Oaktable Network

I received an invitation to join the Oaktable Network which I’ve decided to accept. It wasn’t a straightforward decision but went something like this. (Oh, and by the way, this blog could have been much longer!)

For

• I like the Oaktable members that I’ve met to date and found them very passionate and generous individuals. The social element should be pretty enjoyable.
• I think the invitation was probably based on the Hotsos presentations and slaves paper. Regardless of what I might think of the end results, Oaktable members clearly thought them appropriate for an Oaktable member and as I commented on Howard’s blog lately, I’ve learned to take into account other people’s view of my work as well as my own. This was an important ‘for’ because it meant that it wasn’t just because I was mates with a few members or some sad Oaktable groupie 😉
• It will challenge me to work harder and to learn more about Oracle than I might if I just chugged along in the standard DBA contract roles I often work. This was very important to me because I’d been getting bored and slacking in my old age 😉 and I’m keen to get back on track.
• It’s nice to get some recognition for the messing around I do at home. I’d do it regardless but I think most people would be pleased that they were invited. Personally I think you need to tread very carefully with those feelings, though, because it’s easy to be seduced into looking for people’s approval rather than just getting on with work and life. I think there might be a blog on that very subject in future. The most appropriate solution I can think of is to concentrate on the technology and the work, rather than the badges and labels.

Against

• Although I might aspire to produce work as good as, say Tom Kyte and Jonathan Lewis (to name just a couple), I don’t personally think it’s likely and I would question my credentials to be part of the same informal group.
• My prime concern was that the Oaktable Network is just an elitest clique. First, membership is by invitation only which is useful in maintaining group standards but it does mean that there are others who are more suitably qualified but might not be noticed by existing members. However, it occurred to me that the floor is open for people to produce whatever work they like, I always encourage it and I have confidence that it’ll be noticed in the long run. Maybe some Oaktable Network members are show-offs who speak at conferences (Not mentioning any names, but think Kilts and Beer 😉) but then again those people are putting their free time into putting good information back into the community. Second, I want to network with anyone and everyone at conferences, not just a few pals. I’ve never been the greatest networker, but I certainly wouldn’t want to limit my experience to a little huddle of pals in the corner of a conference hall. However, there’s nothing that says I have to behave like that so it’s up to me to make sure I don’t. If you do ever see me at a conference and think I’ve spent all of my time in such a huddle or come across as remotely smug – feel free to give me a good, hard slap!
• I still stand by almost everything I said in this blog although it’s possible I misunderstood a few individuals who I hadn’t met properly at the time.

For most of the time, I didn’t think I would accept (I had a long, considered email turning the offer down). Then I realised that I was being far too sensitive about the whole thing and that my attitudes towards it were in some ways emphasising the very elitism that I don’t like. Instead of treating it as a massive deal, I should accept that it’s only a friendly invitation to an informal, relaxed group. If I think it’s elitist, isn’t the best way to rectify that to join up because I certainly don’t feel ‘elite’?

I think the clincher were the comments of a couple of individuals who I have a lot of respect for (although there were a couple of others who I respect just as much who thought it was the wrong move). One of those was from an existing member :-

“The ideal of the Oak table is to be an informal gathering of like-minded people who try to pass
on information about Oracle in a sensible and considered way. Despite any arguments there may be about “scientists”, you meet the ideal of trying to get the facts right and disseminate them usefully.”

Nah, I’m not being completely straight with you. The real clincher was the opportunity to make a dear friend the happiest guy on the planet 😉

I can’t guarantee the table is oak, but there’s certainly an Oracle scientist sat there. Unfortunately there’s an Oaktable groupie in the background, desperate to get in the picture!