Lars is as "quiet as a mouse -- we like to have him in the house". ;D

We're stickin' with you, Lars -- 'cause you're made out of glue!!!

I admire how Lars apparently doesn't mind if people (and most of all the site management team) seem to not listen to him. It's like Lars calls out and says "WATCH IT!! you're about to walk off the edge of that cliff!" and then someone says "hey -- look over there!" and then somehow the person who was about to walk off the edge has been turned around.

If it weren't for Lars every now and then showing up with his "voice of reason" the whole site would probably have fallen off of a cliff a long time ago. He and others are by no means happy with the present state of the site, but Lars doesn't "give up" as easily as others do.

This is something I have wondered about WRT the so-called "Law of 2 Feet". What if Galileo had just gone to do something else? What if Christopher Columbus had decided to turn back? What if Martin Luther had not said "this is where I stand"? What if Rosa Parks had decided to get up and move? Each of these decisions would have changed the course of history -- and thereby the lives of billions of people. I'm not saying that Lars (or for that matter David Frayne or even myself) are in that position -- but it is actually much harder to be stubborn about something than to give in to a majority. The wisdom of the crowds is not always right (e.g. consider how Nazi Germany was built around conformity to the propaganda that was distributed via media channels -- much in the same way "Weapons of Mass Destruction" were used as an alibi for the many crimes against humanity that have been performed in Iraq over the past years).

Hence, much of what Lars contributes is not readily apparent -- but just one look at his friends list should make it quite clear that most of the people who are actively involved at omidyar.net cherish and love not only him but also his active, steadfast and persistent engagement.