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What's going on in the LEA Committee?


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There seems to be some irregularity or perhaps even fraud in the way the LEA Committee is working. And having in mind that the LEA Committee was established to help create a center of arts activity in Second Life, I do find it quite disturbing.
 
According to the LEA Bylaws there must be at least 7 members in the LEA Committee:
 
"4.1.1 There will be a maximum of eleven (11) and a minimum of seven (7) Committee Members once the number goes below seven (7) elections will take place."
 
However, for more than a year by now there has been less than the required 7 members in the LEA Committee. In spite of that the LEA Committee keep making decisions that effects the art scene and the art community in Second Life. And no election to fulfill the LEA Bylaws has taken place.
 
How is that possible?
 
And there is also a problem with the membership of the LEA Committee.
 
According to the LEA Bylaws the term for a Committee member is 2 years. And a Committe member may serve up to 2 terms:
 
"5.1.5 Term for Committee Members shall be 2 years (commencing with the ratification of these bylaws).
5.1.6 Committee Members may serve up to 2 terms."
 
However, 3 members of the LEA Committee have exceeded that condition. One Committee member has had a seat for 7 continuously years by now and two other Committee members are doing their 5th continuous year so far. And no election to replace them has taken place.
 
How is that possible?
 
I am looking forward to some satisfactory response to my questions.
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3 minutes ago, AnyaJurelle said:

Probably a silly question, but have you thought of asking the members directly first, instead of publicly?

I have asked in the LEA Facebook group - and got banned.
And I have asked the LEA Committe via their website and got ignored.
That's why I bring it up here now.
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34 minutes ago, AnyaJurelle said:

I'm sorry I don't know what advice to offer, but I'm pretty sure someone like C...., Alwin Alcott .... will have some thoughts.

 

i heared about the LEA before, but never digged deeper in this subject, might be because i'm not into the SL arts a lot.

But what i read in the OP needs some more explanation by the commitee i think, if they break their own rules is a bit weird... unless there's a giant lack of volunteers in that function of course... but still... thats easy explained if a question arises.

Seeing they get 20 sims for their work for free, makes them a quite big player in the SL arts culture .

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Is there an inworld group for the members of it? Is the LEA thing something that people can be members of? If so, ask the questions there so that the members know that there's something iffy going on.

The LEA is something that I'd never heard of before but I looked it up and LL provides 20 free sims for it, so what happens does matter. As a total outsider, it sounds as though a few people have basically hijacked it, and treat as their own. I emphasise that it sounds like that. I've no idea.

Also, since LL provide the sims for it, if you get no answers from them, ask LL. They may be interested to know that it's been hijacked, if that's what it is.

It sounds like Robert Mugabi in Zimbabwe. He lost the last presidential election but wouldn't stand down, so he remained the President. Now they're making him stand down. You definitely need to mobilise the army to deal with this LEA problem ;)

Edited by Phil Deakins
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1 hour ago, Phil Deakins said:

Is there an inworld group for the members of it? Is the LEA thing something that people can be members of? If so, ask the questions there so that the members know that there's something iffy going on.

The LEA is something that I'd never heard of before but I looked it up and LL provides 20 free sims for it, so what happens does matter. As a total outsider, it sounds as though a few people have basically hijacked it, and treat as their own. I emphasise that it sounds like that. I've no idea.

Also, since LL provide the sims for it, if you get no answers from them, ask LL. They may be interested to know that it's been hijacked, if that's what it is.

It sounds like Robert Mugabi in Zimbabwe. He lost the last presidential election but wouldn't stand down, so he remained the President. Now they're making him stand down. You definitely need to mobilise the army to deal with this LEA problem ;)

Oh, LEA has an inworld group and I have asked questions there too, and no replies. And I have posted questions to LEA using their website contact form - no answer. But I did get banned from their Facebook group for asking so I know they have read it :-D
 
I even brought Linden Lab to the attention of what's going on in LEA on Twitter. They didn't bother reply.
 
And you are absolutely right. It do look like the LEA Committee has been hijacked by people who are following an alternative agenda. And that it sad. Because once LEA actually did do a lot of work for promoting upcoming Second Life artists. Now it more looks like the LEA Committee hands over land to private friends and already established artists.
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Then, if LL won't do anything, and the system has been hijacked, I know of nothing that you can do. After all, if LL is happy enough to donate 20 sims to a few people people for their own use, as long as it's art, they can do that. I doubt that LL set the rules for it, so it probably isn't a concern to them that they aren't being adhered to. If LL looks at it at all, they may be pleased that the sims are being used to promote art.

It's probably a case of all good intentions when the rules were written, but then a few people got on the committee who liked being in charge, and, since they didn't think that anyone could a better job, and since nobody told them to step down, they just stayed there - being as how the feelings of good intentions had long since dissippated.

Edited by Phil Deakins
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10 minutes ago, Phil Deakins said:

Then, if LL won't do anything, and the system has been hijacked, I know of nothing that you can do.

Well, I brought the matter into public hoping that would make some noise - and with a little luck result in changes so art and not nepotism is what LEA deals with.

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I do not like how the word "fraud" is used in this thread, I can agree that the rules shall be followed, but if there come a situation where it start to get hard to follow the rules like when it is a lack of interest or when it work better by bending the rules, then you need to ask if it may not be the rules that should be changed and there shall always be a point in the "rules" that say how the rules (for a committee) shall be changed and how to do it.

But I have a question too; it look like LEA have worked well for several years even they have ignored some rules and there have been a huge variation of artists (and what I know) with very few that have complained about the system, why are you doing this; have you been rejected as an artist, do you want to be a part of the committee or are you just concerned that the Art in Second Life can have a negative effect of this?

P.S My question is out of curiosity and not to put any blame on the author or any in the LEA committee, it is an interesting point and I think it is good that questions and critique about public art and culture is made public.

Edited by Kennylex Luckless
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It's a good question. I'm also curious to know if the OP is wanting to be on the committee, or if he is objecting to the rules being blatantly broken.

For some reason, it reminded me of something that happened years ago with an LL concierge group. The group used to get spammed with ads and such, so 2 or 3 members asked LL to make them moderators so that they could deal with the spam and spammers. LL did it, and immediately at least two of them decided that they were in charge, to the point of one of them trying to dictate what could and could not be discussed, and the other asking me, "Do you think we should let people chat about what they want to chat about?". A concierge-relevant topic had been discussed in the morning and came up again later in the day when others had woken up. The guy instructed the group not to talk about it any more because of the morning's discussion. LL made them mods to deal with spam, but instantly they were self-promoted to being in charge.

It's a trait of many people to want to be in charge, and it wouldn't surprise me if that's the reason why the LEA rules are being broken.

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5 hours ago, AnyaJurelle said:

I'm sorry I don't know what advice to offer, but I'm pretty sure someone like Chic Aeon, Chin Ray, Alwin Alcott and others will have some thoughts.

I don't really have much of an opinion about LEA at all. I've dropped in there every now and then to help some builder who got stuck, I really loved Inara's Fallingwater installation and I'm thankful they gave the Photohunt a new home (although it's been a while since I had time to participate myself).

But generally, my impression is that LEA is a small clique of old-timers who once managed to persuade Linden Lab to give them some sims for free. As long as they don't abuse that privilege commercially, they are too small and too obscure to have any significance to Second Life as a whole or even to the SL art scene. Let them have their fun, they're harmless.

Edited by ChinRey
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1 hour ago, Phil Deakins said:

Then, if LL won't do anything, and the system has been hijacked, I know of nothing that you can do. After all, if LL is happy enough to donate 20 sims to a few people people for their own use, as long as it's art, they can do that. I doubt that LL set the rules for it, so it probably isn't a concern to them that they aren't being adhered to. If LL looks at it at all, they may be pleased that the sims are being used to promote art.

It's probably a case of all good intentions when the rules were written, but then a few people got on the committee who liked being in charge, and, since they didn't think that anyone could a better job, and since nobody told them to step down, they just stayed there - being as how the feelings of good intentions had long since dissippated.

 

1 hour ago, apw9900 said:

Well, I brought the matter into public hoping that would make some noise - and with a little luck result in changes so art and not nepotism is what LEA deals with.

I would contact Linden Research at their corporate address besides submitting a ticket on the matter. This is a sponspored program through Linden Research and clearly there is some financial incentive involved as well. This is and has always been the big mistake with LL when they break the own ToI, they mean well by doing this but really should have had more oversight in this matter on a regular basis (and it sounds like they have been pretty much absent in this part of the project. If they can afford to offer up free sims or at a low cost, to artists for the return of said artist getting a good amount of visibility and advertising in the process then they have to be following this.

Edited by Hunter Stern
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8 minutes ago, Phil Deakins said:

It's a trait of many people to want to be in charge, and it wouldn't surprise me if that's the reason why the LEA rules are being broken.

Yes. But it may simply be that they can't find people who are interested enough to serve as committee members. The reason the OP was banned from the Facebook group may be that they are unwilling to admit to themselves how insignificant they are. ;)

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39 minutes ago, Kennylex Luckless said:

I do not like how the word "fraud" is used in this thread, I can agree that the rules shall be followed, but if there come a situation where it start to get hard to follow the rules like when it is a lack of interest or when it work better by bending the rules, then you need to ask if it may not be the rules that should be changed and there shall always be a point in the "rules" that say how the rules (for a committee) shall be changed and how to do it.

But I have a question too; it look like LEA have worked well for several years even they have ignored some rules and there have been a huge variation of artists (and what I know) with very few that have complained about the system, why are you doing this; have you been rejected as an artist, do you want to be a part of the committee or are you just concerned that the Art in Second Life can have a negative effect of this?

P.S My question is out of curiosity and not to put any blame on the author or any in the LEA committee, it is an interesting point and I think it is good that questions and critique about public art and culture is made public.

When the LEA Committee is trusted with land to use for promoting art and artists and the members of that committee are playing by their own agenda and not by the official bylaws, then we have a problem - a huge problem.
 
Bending the rules is not a solution. Bending rules is a danger signal.
 
And it's not the rules that are problem. They are actually pretty fine making sure there is, or rather should be, a periodical exchange of members, so LEA always will be a dynamic committee and not a static.
 
The problem is the current LEA Committee members. Some of them seems to have a feeling they own the committee keeping new and fresh ideas and concepts out only to persuit their own wishes. And they are doing that by favoring certain artists that keeps getting land over and over again while many artists never get access to land.
 
Not much room for upcoming artists or alternative art forms.
 
And to answer your question ...
I am not an artists, hence I have never been rejected. And I have no intention of being a part of the LEA Committee. But I am deeply concerned about the way LEA is working. And I am concerned about the lack of transparency. Everything in the LEA Committe happens behind closed doors.
 
Why the secrecy?
 
LEA needs to be run by the artists and not by people who doesn't care about anything but themselves.
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10 minutes ago, ChinRey said:

Yes. But it may simply be that they can't find people who are interested enough to serve as committee members. The reason the OP was banned from the Facebook group may be that they are unwilling to admit to themselves how insignificant they are. ;)

But it's still Linden Research's responsibility to a degree under their original agreement and if the group is defunct or in disarray, it should be dissolved or replaced with a functioning body and system that supports the original endeavors. Otherwise, what's to stop just anyone, including myself, from making special deals with Linden Lab and then letting it run amok. This is also why Linden Lab deals with residents (customers) with kid gloves generally.

 

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It always amuses me when people start raising questions abut committees like this... It confirms my basic assumption that 90% of "educated people" are in fact utterly clueless as to how life works.

All these kinds of committees are basically made up of the same people, the kind that self promotes their self inflated view that they DESERVE to be in charge.

The easiest way to clearly show whats happening here is to deswcribe the founding my my areas local residents association.

1. Some local residents got home made leaflets through the door announcing a public meeting at the church hall

2. About 20 odd people were available on the badly chosen time and day and willing to attend

3. When the 20 residents arrivd they found THREE self important middle class street dictator types on the platform

4. Asshat #1, as acting chair person pro tem called the meeting to order, and called for nominations for 'president of the association/chairperson, Asshat #2 nominated Asshat #1, Asshat #3 seconded the motion, none of the 20 'voters' knew each other, there were no seconded nominations from the floor, since there was only one official candidate, Asshat #1 won by default, no votes were cast.

5. Asshat #1 nominates Asshat #2 for Treasure, Asshat #3 seconds, no vote, Asshat #1 nominates Asshat #3 for Secretary, Asshat #2 seconds, no vote.

6. The THREE Official Committee Asshats, *cough* "democratically elected" *cough*, then procede with the agenda for business, that had been agreed and prepared by them before the meeting, 

7. 10 years later, Asshats #1, #2, and #3 are STILL the committee, and theres been no serious challenge to their "Authority".

That's how these things work, it's why no sane or rational person should ever have ANYTHING to do with these "Officially Official Self Appointed Committees of Officially Official Self Important People for the Officially Official Regulation Of Whats Officially Official".

1 hour ago, apw9900 said:

Some of them seems to have a feeling they own the committee keeping new and fresh ideas and concepts out only to persuit their own wishes

Not some, ALL, that's the WHOLE point of the typical committee member volunteering for the typical committee...

1 hour ago, apw9900 said:

needs to be run by the artists and not by people who doesn't care about anything but themselves

Good luck with that, how do you think the Committee Asshats GET in power in the first place... none of the people involved in [activity being regulated] are interested in spending all their free time in committees *yawn* leave that boring Society President/Chairperson, Society Treasurer, and Society Secretary stuff to those [non activity] people who LIKE that stuff...

Hey! Where did my rights as a Society Member go? What happened to our Dumbocracy!

 

Edited by Klytyna
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22 minutes ago, Klytyna said:

All these kinds of committees are basically made up of the same people, the kind that self promotes their self inflated view that they DESERVE to be in charge.

Not all of them. Be careful with sweeping statements like that! But yes, it's quite common. ;)

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29 minutes ago, apw9900 said:
Bending the rules is not a solution. Bending rules is a danger signal.

I do not agree here and think that changing rules may be a good thing, at least if the rules do not work as intended or there is diferent ways to do something that folk see as better or more functional, statistical rules can also be dangerous.

 

Quote

LEA needs to be run by the artists and not by people who doesn't care about anything but themselves.

The problem I have now is that you say "Why the secrecy" but you do not link to any source (for the rules) so I can check the source, nor do you explain how you came to the conclusion that the committee "doesn't care about anything but themselves" when you say "I am not an artists" and "I have no intention of being a part of the LEA Committee"?

I also want to say that "artists" in no way are automatically better than normal people, and to compare "artists" with "people who doesn't care about anything but themselves" make it sound a bit like you have something against someone (or all) in the LEA comtee and without explaining that for us, I am not an artists but I have been visiting LAE and think I seen a good mix (of art) and I have the feeling that they (the committee) have done much for me, so in that frame are we of different opinion.

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33 minutes ago, Kennylex Luckless said:

I do not agree here and think that changing rules may be a good thing, at least if the rules do not work as intended or there is diferent ways to do something that folk see as better or more functional, statistical rules can also be dangerous.

The problem I have now is that you say "Why the secrecy" but you do not link to any source (for the rules) so I can check the source, nor do you explain how you came to the conclusion that the committee "doesn't care about anything but themselves" when you say "I am not an artists" and "I have no intention of being a part of the LEA Committee"?

I also want to say that "artists" in no way are automatically better than normal people, and to compare "artists" with "people who doesn't care about anything but themselves" make it sound a bit like you have something against someone (or all) in the LEA comtee and without explaining that for us, I am not an artists but I have been visiting LAE and think I seen a good mix (of art) and I have the feeling that they (the committee) have done much for me, so in that frame are we of different opinion.

Funny you should ask about a link to the LEA Bylaws :-)
 
Because the LEA Committee removed the Bylaws from their website when I started asking questions about the LEA Committee with references to the Bylaws. But fortunately the internet never forgets and by using the Internet Archive Wayback Machine it's still possible to access them:
 
 
And regarding my statement that the Committee members only cares about themselves ....
 
It's not possible to apply for a seat in the Committee. And there is no public election for the Committee. The only way you can get a seat in the Committee is by being "assigned to the LEA committee by Linden Labs or unanimously voted in by the existing Committee Members" (4.1 in the LEA Bylaws).
 
Hence, unless the Linden Labs picks you for the job the only way to get a seat is by rubbing shoulders with already existing members hoping that will get you in. Not a very democratic process. More like a nepotistic process.
 
I would suggest that every 2 years there were held an open election where candidates could run for a seat in the Committee. That way a candidate would be elected based on his or hers vision for the next two years instead being chosen based on friendship and relation with existing committee members.
 
And committee meetings shouldn't be a secret. Summaries of all meetings should be public (unless of course there is a reason for keeping them secret in case of protecting 'personal information' and so on).
 
That way each Committee member would be held responsible for his/her action at the next election. Do a good job and you can get your second term. ***** it up and you're out.
 
Or in other words: more transparency in the way LEA is run.
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3 hours ago, Kennylex Luckless said:

I do not like how the word "fraud" is used in this thread, I can agree that the rules shall be followed, but if there come a situation where it start to get hard to follow the rules like when it is a lack of interest or when it work better by bending the rules, then you need to ask if it may not be the rules that should be changed and there shall always be a point in the "rules" that say how the rules (for a committee) shall be changed and how to do it.

But I have a question too; it look like LEA have worked well for several years even they have ignored some rules and there have been a huge variation of artists (and what I know) with very few that have complained about the system, why are you doing this; have you been rejected as an artist, do you want to be a part of the committee or are you just concerned that the Art in Second Life can have a negative effect of this?

P.S My question is out of curiosity and not to put any blame on the author or any in the LEA committee, it is an interesting point and I think it is good that questions and critique about public art and culture is made public.

 

I was a member of the LEA Committee (an adviser) for three years. I am going to let you guys fight it out but I do want to clarify a few things. 

 

@Hunter Stern who said
" I would contact Linden Research at their corporate address besides submitting a ticket on the matter. This is a sponspored program through Linden Research and clearly there is some financial incentive involved as well."

There are absolutely NO financial incentives involved in being on the committee or board. There is plenty of work and meetings. And people on the board are NOT eligible for grants or use of the LEA sims. 

 

@janetosilio who said

"Also, they aren’t really doing that great of a job promoting the LEA. The last thing I remember hearing about them was something like some sims were closing. 

I didn’t even know it was still a thing."

 

Always be wary of things you "remember hearing" about.

Many thousands of residents have visited this last round of installations.  Many of the installations are listed in the Destination Guide.

The next round of Artist in Residents grants are open for applications this month. 

http://lea-sl.org/form/lea-air-land-grant-application-round-fourteen

Applications for core sims are always open in an ongoing process.
 

There was a recent Designing Worlds show on some of the LEA artists this round. Some artists (as always) are FIRST TIME GRANTEES.

To my knowledge no sims are closing.  

*********************************************

 

And so far a reporting to Linden Lab, members of Linden Lab (during my time on the committee) were  welcome to attend any LEA committee meetings. I doubt that has changed. 

 

It is NOT a fun job. There is a LOT work involved.   THERE IS NO MONETARY GAIN for the committee members. 

 

 

 

 

 

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