12th December 2008, 02:30 PM
David said:
again... the 'voting... is a required part of being a member) but useful point you make there
Who decided that though! Even though it may be a good idea in practice, what if you don't have access to internet for a month?
Representation is a real issue, and a real problem. I mean, as I pointed out earlier, the musings on this forum do not necessarily constitute a representative voice. Even though it is one of the few outlets for thoughts on archaeology. There are thousands of archaeologists who never look at BAJR, there are others that look at the jobs, that occasionally look at the fora, but don't post. Are they agreeing with all of this? How can we now? Are we all sitting in our bubble talking to each other. I mean look at the number of hits on threads, and then how many reply. Even on this topic which has been widely flagged up within previous threads. Representation and whether a group is representative is wider than just any BAJRfed, it is the same with BAW, and with the druids even!
I agree that getting people to participate is very important. Look at how many people actually joined the Diggers Forum, no wonder it is struggling to make headway, it hasn't been supported by the people it wants to support and represent within the IFA. Fine to put up ideas, which is what you are really doing, but surely it is to be decided by the potential membership, and there needs to be a wide enough discussion of any group before the real details can be written down.
Out of interest, how have you disseminated the fact that this discussion exists. I know individual members of IFA council have seen it on here, but did you put up a thread on Britarch to canvass views? Genuinely interested, not knocking it all, as you know, but to claim representative status for a group, the group needs to know you exist.
Maybe another thread is needed about representation in archaeology? Will have a proper think...
again... the 'voting... is a required part of being a member) but useful point you make there
Who decided that though! Even though it may be a good idea in practice, what if you don't have access to internet for a month?
Representation is a real issue, and a real problem. I mean, as I pointed out earlier, the musings on this forum do not necessarily constitute a representative voice. Even though it is one of the few outlets for thoughts on archaeology. There are thousands of archaeologists who never look at BAJR, there are others that look at the jobs, that occasionally look at the fora, but don't post. Are they agreeing with all of this? How can we now? Are we all sitting in our bubble talking to each other. I mean look at the number of hits on threads, and then how many reply. Even on this topic which has been widely flagged up within previous threads. Representation and whether a group is representative is wider than just any BAJRfed, it is the same with BAW, and with the druids even!
I agree that getting people to participate is very important. Look at how many people actually joined the Diggers Forum, no wonder it is struggling to make headway, it hasn't been supported by the people it wants to support and represent within the IFA. Fine to put up ideas, which is what you are really doing, but surely it is to be decided by the potential membership, and there needs to be a wide enough discussion of any group before the real details can be written down.
Out of interest, how have you disseminated the fact that this discussion exists. I know individual members of IFA council have seen it on here, but did you put up a thread on Britarch to canvass views? Genuinely interested, not knocking it all, as you know, but to claim representative status for a group, the group needs to know you exist.
Maybe another thread is needed about representation in archaeology? Will have a proper think...