Sorry for the delay in responding to the many posts in the course of the day. We Admins frequently sacrifice personal time and priorities to help the Group but we may not be available to respond on a 24x7 basis. Today, for example was my wife’s birthday and we were caught up in many social events. I mentioned this early today morning to colleagues in a quick message. I therefore didn’t see Honoria’s or Mandira’s personal messages of the morning, as also a personal message which read, “Your silence speaks for itself” till sometime ago, and that too after a nice dinner! And no, we won’t go into the details of the menu. We have had more than enough of that, haven’t we? Since the Group’s inception, we Admins have tried to speak in one voice. “All for One. One for All” kind of thing, and it’s worked well for us. We also have a practice whereby no one discloses who admits whom; who rejects whom and come to think of it, who blocks whom. If each decision to admit, reject , remove or block a person was to be debated in the Admin as also in the general forum, I am afraid we would have very little time for Plum. As Honoria has pointed out we do the Admin work as a voluntary service out of a genuine love for the works of Wodehouse. Some of us have been doing it for many years and seen with pride this Group grow from small beginnings to our current member base of over 7500 people. This makes it possibly the largest social network of Plum Fans of its type in the world, and it is almost literally growing by the minute. We are spread across different continents and across multiple time zones and hence collective decisions cannot be made in a jiffy. Consequently, there is a great deal of trust in each other. If one of us rejects an applicant, (and we do reject a large number each year) we do not usually explain all the details why to each other. Likewise, once broad parameters of conduct are set, if any of us blocks or unblocks someone, we stand shoulder to shoulder and support that decision. I am glad that Honoria promptly took steps to unblock some members. Like members, Admins too spend time here for recreation and to relax. I don’t believe any of us see our roles as being to harass members and make them uncomfortable. I grant that at times like football referees, cricket umpires and judges, we too could have made mistakes. But I don’t think anyone can question our motives or integrity. We don’t do things out of spite, even if some members feel (fresh no doubt with memories of the World Cup) that we could do with a kick you know where. In all the years that I have been here, this is the first time that issues could seem to have taken a somewhat Section of Members vs The Admin kind of turn. The good news is that this Group and its Admins have weathered many a storm. I don’t think we have been impolite or intemperate in any language used. If we have inadvertently, we are sorry. Points made by me in posts pinned to get maximum attention are not made in an individual capacity but reflect the thoughts of the Admins and hopefully the majority of the group. Therefore those who had the grace to apologize recently didn’t apologize to me. In a sense, they apologized to the entire Group of their own volition. The beauty of this Group is that there are no written rules. We have grown with a high level of mutual understanding. For some who have complaints against the Admins, I would like to think there are some too who are appreciative of all that we have done over the years in the larger interests of the Group, and will continue to do so.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 18:49:09 +0000
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