Q: Hey Rich. Thanks for accepting the invitation to share with us some of your thoughts about Open-site. How did you find about it in the first place?

A: Actually I was chatting on ODP IRC for about the 4th or 5th time when trystan took me to private chat and offered me this alternative. I was using jpilot.

Q: I'm surprised at how much and how fast you can find the energy to do all those things. What's your secret?

A: My secret is that I'm a disabled person, with lots of time on my hands and I pace myself during the day to do about an hour of editing for 4 to 5 shots at it per day.

Q: Why did you choose to dedicate your time to Open-site? I'm sure that there are other "offers" out there, yet still you dedicate your time to bring closer to reality this project's ideals...

A: Well it's like this As i have said before I love to write and ODP was not giving me much opportunity to write too much Also I was an English major in University and studied in my native tongue on the side That would be French. I have always wanted to write as a journalist, I had started a book, but it was too much work for my condition... My wish to write was fulfilled by the OEP demands of writing a bit at a time so I could manage my illnesses while still fulfilling my desire to write.

Q: What do you think Open-site needs the most?

A: I believe this project has a great future. What OEP needs the most is a critical mass of editors from which a growing number of editors can be found to give at least 5 or 6 hours per week of time to the work required to make it succeed. Look at ODP... That have surpassed the critical mass and is now sailing like a well built craft. I think that when we have attracted about a thousand editors or so, we will really begin to develop at an increasing rate. Menwhile, we need to really set the stage for this time when it comes by organizing OEP in its structure and its categories.

Q: It does seems that socializing plays an important role in forming a successful team, and, like someone said, you're all over the newbies in helping them get started. Do you think that communication plays a big role in this project?

A: I believe that proper communications is extremely important to this project It allows individuals to open up a bit and makes newbies welcome if a few of us makes newbies welcome if a few of us make them feel welcome Also when a newbie arrives, we should be able to get to e-mail them directly as a welcome mat laid out for them I even wrote a little paragraph that i would like to share with others for a welcome message since many probably do not real the welcome forum for a while I think most newbies are probably a little skittish about plowing into the OEP system and we should try a few tactics to entice them to open up and have a way of encouraging them to contribute more.

Q: What do you think about the democracy at Open-site? Do you see the metas as a "required evil"? Should new category requests be, instead, let's say, voted in the forum?

A: I think that as we grow, more discussion will be required to resolve structure and NO metas are not a necessary evil, and voting in the forum is not necessary discussion, yes, but voting no If metas spend some time in the forum, they know what's going on and they can assess an even intervene if things are not headed in the right direction. We do need some control for the structural direction, and the idea of info-busting is excellent as long as it is not pushed too hard.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for making editing at OEP more productive?

A: 1. Communication Yes, as soon as a new editor has done a little bit of editing I get all over him/her with a "Thank you for editing at... That was really good (or some such). Don't be afraid to add more..." or something of this nature. That's called nurturing our contributors, though some call handholding. Call it whatever you want, if it works, use it. Don't wait for the newbie to ask for feedback, most won't. They don't all have the confidence of the Roots, Metas, Editalls or old sods like me (I'm 45 years old, no spring chicken any more). Invite newbies to IRC chat. Explain a bit about its purpose. Suggest a freebie IRC client like X-Chat, which I am using. It's so easy to use. One just needs to set up a couple of user commands to make it connect to OEP IRC. Tell them how easy it is to use so they can use it, in an e-mail, maybe, so they have time to digest the material and give it a try. Communication such as these will help newbies build self-confidence. If a newbie hasn't edited in over two weeks, e-mail them to politely sound out their intentions, encouraging them to come and contribute some more. Maybe a pre-written paragraph to help ease activation of the creative juices. Again, that's called nurturing our contributors. We don't need numbers on a list, but numbers editing. I realize not everybody has my talent at writing and the ability to go back and correct errors of content, grammar and typo's. But, who knows what untapped talent is out there to develop with a little bit of *hand holding/nurturing*. 2. Privileges. I think editors should be able to rename their cats as a matter of course after about 2 to 3 weeks of editing, since none of us are perfect spellers, and don't get the right cat name correctly right from the start, especially if they're a bit impetuous like me. I'm still just a kid at heart you know, and tend to act a little bit too fast to push that Enter key sometimes. It would save a lot of time and effort for the editor, cateditalls and editalls. 3. The awards Those are a great idea I didn't think it would have such an impact on me, but hey, it's the kid in me. We should do it again, maybe every 6 months. 4. The spell checker It is an excellent idea whose time has come. Although I do most of my spell check on my word processor before sending them on the site. I should get used to use it, since it's right there.

Q: How do you see the future of Open-site?

A: I see a big bright future for Open-site. The sky is not high enough to contain all that we can record. Mentoring: As we get more and more editors, and mentor them voluntarily as opposed to waiting for a mentoring request, we will improve not only the quantity of data but its quality as well. This idea requires a bit of dedication on the part of experienced editors who will check the progress of a new recruit and compliment them on their work, making gentle/diplomatic suggestions for improvements. i.e. use the spell checker available at & (one of my favorites that has been used on me, and worked: that &. Was very good, now if you just & it would be even better, what do you think) After two or three mentoring sessions the new recruit should be able to continue on their own, with the mentor remaining available on a demand basis for the mentored recruit. i.e. Ok, your on your own now, if you feel you need help, feel free to contact me at & I'll check back on you occasionally to see how your doing. Don't hesitate to e-mail me to brag about your work too, since I m not going to be looking over your shoulder, ok? Professionals: I see some people experienced in specific fields (inventing, engineering, biology, cosmology, other sciences, etc) using OEP as a repository of their work, and, of their personal contributions on any given topic. Search engine: I see us having a search engine by keywords similar to what we now have, but have it as a clickable option as opposed to one data entry window at the top. Once search is selected, a new window would open, the system would ask what areas to search, with check boxes detailing the broad areas (Top of cats), and one of the options being all of OEP or provide some intelligent limits based on the word entered. After all, you re not going to find corn in basketball or other sports, then again, what if their having a corn roast, just kidding. The search results should give only a small amount of data on a couple of lines for each instance, instead of a huge display that I have seen for the word corn, and give the cat name and editor name where found with a check box for see more for the searcher to look at more of the data if desired.

Q: Do you see any improvements in the future for the management community functions?

A: Well, one of the jobs I would like the Metas to take on, if I may be so bold, is a form of mentoring process as described earlier. They could keep an eye on their protégés, 3, 4, 5, whatever, and follow their progress in their cats. They should be able to identify the slackers and try to entice them into putting in more time and giving OEP more content. Maybe they can e-mail an editor and enquire about their interests and see if they can get them to participate a little more. Every body needs a little encouragement, and Metas are the ideal person to provide this, in my view, since they have the experience. It would mean more dedication, but, hey, we have a big project here, and it takes dedication to keep it growing. Maybe a little prodding of Metas by roots with suggestions on how to ferret out low output editors, and contacting them. Human resources are OEP's most important asset, let's get in producing.