We have a careful line to walk, as we need to provide fertility to two different grounds at once. One one side, we have all of the new Monks, entering the monastery with little idea of our traditions and what has gone before, who bring with them a wide diversity, they only common link that we can completely depend on is an interest in Perl. (Not even a liking of Perl - I've seen many "I've got to maintain this old code..." posts.) In order to grow and expand we need to embrace these, and grow. By grow, I mean not just them, but all Monks, and the monastary itself.

On the other hand, we have the Monks who are here, who has long toiled over the carrot patches, honing their Perl skills while developping a comminity. And now, there are those who have no respect for the work they have put in, what they have helped to build. Some new Monks give the impression that they do not wish to stay, not even giving a name, but just use and discard them. Others may intentionally make things more difficult, either for a single Monk to the brotherhood as a whole.

Reconciling these two faces is hard. In my personal beliefs, we need to grow. Which means accepting some trouble makers. Which means dealing with the trolls. But they do tend to shatter the feeling that we have here. I have seen other places, /. for example, where the "masses" have taken over. And that does not appeal to me in the same way as the monastary. But if we keep the masses out, where will we get our new blood?

It's a hard balance. Recently I saw a message by our latest Troll, asking a real question. My first thought was to ++ it, as encouragement in the right direction, even though I wouldn't ++ it from a Monk who had been around. It was hard, thinking about that reverse discrimination. But it gave me personal insights on what I liked and disliked in the monastery, and what I would do to help it achieve it.

=Blue
...you might be eaten by a grue...

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