you have highlited).

    It seems to me that we are beginning to see evidence of a larger interest in
    an underlying ontology (even if it's not called that), thread management,
    and tools that implement such things.

    I am responding to this by working 'bottom up' in a long list of holliday
    email. It is conceivable that others have already responded to this thread.
    This morning promises to be an interesting one!

    Happy new year to all.
    Jack

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