Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Use of email

[Kay Argyle (argyle]

> One of the things I think is scary but important is the element of
> illumination of issues. Email makes it easy to expose the hidden
> grumblings and bring them up for community work. Not every
> community wants to do this and you would be wise to talk about
> if and how you want to air things.  > Rob Sandelin

Revelation!  I've been troubled in our community meetings by what I'm
increasingly seeing as an evasion of thorny issues (it masquerades as other
things).  It's coming from some of the same people who shut down the
discussions on our community email list several years ago.

They claimed it was because face-to-face discussions were so obviously
superior -- more warm, more polite, more direct, more inclusive, more ...
something (they never convinced me -- I've ended angry or in tears (there's
not always a difference) and feeling like nobody is listening more often in
meeting discussions than in email).  One thing for sure, meeting discussions
are more controllable -- I'd never made the connection that (in our
community at least) those most opposed to email for anything except
announcements & ride requests are the ones who like to control things.

Kay Argyle
Wasatch Commons
Salt Lake City
argyle [at] mines.utah.edu

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