On Dec 7, 2012, at 3:25 PM, Dan Chudnov <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Over the years several regional code4lib groups formed and some wanted to have their own lists.  When such suggestions have been made on this list, those suggestions have often been resisted, because of the success we had originally collapsing (combining?) people who wanted to talk about code and libraries into one big list.  Maybe some resistance to seeing a code4lib4women activity broken out is similar to that.  I feel that resistance; maybe I'm not the only one…
> 
> I'm all for people creating new social structures to move themselves forward doing it however they see fit.  The internet is a big place, and there's room for more.  In this case, though, I hope it will be an "and" operation, not an exclusive "or".  I would be happy to hear that a new group formed and that it's going well.  I would be disappointed if people in that group ended up moving away from this one big group.  It happens, and I'd get over it, sure, but it'd still be disappointing.  We gain something by gathering together like we have here.  It's not exclusive, nor should it be.  But code4lib has added so much to me and my work that I know how much I stand to lose if we do not also keep working to stick together, however difficult that can be sometimes.


Dan said it much better than I ever could, and I agree with him. I don't really think there is a need for an additional "social structures", but no one is stopping anybody else from creating one. I really like the idea of "and" not "or". Personally, I believe we need fewer lists, not more. 

--
Eric Lease Morgan
University of Notre Dame