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Hi Len
First, Len you are not a pest!
You mentioned the desperate need of volunteers.
You should precise ‘selected’ volunteers.
Last year, I decided to accept being a reviewer of papers published at the SDS conference.
I did not accept it this year, because of the papers I had to review being so bad. Of course, I did not praise these papers, but they were still published during the year! What was the utility of my work?
At the end of 2017, the society asking me to be a volunteer, I accepted to do anything that could be useful. As the president of the SDS you proposed me to participate to the work of the SD strategy committee led by Kim Warren. Different models were sent to me, and in particular the Richardson’s model but too a model written in Sysdea, Kim’s software. Kim did not open his software freely to me so that I could study his model, expecting me to pay the fee to be able to use his software; something that I did not do. I then never studied his model. Not wanting to make another field growth model and not being able to do this seriously, I built a very small Vensim model readable with the free Vensim PLE or the free Vensim reader, about the growth of a consultancy. Kim told me that he did not use Vensim and that he would give the model to you. Did you ever have the model? Now, I think that Kim thinks that I am an idiot to believe that after more than 20 years in the field, he cannot study a very small model written in Vensim using only one view and not subscripted, the software that is the most used by the SD community? He just did not want to hear about Vensim a software competitor. I must say too that building that small model took me more than a week. I studied during the year the Richardson’s model and sent a small report about its many peculiarities (bugs etc…). the answer was ‘we are always happy to have member’s comments’ sent by yourself. And you are looking for volunteers?
I can understand that you are missing volunteers if they are treated like that.
I must add that there is a vacancy in the SD strategy committee since the beginning of the year. I am not particularly interested by being in the strategy committee, and will not take indirect profit from it (I am a business man not dealing with SD), but Kim was certainly not interested by somebody using the Vensim software and daring to criticize one of the ‘hall of fame’ member’s model. Being in the committee would too be annoying for the other sleeping members, preferring to stay asleep.
I am sorry, Len, but you are looking for gentle and obedient volunteers, and I am not gentle and obedient.
Best regards.
JJ |
