[Imc-jakarta] Re: [New-imc] Fwd: Jakarta IndyMedia - Seeking Clarification and Advice

[boud]

hi s|a|m,

On Thu, 16 May 2002, s|a|m wrote:

> Who the f#$k is cobber - and who the f#@k are "the locals" ?

Ask the locals in Melbourne next time you're there what "cobber" 
means in the local lingo.  
 
> My name is Sam and 'the locals' you refer to are peers who want to set up and 
> be part of the IndyMedia network!

Fine, i think there's agreement here. 
 
> Anyhows - now that I have gotten that off me chest ;-) I'll briefly respond.

;) ok.
 
> It is really hard for people here to have ready/easy access to email and the 
> net. I'll try and encourage some of the folk here do join the list. Anyhow - 
> I'll be meeting them again today and will take a copy of this to the gathering. 
> By the way - it costs money to print out from any WarNet (public access 
> terminal) and it costs money to access the net. It's very much user pays - over 
> here.
 
i think everyone at new-imc is well aware of the high cost of access in
"the global South". 

In principle, an Indymedia collective could be totally non-internet.

But if the web site is a big part of the project, then it surely makes
sense to have at least a few people with email who can participate in
a publicly archived, open posting, mailing list for the IMC itself,
as well as explore the other mailing lists at

http://lists.indymedia.org/
 
> I will also inquire to see if they have read the IndyMedia documentation you 
> refer to. Is there a test they have to do after wards? (just joking - or maybe 
> i am not)

Technology alone cannot make an IMC, IMHO, and when access to the technology
is very expensive, it becomes even more obvious that technology alone
cannot make an IMC.

The stuff in the documentation is probably more about the people side
than the tech side. As several people have said on new-imc, among the
IMCs that started up before this documentation was discussed, debated,
heatedly argued about, etc., and finally contingently consensed upon,
leading to the creation of the new-imc working group, several of these
early IMCs have wasted energy into power struggles or personal
conflicts or collapsed by burnout.

> It's a shame we can't regionalise this process!! 

Well, i think melbourne started up before the new-imc process &
working group, and it's going fine (AFAIK), so if you folks and the
sydney/adelaide/aotearoa/brisbane/madurai groups could create a
regionalised working group, with an archived, public, open-posting
mailing list, and convince others that you had an effective process, i
don't see new-imc stopping you.

Or if you could provide some people-power to do the thinking/writing/
rewriting/rewriting-again work of improving the documents at

http://newimc.indymedia.org

so that they're simpler, clearer, less bureaucratic ;), i think people
at new-imc would happy for the help.

> Thanks Bound for your response and clarification. It does make it clear what 
> one has to do. 

As i said, i can email the following membership criteria doc to you if
you have web access problems, and it *is* in bahasa Indonesia (sedikit
gado-gado, tapi harap tidak terlalu ;)

http://www.global.indymedia.org.au/front.php3?article_id=442

sampai nanti
boud