LYNX-DEV HotWired questions - what makes it tick

[Al Gilman]

Rob:

Here is roughly the interview notes I submitted to the authors of
the soon-to-be-released book on Virtual Teams.  It bears on some
of the HotWired issues, naturally.

I think that you do want to convey to your HotWired contact that 
Lynx-dev is written up in that book.  Increases our likelihood that
HotWired will cover us.

This material is nothing like what wound up in the book text, so I
don't think that I am injuring the authors by releasing this material
[that is _mine_] now.  You may abridge and use any of it that isn't
corrected by a comments from the list.

Al Gilman

Forwarded message:
From: Al Gilman <asgilman>
Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 23:49:51 -0400 (EDT)

------------------------case 1: lynx-dev--------------------------------

So, here's the question: Are you or have you been a member of a virtual
team?  If so, may we interview you for the book?  Here are the basic
questions that we will cover:

CASE: Lynx-Dev mailing list

        What is the purpose of the team?  What is the concrete work
        that the team is responsible for?  Has being at a distance
        made your work easier or more difficult?

Both "the purpose of the team" and "concrete work the team is
responsible for" are misleadingly crisp notions.  The lynx-dev
mailing list is a process.  It accomplishes a variety of things
both concrete and intangible.  The nominal purpose of the mailing
list is to enable communication between people "developing" the
Lynx World-Wide Web browser.  In its present state, Lynx is
entirely dependent on volunteer effort.  The mailing list serves
to collect code patches and to return glory to those who contribute
them.  It also collects trouble reports, and carries discussions
among the participants that are generally related to Lynx.  The
"team" is not "responsible" in the sense that there is no contract
with a customer or delegator.  However, the list participants do
function as a self-managed team to repair and improve the Lynx
product.

One of the functions of the group is to [trans-] port the program
to different computer systems.  Being an email list is good for
that, because then people with lots of different computer systems
can be involved.  Email is the most egalitarian of Internet communication
modes, as far as operating system participation is concerned.  One
of the key facts of Lynx is that it runs on both the VMS operating
system from DEC and also on the Un*x operating system (various flavors).

        Who is involved in the team?  What leadership roles does the
        team require?  What have you had to do differently in order
        to perform effectively in a virtual team?  Have the hierarchy
        and bureaucracy in your organization been supportive of your
        team?

Users, system administrators, junior and senior programmers are involved.
There is one key leadership role, that of the director of integration.
Foteos Macrides of the Worcester Foundation for Biological Research
plays this role.  The title is my wording; Fote would insist that all
he has done is to be willing to share his code with people who wish to
take it.  But _de facto_ he is clearly the leader of the pack.

What facinates me is the process we have been going through over
several years now of gradually weaning the team from dependency on the
University of Kansas -- the organization that initially developed the
program.  I have been involved in this process, and we are gradually
growing a more "multiple leaders" pattern of how things happen.  I have
a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document that I maintain.  This spares
the senior people on the list the need to answer SameOld questions
from users continually.  Others are now pitching in to host the mailing
list processing, distribution of the software by an ftp server, and
a WebSite that maintains current Public Information.

        How is the team connected?  What technologies do you use?
        How often do you come together face-to-face?  What can you do
        online and what can you not do?

The team is now connected by a broadcast email distribution list and
a hypertext archive that collects the traffic on the mailing list.
The FAQ is a hand-written Web Page that points to items in the archive
for answers to oft-asked questions.  We have recently split off a
small side-net in another email list for those specifically working on
the infrastructure for the group.  We never come together face-to-face.
I am among the few who will occasionally pick up a telephone to talk
to others in pursuit of our goals.  Online we discuss policy and plans,
gripe about Netscape, collect code fragments and distribute code
collections.  And ask and answer questions about how the program runs
and how the process of constructing it works.

Some of my other teams have severe difficulty bringing decisions to
closure via an email process.  This group has a strong leader who
is a good listener and has a sense of decision rhythm, so we are able
to deal with decision making as well as information exchange.

      What are the biggest obstacles to working in a virtual team?
        What are the rewards of working in this way?

We have about 500 people on the team.  With this volume of distribution,
the server at Kansas sometimes gets more than a day behind.  On a lively
topic, this much delay in passing messages definitely takes a toll.
The rewards of working this way are that widely distributed people who
share a common interest can have comradeship and produce something of
value.  [I am probably quoting Sproull and Kiesler...] One advantage
is that nobody can hog the mike.  If you want to write your email,
you can; whether someone else is also broadcasting or not.  Another
advantage is that there is a good feeling generated by the fact that
our product is important in "underprivileged" places.  There are active
participants in Russia, Slovakia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
The list goes 'round the clock, not 8 hours a day.

        Do you feel happy, lonely, challenged and/or all of these
        working in a virtual team?

All of these.  But I actually do that in face-to-face situations, too.

        Have you developed special compensation packages for virtual
        team members?

The only compensation that we have to offer is the respect of others
on the list and influence in decision-making.  I believe that I have
helped my position as regards influence by not just offering my
opinion but also doing some concrete work.  I am the least of the
workers because I cannot write C or comprehend Unix internals.  But my
work toward user education is recognized as of value to the group.

        Can you refer us to others to interview?

Yes, but I am not going to write them out.

NOTE: I would want to talk to you about the transitions that the group
has navigated.  <see other email>

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