[Imc-communication] PROPOSAL: New Principle of Unity for IMC - what do we mean by principle?

[joanne richardson]

>> Sydney Indymedia proposes that the global imc network
>> adopt an 11th Principle of Unity, a draft of which is below.
>>
>> Please raise this matter within participating IMCs,  discuss it on
>> imc-communication at lists.indymedia.org and respond with alternative
>> proposals or formal blocks to imc-process at lists.indymedia.org within
>> one month.
>>
>> 11. All imc's shall be committed to protecting the privacy and
>> anonymity of their users.  The logging of internet protocol (IP)
>> information about users shall be kept to the minimum necessary to
>> maintain control over the server (i.e. in the event of an attack).  In
>> the event that logging is necessary, details of the logging shall be
>> made publicly accessible, including duration of logging, what
>> information was stored, and actions taken as result of the logging.
>> Collectives are encouraged to have a public policy on IP logging.

hello,

first, i am speaking on behalf of myself, and not in the name of indymedia
romania. i agree with what petros writes, whether to log or not to log IP
addresses should be left to the decision-making of each IMC, and not
become part of the principles of unity.

i think the strength of the IMC network is that it defines the unity of
the movement(s) as sharing loose, background principles and NOT in terms
of comprehensive world visions, homogenous practices and forms of behavior
or aspiring toward identical goals. i recently wrote something for
indymedia romania (the radical left in the postcommunist epoch,
http://romania.indymedia.org/en/2005/10/1061.shtml) discussing the
importance of the left to define itself through principles rather than
content and goals, and i mention the indymedia POU as one example

that being said, i think the problem with the POU in their present form is
that they tend to look more like the ten commandments rather than
principles. free software is not a principle, but a specific practice
based on the interpretation of principles like social solidarity, open
participation and transparency in the context of the production and use of
code. and logging IP addresses is a policy, not a principle. at best it
would belong in an editorial policy, to be determined by each IMC group as
they consider it is most appropriate in their local context - not as
something that should be homogenized across the board.

there have been many discussions about the POU which seem to go nowhere -
about the draft status of the POU (i think the problem is not that the POU
is "draft" in the sense that they are open to discussion and modification,
which they should be, but that in their present form they look rough and
unfinished with things in parentheses that are unclear, and that it's
difficult to understand what's going on and what has been resolved when
someone comes to the POU page), or about whether free software should be
included in the POU (in my opinion, it has no place being there). although
a lot of steam was vented in each case, no decisions were reached, and now
we have moved on to a discussion about a proposed 11th principle. before
jumping to proposals for new principles, it might be useful to resolve
disagreements about old issues first. and maybe that needs to start with a
clearer idea about the difference between principles, editorial policies
and concrete practices - before it starts to look like the IMC network is
advocating homogenous forms of behavior (in the form of commandments) to
local groups.

ciao, joanne