Whereas the GPS is intended to be a grass-roots organization, and
whereas grass-roots activity requires that like-minded individuals be able to identify and contact each other, and
whereas the central membership lists are confidential, and
whereas a proliferation of separate mailing lists causes inaccuracy, confusion, and extra work;
Be it resolved that the Executive be charged with establishing:
- an online forum, whereby members and supporters can discuss issues and plan actions in support of GPS goals; and
- an online mechanism that allows members to create special-purpose mailing lists, to which other members may subscribe, which lists are to be tightly linked to the central member database, while safeguarding the confidentiality of the member information.
And be it further resolved that these functions be made available directly to the membership, without intervention or authorization by the Executive or other central body or office, subject to intervention only in the case where forum contents or group activities are clearly contrary to the goals and interests of the GPS.
Not sure how an online
Not sure how an online mechanism with lists tightly linked to the member data base, yet safeguarding confidentiality would work. Like the idea, but who will be responsible for setting up, monitoring and maintaining? If there is not at least two tech savvy people involved, one person could quit and the project could wither, causing a GPS black eye. Do we have the long term human resource to keep this going?
Of all the forums I follow, I
Of all the forums I follow, I think the format at http://ecomodder.com/is the handiest and most versatile. I don't know how to hack it to make it anonymous, though. Maybe wary posters can work through an alias they could use anywhere.
Is the goal here to let GPS members chat with each other, without publicly identifying them as members, to protect them from spam, or what? I figure privacy is hopeless in the computer age, without letting it cost more than it is worth. CSIS sees all and hears all, but still has a bottleneck at the conscious, wetware level.