Geocities is gone and the Inner Ring is (allmost) lost

[mheusser]

One of my favorite essays/lectures of all time is "The Inner Ring" by
C.S. Lewis. It aligns with my own personal value system and set of
ethics. I believe the conclusion lines up with the values of the
craft movement:

"If in your working hours you make the work your end , you will
presently find yourself all unawares inside the only circle in your
profession that really matters . You will be one of the sound
craftsmen , and other sound craftsmen will know it . This group of
craftsmen will by no means coincide with the Inner Ring or the
Important People or the People in the Know . It will not shape that
professional policy or work up that professional influence which
fights for the profession as a whole against the public : nor will it
lead to those periodic scandals and crises which the Inner Ring
produces . But it will do those things which that profession exists to
do and will in the long run be responsible for all the respect which
that profession in fact enjoys and which the speeches and
advertisements cannot maintain ."

----> And, it was hosted by Geocities, and, as of October 26th, it is
gone.

So I put a copy of it on my blog. I thought it would be appropriate
to post a link here:

http://blogs.stpcollaborative.com/matt/2009/11/02/the-inner-ring/

regards,

--heusser

[Jason Catena]

> "If in your working hours you make the work your end, you will

> ... do those things which that profession exists to

> do and will in the long run be responsible for all the respect which
> that profession in fact enjoys and which the speeches and
> advertisements cannot maintain."

Amen. Thanks.

> --heusser

Jason Catena

[Joel Helbling]

Bravo. In my opinion, you (via Lewis) have really captured the soul
of the the craftsmanship movement. There was one excerpt which jumped
out at me so much that I had to turn it into my desktop wallpaper for
a while:

"...it is perhaps impossible that the official hierarchy of any
organization should quite coincide with its actual workings."

These are words to live by, whether you are a manager or a developer.
They reflect the birth of the Agile software movement and the struggle
that any number of us have put up in order to write better software
using techniques not officially recognized as expeditious. Craftsmen
focus on the craft. Anyone willing to pursue excellence can be a part
of that inner ring.

-Joel

[Dave Hoover]

Hear, hear!