Post by Marti-Pair Furxheir S.H. on Aug 16, 2014 3:16:01 GMT -6
When I was in the Kingdom in 2001-2004, there was a huge void in the infrastructure of the Kingdom.
Every time there was a new SoS, the system had to be rebuilt from scratch and laws were possibly lost.
A few of the SoS kept their old Clarks on their personal domains, but in some cases, it was on free host providers which are now long gone.
And so, I built the Database System (then at talossa.net and now at talossa.ca) which is a huge endeavor and most countries do not every have such an elaborate system and rare were those who did back in 2003-2004.
I never asked for much. I always treated it impartially, neutrally and pretty said that what I mainly wanted was to be able to work on it.
Quickly, I became swallowed by the project. I worked over 2000 hours on the database system in 2001-2004 and it really helped me learn how to manage big projects and how to program for the web in PHP (rather than in Perl which I was then using for my clients).
Learning PHP helped me focus on PHP development and back in 2002-2003, when I was dealing with doing advanced stuff for a client, I would often also deploy it on Talossa.net.
So it's not like it was just a one sided thing, I got a lot from the Database and honestly, had the Mad King not turned on me in 2004, I would have probably continued until my PTSD crisis in the fall of 2005 (which is what led me to leave the Republic).
But in my recovery, which made me partly stronger (and partly weaker, but not just in a bad sense, I am more sensitive? Sensible? darn, closer to my emotions), things would have been VERY different.
The Republic was fast moving in structure, but small, more importantly my database was almost impossible to adapt to the new structure and I found myself a stranget to the structure. Not that I am complaining, the Republic wasn't MEANT to fit my structure.
But had I stated in the Kingdom, my replacement would have been able to do 80% of the SoS tasks (now it's more like 98% since I focused since return on making the system easier to use, as my Deputy Txec can attest), and even in the deepest of my PTSD (like my missing month, from May 23rd, the day my life tipped to June 24th, the day I got back, I would have still been able to do the basic tasks of the Database.
More importantly, it would have meant me, not having to hide under rock while I was trying to get my life under control from PTSD and an asshole was calling my clients calling me a domain hijacking and a hacker. Instead, I could have focused on the database to do something during that month or soon after, as something familiar is often useful for recovery.
In my case instead, it was a musician, Rudy Caya, who wrote a song about the suicide of his best friend (which is what triggered my own PTSD), and on June 24th, after his show, I went to talk to him and we had a nice 10 minutes talk in which he helped me get thru it.
That next summer, I got my life back under control, bit by bit. I bought a new suit to meet clients to fit with my loss of weight, I redid my websites, I met clients, and got a few contracts.
The database in the Kingdom could have filled that role in my recovery. Ok, getting clients was better for my wallet... but it was also so much harder in my emotional state.
I usually sign on average perhaps 95% of the contracts I am approached for, but I got told so many time "no thanks" that it almost brought me back into my shell. But I was told Yes a few times, and was soon back on my feet.
So in short, I love working on the database. I don't have as much time now as then, buthow come people always ask" What if MPF leave" and now "What if MPF leaves again".
And no one ever asks : "What could we do to make sure that 1) MPF doesn't leave, 2) MPF keeps the Database for the benefit of the Kingdom and not as a tool for power, 3) keeps working for making it independant from him."
This is what ALWAYS baffled me!
Afterall, Hoolligan (which I am in NO way discrediting) got made into a Baron for quickly making a website to replace mine, which is indeed commendable, but the guy who built the original received no official commendation.
I am not saying I want to be made into a Baron, but it really makes me wonder some days, especially while I am fighting because my daugther (who finished 1st in her class for the 3rd year in a row) got pushed aside for the award in favor of the girl in 2nd place because unlike my daugther, she didn't win the previous 2 years.
I even proposed a few months ago to nationalize the database and was pretty much told it wouldn't happen under my terms, but I never got a counter offer either.
So, I am perplexed about this.
And again, I am NOT saying I am doing the Database to be a Baron or to get awards, that's not what I am saying AT ALL.
But if you are afraid a key employee will leave your company, you have 3 choices:
1 ) Force him to sign a contract so he won't leave (the litigation way), a guaranteed method for him to hate you
2 ) Get rid of him proactively and that way, you don't depend on his work (but might depend on the next guy anyway)
3 ) Find a way to make him love his job more. Maybe a raise, or more vacation time, or the right to avoid some useless status meetings to focus on his work, or maybe Casual Friday AND Monday.
Talossa is still unsure which option it wants to use and is only at the "What if MPF leaves".
And that's fine for now.
But one day or another, we'll need to really address this, because while some people just worry, others sometimes give paranoid rants.
Every time there was a new SoS, the system had to be rebuilt from scratch and laws were possibly lost.
A few of the SoS kept their old Clarks on their personal domains, but in some cases, it was on free host providers which are now long gone.
And so, I built the Database System (then at talossa.net and now at talossa.ca) which is a huge endeavor and most countries do not every have such an elaborate system and rare were those who did back in 2003-2004.
I never asked for much. I always treated it impartially, neutrally and pretty said that what I mainly wanted was to be able to work on it.
Quickly, I became swallowed by the project. I worked over 2000 hours on the database system in 2001-2004 and it really helped me learn how to manage big projects and how to program for the web in PHP (rather than in Perl which I was then using for my clients).
Learning PHP helped me focus on PHP development and back in 2002-2003, when I was dealing with doing advanced stuff for a client, I would often also deploy it on Talossa.net.
So it's not like it was just a one sided thing, I got a lot from the Database and honestly, had the Mad King not turned on me in 2004, I would have probably continued until my PTSD crisis in the fall of 2005 (which is what led me to leave the Republic).
But in my recovery, which made me partly stronger (and partly weaker, but not just in a bad sense, I am more sensitive? Sensible? darn, closer to my emotions), things would have been VERY different.
The Republic was fast moving in structure, but small, more importantly my database was almost impossible to adapt to the new structure and I found myself a stranget to the structure. Not that I am complaining, the Republic wasn't MEANT to fit my structure.
But had I stated in the Kingdom, my replacement would have been able to do 80% of the SoS tasks (now it's more like 98% since I focused since return on making the system easier to use, as my Deputy Txec can attest), and even in the deepest of my PTSD (like my missing month, from May 23rd, the day my life tipped to June 24th, the day I got back, I would have still been able to do the basic tasks of the Database.
More importantly, it would have meant me, not having to hide under rock while I was trying to get my life under control from PTSD and an asshole was calling my clients calling me a domain hijacking and a hacker. Instead, I could have focused on the database to do something during that month or soon after, as something familiar is often useful for recovery.
In my case instead, it was a musician, Rudy Caya, who wrote a song about the suicide of his best friend (which is what triggered my own PTSD), and on June 24th, after his show, I went to talk to him and we had a nice 10 minutes talk in which he helped me get thru it.
That next summer, I got my life back under control, bit by bit. I bought a new suit to meet clients to fit with my loss of weight, I redid my websites, I met clients, and got a few contracts.
The database in the Kingdom could have filled that role in my recovery. Ok, getting clients was better for my wallet... but it was also so much harder in my emotional state.
I usually sign on average perhaps 95% of the contracts I am approached for, but I got told so many time "no thanks" that it almost brought me back into my shell. But I was told Yes a few times, and was soon back on my feet.
So in short, I love working on the database. I don't have as much time now as then, buthow come people always ask" What if MPF leave" and now "What if MPF leaves again".
And no one ever asks : "What could we do to make sure that 1) MPF doesn't leave, 2) MPF keeps the Database for the benefit of the Kingdom and not as a tool for power, 3) keeps working for making it independant from him."
This is what ALWAYS baffled me!
Afterall, Hoolligan (which I am in NO way discrediting) got made into a Baron for quickly making a website to replace mine, which is indeed commendable, but the guy who built the original received no official commendation.
I am not saying I want to be made into a Baron, but it really makes me wonder some days, especially while I am fighting because my daugther (who finished 1st in her class for the 3rd year in a row) got pushed aside for the award in favor of the girl in 2nd place because unlike my daugther, she didn't win the previous 2 years.
I even proposed a few months ago to nationalize the database and was pretty much told it wouldn't happen under my terms, but I never got a counter offer either.
So, I am perplexed about this.
And again, I am NOT saying I am doing the Database to be a Baron or to get awards, that's not what I am saying AT ALL.
But if you are afraid a key employee will leave your company, you have 3 choices:
1 ) Force him to sign a contract so he won't leave (the litigation way), a guaranteed method for him to hate you
2 ) Get rid of him proactively and that way, you don't depend on his work (but might depend on the next guy anyway)
3 ) Find a way to make him love his job more. Maybe a raise, or more vacation time, or the right to avoid some useless status meetings to focus on his work, or maybe Casual Friday AND Monday.
Talossa is still unsure which option it wants to use and is only at the "What if MPF leaves".
And that's fine for now.
But one day or another, we'll need to really address this, because while some people just worry, others sometimes give paranoid rants.