The Summit

ok ok....this has probably been driving the Clog up the wall, me not getting around to posting this.

Indeed, in advance of the Global Financial Summit, The Statesman arrived in Minneapolis MN for a CMC Summit on Friday, November 7.

A pitcher of (CMC) Summit Extra Pale Ale, was consumed.

Here's where we stand:

About a year ago, we made a consensus decision to not put the collective thumb-screws in, and get off the original "one CD a month" mission, in order to accomodate our various members' busy lives and collective desire for less stressful lives.

The result, as we all know, has been as successful as it would be if Mixdorf just poured an entire bag of dog food on the floor so Primus wouldn't need to be stressed out about a regular feeding schedule.

T-Clog & I, with very little debate or difficulty, arrived at a very possible working solution to keep this thing going so that a crucial aspect of this endeavor, critical to its survival, is addressed:

How can we make the prospect of commenting on a CD enjoyable and not a dreaded pain-in-the-ass?

Others can chime in, but the way I see it - this is the real boner of the whole thing. We all like to listen to the new CD. We may even enjoy the act of sitting at the computer to hammer out specific responses to specific songs. But - gosh - the act of setting aside an evening to do it! That's what makes weeks strech magically into months.

And so....in a near complete reversal from a position I've put forth in this venue not two years ago...here's the proposition:

1. CD Creator (the Creator-Kirk) sends out the CDs and posts initial comments.
2. Responses are simply done in the "comments" section of the initial post. Period.

There is no obligation to comment on every song, or even any need to wait, necessarily, for everyone to respond. The next Creator-Kirk in line simply waits for the discussion to trickle down a bit and - or - whenever he/she (but, in reality, only "he") feels it's time, then sends out the next volume.

What does everyone think? This is just the result of a Summit of a couple of us, I realize. T-Clog would have agreed to just about anything to kick-start the CD-sending once again. And, for me, creating the CDs has never been the issue. I have a potential backlog of seven or eight volumes I'm excited to send out. I may be only speaking for myself, insofar as it's always been the commenting that's bogged me down.

Thoughts?

Also - as a side note - if we do go forward under the ground rules laid out by this Summit, it might be only fair to invite Aaron back in. He was a good and valuable (and founding) member of the CMC; and his involvement actually ended over pretty much this very issue that's currently tearing us apart. His Project 365 was last updated on April 8, so it's tough knowing whether he'd be interested in committing to going forward, even under this New, much less demanding, World Order. But I think it would be good to let him know and open up the welcoming arms.