Potterybarning

Potterybarning is a term derived from The Pottery Barn Rule in American political jargon ("You break it, you bought it). It is a social outcome where a soft transference of ownership/responsibility of a particular task from one individual occurs following a question, criticism, or offer of assistance by another. It occurs because the person being questioned views the questioning as a soft block of an idea or as an attack on their competence.

An example

Person A "We should get a truck!"

Person B "Well, how much will that cost?"

Person A "Look, we've wanted this for a long time. Do you want to find that out and let us know?"

Person B "(to self) I thought I was asking a question, not taking on a commitment!"

Person A (after long stunned pause by B) "I'm trying to empower you!"

This term (as applied to Free Geek) was coined by Luiz. This page is part of his coping with this Kobayahsi Maru. This can be an especially dehelpful problem in a collective.