Accountability and PR

There is a conversation about accountability going on here at Worthwhile Magazine, initiated by David Weinberger.

I especially like David's last comment:

Hard to argue with what you’re saying. And yet, when the demand for accountability comes from the top down, it’s time to flee because they’re looking for scapegoats.

Accountability sounds all shiny, but the world is just too random to let accountability work as well as it sounds like it should.

But the personal, integrity-based accountability of me to my peers of which y’all speak is undoubtedly laced with forgiveness. That sounds good to me.

What happens when everything to do with a project is visible? You can't hide (which should drive you to do your best) and you are also protected from blame. This is just one of the implications we are researching as part of our Open Source PR Project.