[IMC-Seattle] Critical Meeting, Saturday at 1pm - Three Proposals enclosed

[brandon]

All-

Please consider attending this Saturday's facilitated meeting, announced 
several weeks ago:
http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-seattle/2004-October/1029-ar.html

If you cannot attend, please consider reviewing the three proposals 
below and sending your feedback beforehand to 
imc-seattle at lists.indymedia.org.

Below you will find:

- Meeting info

- Proposal one - brandon
"Stop web publishing until there is a collective"

- Proposal two - brandon, devin, laury and rick
"Adopt new organizational structure and apply as a New IMC"

- Proposal three - laury
"Editorial policy"

peace,
brandon


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+++ Meeting Info ++
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When: Saturday November 20th at 1pm
Where: Meeting Room in Rick's apartment building. 7 story building just 
north of Northgate Way, east of the mall, across from the Northgate Park 
and Ride.
Address: 11050 8th Ave. NE.
Buses: 5, 16, 41, 66, 67, 75, 242
Map: http://tinyurl.com/58eya
Facilitator: TBD


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+++ Proposal one +++
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Stop web publishing until there is a collective

The Seattle IMC, as of November 2004, even considering the hard work of 
specific individuals, is not a functional organization.

Open-publishing and editorial feature publishing on the website will be 
halted immediately and resumed when, and only if, a functional 
collective emerges that meets the standards of the IMC global new-imc 
working group.

Membership Criteria:
http://archives.lists.indymedia.org/new-imc/2001-May/000155.html
http://newimc.indymedia.org/

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+++ End Proposal one +++
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++++++++++++++++++++
+++ Proposal two +++
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New Seattle IMC Organizational Structure

Mission Statement

The Seattle Independent Media Center (hereafter SEAIMC) is a democratic 
media outlet for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate 
tellings of truth. The organization is dedicated to using media 
production and distribution as tools for promotion of social and 
economic justice in the Seattle area and the state of Washington. Our 
aim is to empower people to "become the media" by providing access to 
available technologies and information.

We do not conceal our politics behind a false objectivity. With an 
emphasis on local issues, we will seek connections to global systems. We 
intend to illuminate and analyze issues that are affected by the 
increasing corporate domination of society and the subsequent erosion of 
democracy and equal protection under the law. We seek to generate 
alternatives to the current biases inherent in profit-based and 
corporate media and to contribute to the development of an equitable and 
sustainable society.

Operating Principles

1) We hereby abandon all prior governance structures, policies and 
affiliations.

2) SEAIMC organizational structure shall here fore be replaced by the 
structure outlined in this document.

3) SEAIMC structure is not derived from a centralized bureaucratic 
process, but from the self-organization of autonomous working groups 
that recognize the importance in developing a unified approach. These 
groups can be centered around a set of tasks (e.g., web design, tech, 
editorial), a type of media (e.g., video, print, web radio), an activity 
(e.g., promotion/outreach, reporting), or some other project.

4) A working group shall be defined as 1 or more people engaged in work. 
SEAIMC working groups can organize in whatever fashion they find most 
appropriate to their needs (e.g., frequency of meetings, method of 
communication, open or closed listservs, work or skill requirements, 
renewal obligations, etc.) as long as they stick to the SEAIMC 
Principles of Unity (see item #6).

5) SEAIMC collective membership is granted to volunteers that are 
members of one or more working groups,

- Collective membership allows participation in SEAIMC organizational 
meetings. This includes:

+ Signaling approval in tests for consensus

+ Raising "blocking" concerns

+ Requesting a super-majority vote

+ Voting in a super-majority vote

- Collective membership requires:

+ Active participation.

+ Taking responsibility for words and actions.

+ Willingness to participate in conflict resolution if requested by 
another member.

6) SEAIMC Principles of Unity

a) An open exchange of and open access to information is a prerequisite 
to the building of a more free and just society.

b) The goal of all working groups is to provide an information 
infrastructure for people and opinions that do not have access to the 
airwaves, tools, and resources of corporate media. This includes audio, 
video, photography, internet distribution, and any other communication 
medium. We support open media making by creating forums for individuals, 
groups and organizations to express their views, anonymously if desired.

c) SEAIMC is a non-commercial, anti-capitalist democratic collective.

d) All working groups recognize the importance of process to social 
change and are committed to the development of non-hierarchical and 
anti-authoritarian relationships, from interpersonal relationships to 
group dynamics. Therefore, they shall organize themselves collectively 
and be committed to the principle of consensus decision-making and the 
development of a direct, participatory democratic process that is 
transparent to those involved.

e) All working groups recognize that the contribution of an individual's 
labor is a prerequisite for participation in the decision making process 
of a working group or at SEAIMC general meeting. Individuals who are not 
committing tangible labor to a SEAIMC working group are encouraged to 
share their views but may not "block" a consensus.

f) SEAIMC members and working groups are committed to caring for one 
another and our respective communities both collectively and as 
individuals and will promote the sharing of resources including 
knowledge, skills and equipment.

g) SEAIMC shall be committed to the use of free source code, whenever 
possible, in order to develop the digital infrastructure, and to 
increase the independence of the network by not relying on proprietary 
software.

h) All working groups shall be committed to the principle of human 
equality, and shall not discriminate based upon race, spiritual belief, 
gender, age, class or sexual identity. Working groups are committed to 
the ideal of building diversity within their activities. Bigotry of any 
kind will not be tolerated.

i) Consensus among members shall be the standard method of decision 
making, but a super-majority of 85% can be used to resolve intractable 
conflicts.

- Consensus shall be explicit rather than implied.

- Consensus decisions shall be made with a quorum of 60% of membership, 
OR at least 8 members.

- WITHIN a working group, a different approach is acceptable if

+ The working group creates a new policy using explicit consensus.

+ The policy is written

+ The policy is distributed to all members

- A super-majority should not be used unless an intractable conflict exists.

- An intractable conflict is one that threatens the core values of the 
group, or severely delays reasonable progress toward our mission.

j) Individuals and working groups agree to use Conflict Resolution 
process to resolve conflicts.

- Members have a right to safety and dignity within the SEAIMC. Sexual 
harassment, intimidation, threats of violence, and acts of violence 
against other members will not be tolerated and will result in immediate 
expulsion from the organization.

- Members are expected to address concerns about individuals or groups 
of individuals respectfully and in a venue that is appropriately public 
and appropriately safe.

- Member concerns that have been respectfully raised and continue to be 
un-addressed are priority business for the collective.

- Members uninvolved with the conflict at hand have a responsibility to 
volunteer to help mediate conflicts.

7) Any individual or working group that agrees with this document is 
asked to participate in the SEAIMC.

8) Membership will be revoked in cases of severe conduct violations of 
the SEAIMC Principles of Unity.

9) Finances and Assets

a) SEAIMC corporate officers must be active in one or more working 
groups. The authority of the corporate officers of the Washington State 
Non-Profit Corporation Independent Media Center is limited to renewing 
the Incorporation.

b) All finances shall be handled within the working groups and members. 
SEAIMC has no need for any financial dealings other the cost of renewing 
yearly the incorporation. The corporate officers will request member 
contributions to pay for the incorporation fees. If the membership is 
unable or unwilling to donate the fee, the corporation will be dissolved.

c) The SEAIMC will continue to operate the space at SCAN as long as the 
arrangement is mutually beneficial. During the tenancy, all members and 
working groups must abide by the access rules established by SCAN.

d) When SEAIMC relocates, it will be the responsibility of the working 
group or groups to acquire and maintain any space they may need. If more 
than one working group needs a space at that time, they would be 
encouraged to work together.

e) Any property not claimed by a working group 30 days prior to the end 
of the SCAN tenancy will be disposed of. To be able to claim property, a 
working group must have shown tangible work towards a defined goal for a 
minimum of 60 days during the past 12 months.

10) Once this document has been approved, consensus cannot alter the 
mission, focus or operational structure of the organization without the 
following extraordinary measures:

- A proposal and meeting notice must be available two weeks prior

- A super-quorum of 75% or 20 members should be present at the final vote

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+++ End Proposal two +++
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++++++++++++++++++++++
+++ Proposal three +++
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Editorial Policy

The Seattle Independent Media Center (here after SEAIMC) is an open 
collective of grassroots journalists dedicated to providing an open 
outlet for non-corporate news and analysis.

Anybody may participate in the organization by attending our public 
meetings, joining a working group, or participating in an email listserv.

The SEAIMC is an organization that strives to work with all mediums, 
including print, audio, video, and internet. The website at 
http://seattle.indymedia.org is the online outlet of the organization's 
reporting.

The SEAIMC is affiliated with the global Indymedia movement. This 
network works to foster media creation based upon the principles of free 
participation and association, mutual aid, open-source software, open 
publishing, and transparent decision-making. As an affiliate of the 
Indymedia network, the SEAIMC remains committed to these principles.

The website operates two basic media dissemination structures: feature 
stories and the open newswire.

Feature stories, which are found in the center column of the website, 
are written and/or selected by members of the SEAIMC collective. These 
features represent the organization's daily output of news and editorial 
content. Seattle-area and Washington stories and issues are the focus of 
features, although regional and global stories are published as well. 
Features are typically based on content published on the open publishing 
newswire.

The open publishing newswire appears in the right-hand column of the 
website, and works as the basic means through which any participant can 
contribute news and editorial content to the SEAIMC website. Text, 
photo, audio, video, and several other types of files are publishable on 
the newswire.

The online newswire is designed to empower individuals to become 
independent and civic journalists by providing a direct, unmoderated 
forum for presenting media, including text articles, audio and video 
recordings, and photographs, to the public via the Internet. Within that 
general framework, we specifically encourage individuals to publish:

- Well-researched, timely articles
- Investigative reports exposing injustice
- Coverage of Seattle-area and Washington state issues
- Stories on events affecting underrepresented groups
- Media produced from within underrepresented groups
- Stories on issues ignored by the mainstream media
- Stories on people or projects working towards social and economic justice.
- Eyewitness accounts of progressive actions and demonstrations
- Media analysis

The newswire is a democratic forum designed to make available important 
stories, news, and opinions with local relevance. The newswire operates 
on the principle of "open publishing" meaning that anyone with access to 
the Internet can post articles, photographs, audio and video to the 
newswire without prior editorial approval. SEAIMC is dedicated to 
maintaining the newswire as a completely open forum. However, the 
editorial collective regularly watches the newswire, intervening on rare 
occasions to maintain its usefulness as a media resource and as a 
welcoming community space.

Content published on the newswire is not endorsed by the SEAIMC, and is 
subject to a basic editorial policy designed to facilitate open 
media-making while preventing obfuscation of the newswire as a media 
dissemination device.

The intent of the newswire is to enable independent reporters to publish 
news and commentary on contemporary social and political issues. 
Published material that abuses the editorial policy is liable to be 
hidden. Published content may also be grouped together if their subject 
matter is related. Hidden content is not visible on the front newswire 
archives, and is not included in the website search function. The 
decision to hide is made by individual SEAIMC collective members who are 
empowered to implement the editorial policy.

The SEAIMC reserves the right to hide newswire posts that:

1) Advertise commercial services or products

2) Are repetitive or duplicates

3) Contain or link to pornographic content

4) Publicize or advocate actions that actively endanger human or animal 
safety

5) Use language, imagery or other forms of communication that promote 
bigotry and/or hatred based upon gender, ethnicity, race, sexual 
orientation, religion, class, age, physical or developmental ability, or 
national origin.

6) Contain content that has been published on multiple IMC newswires

7) Repostings of corporate media content that is available elsewhere on 
the internet, or excerpts of previously published material.

8) Appear in an unreadable format (e.g., posts posted as test) or are 
titled “test”

9) Are obviously false or misleading in terms of author, location, time, 
or actors. This includes attempts to spread disinformation or 
impersonate another individual.

10) Are unintelligible (e.g., containing numerous spelling or 
grammatical errors).

11) Are off-topic or are not news.

12) Are flamebaits made with the intention of provoking argument and/or 
limiting constructive dialog.

13) Are otherwise inconsistent with the general mission of this website, 
which is to use media production and distribution as tools for promoting 
social and economic justice in the Seattle-area and Washington State.

Published content that is included in any of the above categories may be 
hidden at the discretion of the SEAIMC. The hiding of articles, however, 
does not indicate that unhidden articles are endorsed by the SEAIMC.

The newswire is a tool intended to facilitate grassroots media 
dissemination, and the SEAIMC will actively strive to work as a 
community-based participatory media organization.

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+++ End Proposal three +++
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