Common Ground

A Dialogue

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Moulton says "A few weeks ago, I wrote an essay on Stop and Go Protocols. Evidently Kai didn't read it. If he needs a breather, all he needs to do is issue me a Control-S. I understand that protocol."

Moulton says "And I will honor Control-S, because it's a Peer Protocol."

Moulton says "But he couldn't see his way clear to a Peer Protocol."

Moulton can't find where he wrote that posting.

Moulton looks in InfoAge.61 reading Postings Since April.

Moulton says "The Mediator last night went to bed. There was no active mediator."

Moulton is looking for his posting where he explained the Stop and Go Protocol.

Moulton gives up. I'm now gettng a Network Error diagnostic.

Moonbeam pops in.

Moonbeam hugs Moulton.

Moonbeam says "Kristie just erased your e-mail in LJ and announced that Kai had suspended your access."

Moonbeam says "Kristie explained that Posting:48.42 was erased because it was the posting of an E-Mail."

Moonbeam says "Since you had no permission to post that E-Mail message in LJ, she was asked to delete it. Which she did."

Moonbeam says "And then comes a formal announcement: As of this moment, Barry's access to the entire Utne Cafe has been suspended. As he no longer has access, this mediation process is being suspended as well. If/when Barry returns we may or may not resume this process."

Moulton says "There is nothing to mediate. There is no common ground."

Moulton says "Kai cannot now send me notification by E-mail because he cannot be sure it will be confidential. He's in a bind. He has to call me now."

Moulton says "I thought we had negotiated a Peer-to-Peer Protocol last night. A mutually agreeable TimeOut. But he went back to Unilateral Protocol on me."

Moonbeam says "Kai is stunned that I posted your e-mail to Hosts."

Moulton says "Since Kristie erased it, I will now have to send it out by E-Mail to everyone."

Moonbeam says "Excuse me -- he said 'mystified' not stunned."

Moulton says "I had hoped to keep this in Mediation."

Moulton says "Has he thought to ask why, perchance?"

Moulton says "The mystery could be solved by listening to the answer to a simple query."

Moonbeam says "You told them they won last night. You folded your cards."

Moonbeam says "How could mediation continue at that point?"

Moulton says "I told Jak he won."

Moonbeam says "Yes. The mediation was between you and Jak."

Moulton says "There is nothing left to mediate."

Moonbeam says "So by their terms, it was over."

Moulton nods. And I had agreed it was over between me and Jak.

Moulton says "He got his wish, that we not be friends."

Moulton says "I realized there was nothing in my power I could do to reach common ground with him because he had as an express goal to have no friends."

Moulton says "It's an odd pathology, but he's entitled to have that goal."

Moulton says "And I respect his desire to have no friends. But I have no desire to be his enemy."

Moulton is satisfied to mean nothing to Jak. Neither friend nor enemy.

Moulton says "That's our common ground. No relationship at all."

Moulton says "That's the best common ground I am able to achieve. It's the Nash Equilibrium Solution to the Game. I can do no better than that. It's the MiniMax Solution."

Moonbeam says "And, once you said he won, you began posting in other conferences -- which indicated there was no deal."

Moulton says "The reason I posted in other conferences was not because I had no common ground with Jak. The reason I posted in other conferences is because Kai reneged on the Peer-to-Peer Protocol of a mutually agreeable and negotiated timeout and went back to Unilateral Protocols. But I did not post in Meta last night. I understand that Meta is in overload and needs a breather. The few topics I posted in last night are not in any state of overload."

Moulton says "I posted in Education, Spirit, Philosophy, BodyMind, Retreat, and Literature, just a few short items."

Moonbeam says "I know."

Moulton did not even go back and read Meta or LJ.

Moulton says "You didn't know I posted in Retreat. :)"

Moulton says "Unless you know something I don't know. Are you in Retreat? :)"

Moonbeam hasn't read Education, either. Or BodyMind. But I saw Spirit and Philo, and Kristie linked Literature.

Moulton says "Linked it where?"

Moonbeam says "I knew you had posted. Linked it to Hosts, as evidence you'd broken your agreement with Kai."

Moulton says "I had no agreement with Kai. He reneged on Peer-to-Peer and went back to Unilateral. So I was obliged to followed suit. Gotta stay on Common Ground. :)"

Moulton says "If it had been Peer-to-Peer we would have jointly announced our mutually agreeable timeout in Meta together."

Moulton asked him 3 times to post our agreement in Meta.

Moulton says "After 3 times, I concluded we had no agreement, and no Peer-to-Peer Process in place. So I went back to Unilateral, so we could be back on Common Ground."

Moulton says "Will you post the URL to this conversation if I put in on utnebury?"

Moonbeam says "Yes, if you can get it up before I have to leave at noon."

Moonbeam will post it in your topic in Meta.

Moulton says "The URL will be http://www.musenet.org/utnebury/Unilateral.html"

Moulton says "If it's not ready, just post the URL anyway."

Moulton goes to edit it...

Moulton says "No need to use pseudonyms on this one."