I meant to reply to Brooke's post earlier.
While I don't necessarily agree with everything Brooke has said, I value the clarity with which she said it. These comments are my musings, not necessarily a direct response to her.
Olde Worlde vs technically out of date builds:
Sudane's updating of many buildings in NFS has improved NFS technically, BUT in NFS and LA there are many technically dated buildings that drag our appeal down.
Inner Circle:
There is an "inner circle." These are what the Quakers would call "weighty friends." Their service to CDS is not in question, nor is their skill-set as a group. I want to be careful here as these are people I respect and count as friends. What I did find when I was chancellor was that this group does control more decisions than might be wise. (Just to be clear, I do not count myself as inner circle. I came in October 2015.) Part of this is, as Sudane states, we need new citizens to step up and contribute to the community by running for office and serving on committees and commissions. If one has been engaged in a project for many years I think one develops a fairly set view on how things should be, which can make it harder to see a new way forward.
Re: Lyubov
She was fully supported by many of us, including the "weighty citizens". I can't guess more than a bit of why she pulled back, but in these complicated RL times (COVID & political) the pressures are real. Yes, Lyubov probably took on too much, but when you value an organization such as CDS that happens. I wish her a peaceful break and hope she will return when she feels refreshed.
Tradition & Aesthetics:
CDS is 16 years old. The constitution and laws, more the laws, have developed over that time. Just as beliefs change in Real World governments (I'm thinking of the US constitution for one), there is a question of precedent and settled law. The distinction I am wandering towards is that there needs to be a balance between settled and changing. I appreciated the recent work that has de-tangled and updated many of our laws. But I have also noticed that this has been used by some as a way of changing the nature of our Representative Democracy and the balance between our 3 branches. Citizens, obviously, have the right to suggest such changes, and have them responded to and even adopted. But suggesting such major changes to the form of our government or the balance of powers should wait until we figure out what the Constitution and our laws, as they are being revised for clarity, say. Change can be a force for good, but after 15 years a sharp redirection would be problematic. And unless more of us step up the changes will be moot.