[New-imc] new-IMC PASSED: next: imc-process

[nick]

now on to the next step, imc-process.....

2009/4/3 nick <sarsnic at gmail.com>:
> proposed_imc_name:Korea Indymedia
> proposed_imc_url: http://korea.indymedia.org
> current_url: proposed_imc_name:Korea Indymedia
> proposed_imc_url: http://korea.indymedia.org
> current_url: http://indymedia.cast.or.kr
> country:South Korea
> contact_name: Miwon, contact_email: piacereina at gmail.com
> tech_name:Bum
> tech_email: bumbarian at gmail.com, tech.imckorea at gmail.com
> new imc liason: Nick, Houston, nickcooper at indymedia.org
>
> the rest of the new-imc form:
> http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/new-imc/2009-February/0205-jh.html
>
>  1 ) I M C   M E M B E R S H I P   C R I T E R I A
> 2 )   D i v e r s i t y   S t a t e m e n t s
> 3 )   M i s s i o n   S t a t e m e n t
> 4 )   E d i t o r i a l   Guidelines
>
> 1) IMC Membership Criteria
>
> /Our collective discussion the IMC membership criteria at a general
> meeting on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. This is our response to the
> criteria./
>
> IMC MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA: Responses from Korea Indymedia Each IMC and
> Global Working Group is expected to:
>
> a. Agree in spirit to the NIMC Mission Statement and Principles of Unity,
>
> /We have reviewed the NIMC mission statement and principles of unity.
> Our core members have fully agreed to both of these documents from the
> beginning. However, there are some who have came to biweekly general
> meetings only once and probably haven’t had the opportunity to review
> these documents. Among our committed members and affiliates, we agree
> to these documents. /
>
> b. Have a committed membership substantial enough to sustain a functional IMC,
>
> /We have a committed tech team, editorial working group and outreach
> working group. Two of our committed members will leave Korea for
> studying and working abroad. The rest of our committed members will
> stay in Korea. /
>
> c. Have open and public meetings (no one group can have exclusionary
> "ownership" of an IMC),
>
> /Our meetings are open and public. We have made efforts to spread the
> word about these meetings, as well as post information (meeting notes)
> on our blog at http://blog.jinbo.net/imc/
>
> d. Work toward developing a local Mission Statement or Statement of
> Purpose. Network Mission Statement may be adopted or used on an
> interim basis,
>
> /Our local mission statement is complete, but will always be open for
> revision following consensus decisions./
>
> e. Establish and publish an editorial policy which is developed and
> functions through democratic process, and with full transparency,
>
> /Our editorial policy, like our mission statement, is complete but
> will always be open for revision following decisions made by consensus
> process./
>
> f. Agree to the use of Open Publishing as described in the NIMC
> Editorial Policy [editorial collective comments: "We did agree that
> the term "Open Publishing" was one that is still being defined by the
> Global Network Collective, and we would wait and see what the results
> were before rewriting this criteria],
>
> /We agree to the use of open publishing and are putting it into
> practice on our website where anyone can post content with anonymity
> on the newswire./
>
> g. Adopt a decision-making policy that is in alignment with consensus
> principles which include open, transparent and egalitarian processes,
>
> /We are using the model for consensus decision-making as provided by
> www.consensus.org <http://www.consensus.org/>/ /Over time, our process
> has been continually developing in order to become more efficient,
> inclusive and participatory./
>
> h. Have a spokesperson(s) willing and capable of participating in the
> global decision-making process and meetings as a rotating
> liaison/representative, with a clear understanding of the
> responsibilities that come with this role,
>
> /We have liaisons on the global process, tech, communication and new
> imc lists. Our liaisons have full comprehension of the
> responsibilities that come with this role./
>
> i. Participate in the key IMC Network Communication Methods that
> pertain to the health and vitality of the Network and that contribute
> to the work of the IMC. Assure that at least one person from your
> local IMC participates at any given time on the IMC-Communications
> list,
>
> /Jeff (Eemoogee) is our liaison on the communications list and has
> been fulfilling the responsibility of relaying messages back and forth
> between the global network and our collective./
>
> j. (NOT FINALIZED): Have no official affiliation with any political
> party, state or candidate for office (comments: but individual
> producers have freedom to do whatever they like and local IMCs can
> "feature" stories about various political parties and initiatives),
>
> /We do not currently have and will never have any kind of official
> affiliation with political parties and especially not nation-states,
> political candidates or government officials./
>
>  k. IMCs shall in no way engage in commercial for-profit enterprises.
> [We could add: The IMCN is committed to the decommercialization of
> information and will disassociate from any local IMC that decides to
> become a for profit media corporation.]
>
> /We are committed to non-commercial activities and form of
> organization. There is no way we will ever consider engaging in
> commercial for-profit enterprises./
>
> l. Display a "local version" of the IMC "i" logo on your website and literature.
>
> /We will always have an “i” logo that identifies us with the global
> IMC network. However, our current logo isn’t very aesthetically
> appealing, so we are hoping to make a better one soon./
>
> m. Include the IMC Network current "Cities List" on your site,
> preferably on the front page. /The cities list is and always will be
> on the front page of our website. It’s currently on the typical left
> side of the site, but it’s possible we could put it on the bottom
> (like Belgium IMC) or something./
>
> 2 )   D i v e r s i t y   S t a t e m e n t s Our collective consists
> of people representing over six nationalities: Korean, Nepali, USA,
> Bangladesh, Japanese, Austrian, and who speak even more languages.
> About over half of the core members are Korean. Full-time activists,
> filmmakers, artists, computer programmers/designers, students,
> teachers, white and blue collar workers. Gender-wise, there are an
> equal level of male and female members. Most people are in their
> twenties and thirties. Acknowledging our present group dynamic and
> with the goal of being open and accessible to all types of people, we
> are conscious and considerate of potential members who might have
> difficulty in mingling with the people who were previously involved.
> One step that we must take is to ensure that language does not become
> an impediment for participation. Raise awareness of privilege or
> marginalization based on nationality, gender, race, personality, or
> abilities. Discuss these and work towards creating a process for
> evaluating and confronting any inequalities that exist. We have
> conducted Language exchange workshops in the past. We will work to
> continue to do so, as well as holding tech and art workshops. We will
> also share resources, including computer and video equipment.
>
> 3 )   M i s s i o n   S t a t e m e n t Korea Independent Media Center
> (IMC) Mission Statement Feb 23, 2009 Background Information South
> Korea has a vibrant internet community, that includes many independent
> media sites. Some of these media sites incorporate the participation
> of users, often labeled "citizen journalism." As relatively healthy as
> the alternative media scene is in Korea, it is mainly insular,
> accessible only by Korean speakers. Likewise, we are unaware of any
> news site that allows "open publishing" by non- members, which is a
> key component of IMC. In 2005, there was an initiative to create an
> IMC-Korea which did not come to fruition, the reasons cited being the
> lack of a critical mass of participants and sufficient outreach with
> other existing organizations. The present initiative to create
> IMC-Korea includes two members who were involved in the first attempt,
> and has been careful to address the problems that occurred before.
> Some of the ways we have done this was to gather a larger core of
> members before we began the planning process, organizing and preparing
> more thoroughly before the application process, and communicating
> widely through various mediums in English and Korean about IMC in
> general and the function of an IMC- Korea specifically. There have
> been years of discussion and organizing since the first attempt among
> media activists and others dedicated to building an IMC-Korea. It was
> finally decided that there were enough people, resources, and interest
> among South Korean activists and organizations to confidently proceed
> with the creation of IMC-Korea. What are we doing now? IMC Korea
> currently has three different working groups: 1) Tech working group
> for website development; 2) Outreach working group for contacting and
> working with other groups as well as inviting other groups and
> individuals to use IMC and get involved; 3) Editorial working group
> for developing the editorial policy and editing the website content.
> If the needs arise, we are also open to starting new working groups
> for new projects and efforts. Proposals for new working groups can be
> made on the e-mail list, blog or at the general meetings. This mission
> statement was written after two months of preparation and activity in
> early 2009. If you are interested to read about the current activities
> of Korea Indymedia, please check our blog or e- mail list archives.
> Website Development The Korea IMC tech working group decided to use
> Drupal for website development. Currently, the website allows anyone
> to post content in the open newswire with anonymity. Those we desire
> to post a feature story need to log in as a member to post content in
> the feature column. In the future, we plan to restrict log in
> membership to administrators and subject the feature column to the
> consensus decision-making process of the editorial working group which
> has the responsibility of communicating with the whole IMC group
> through our e-mail list and biweekly meetings. Korea IMC also has a
> test website for experimenting with modules, themes and other website
> configurations. Before any new configurations are applied to the
> website, we hope to have open discussions and use a consensus process
> for making these decisions. Outreach The Korea IMC outreach working
> group has been making special efforts to contact media activist
> groups, art and music collectives, labor activist groups, feminist
> groups, environmental action groups, student groups, international
> solidarity groups and more. Our purpose for contacting these groups is
> to invite them to produce content, use the website and get involved in
> our project. When contacting these groups, we also describe our
> project and indymedia in general as an autonomous, independent news
> outlet that doesn't belong to one particular group or interest, but is
> open for public participation from all groups and individuals. The
> outreach working group is currently in the process of planning film
> screenings as a method of outreach. Not all of our outreach efforts
> have been made through the working group project. Many of our outreach
> efforts have been carried out by individual IMC members who contact
> groups and individuals, distribute fliers at demonstrations and pass
> the word on to groups we are already involved with. Editing Our
> editorial policy has been developed and may be updated or revised by
> consensus decisions in the future. Our editorial working group has
> public meetings and is responsible for making decisions to hide
> newswire posts, post features and check with everyone through the
> email list or biweekly general meetings before making these decisions.
> Content So far, our content has mainly been produced by those involved
> in our project and our comrades. We have given special attention to
> the Yongsan catastrophe in which 6 people died when the Korean SWAT
> team attacked a group of people resisting eviction and urban
> redevelopment in Yongsan, Seoul. The prosecution of resistors, police
> repression and demonstrations related to this disaster as well as the
> Seoul Metropolitan Government's urban redevelopment program has been
> covered in our reports. Other stories about the US military
> occupation, NATO resistance and a corporate TV program have also been
> produced and uploaded onto the newswire and feature column of the
> website. We hope that IMC content production will become widespread
> among a diverse variety of groups and individuals. Our objectives and
> plans for the future Members of our current preparation group share a
> variety of goals, desires and plans. Individual members emphasize some
> goals and plans stronger than other goals and plans according to each
> of our unique interests and conditions. Indymedia is valuable for
> exchanging information and news about issues and events which are
> often ignored by mainstream media. Since Indymedia is a global
> network, exchanging news and information on a global level is a
> valuable asset that is unique to Indymedia. Some of our core members
> emphasize exchanging news, formation and networking on a global scale
> as a goal of the current Korea IMC project. Indymedia is valuable for
> open publishing and allowing anyone to post content with anonymity.
> Anonymity and open, participatory media content production and
> distribution is not provided by many news outlets. These elements are
> special to Indymedia and essential for protecting the human right to
> freedom of speech. Some of our core members emphasize providing a
> participatory news outlet with anonymity and open publishing as a goal
> of the current Korea IMC project. Both of these objectives are
> especially important to the conditions of South Korean media since
> there aren't any non-commercial, participatory news outlets that are
> part of a global network. These goals are shared by everyone involved
> in the current project, but emphasized on different levels by
> different members. Another goal that we share is to providing coverage
> of events and conditions that the mainstream media usually provides
> inaccurate or insignificant coverage of.
>
>  We have had a debate about whether we should name our collective
> Korea Indymedia or Seoul Indymedia. After a long debate, we have
> reached consensus for Korea Indymedia.   There are several reasons why
> we chose Korea Indymedia:   1) we are worried that "seoul imc" would
> create a feeling of exclusion for all those living outside of seoul
> (meaning that people will feel that they can't use the website unless
> they live in seoul and/or are reporting on issues in seoul); 2)
> although people living in other regions have up until now not been
> involved in our core meetings, there has been participation from
> people outside of Seoul as far as publishing, and many of our core
> members are involved innation-wide groups or have connections with
> media activists in other regions. 3) we don't want to limit Indymedia
> to seoul since there is already a problem of media being concentrated
> in seoul. We are aware of the dangers of one group wielding power due
> to region and possession of domain name and consider this to
> beantithetical to the indymedia principles. Although we choose the
> name Korea Indymedia, we would welcome and encourage other IMCs to be
> formed all around Korea (Busan, Masan, Seoul, Ulsan, Gwangju, Jeju,
> Daejeon, Daegu, PyungYang, everywhere) and make all effortsto use the
> Korea Indymedia website collectively with all participants. If this
> opportunity develops, it will be phenomenal. We plan to focus efforts
> on outreach to other areas and groups in Korea.
>
>  4 )   E d i t o r i a l Guidelines The Korea Independent Media Center
> is an open-publishing platform for news, issues, actions and analysis
> reporting on grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial social justice,
> environmental and political issues. IMC Korea is maintained by a
> network of media activists, social movement groups, and individuals.
> IMC Korea is dedicated to the open publishing ethos. This page
> explains how content on the site is generated and how you can
> contribute.
>
> Open Posting Guidelines Contents on the newswire and calendar are
> generated by anyone who wants to contribute. IMC volunteers moderate
> the site and collaborate in the production of features. Featured
> articles are to be shown on the front 'Feature' section. If you check
> "post it on the feature page", or email to imckorea at jinbo.net, your
> article can be published on the feature section. IMC moderators can
> add some pictures and links related to the post. The title, subtitles
> and article format can be altered or added with the author's
> permission.
> ***Now we are developing a voting process through which featured
> articles will be selected. Both the authors and readers will be able
> to participate in the voting process by ticking off at "Recommend this
> article." Articles may be promoted for the following reasons:
> (Moderators will promote any good posts. The guidelines below cover
> common practice, but are neither mandatory or comprehensive.)
> * original, first hand reports on actions and other events
> * critical and original analysis
> * translated and edited reports from another language, on condition
> that the sources should be attached In general, the following types of
> posts will not be promoted:
> * copy-pasted content from other sources (blogs, etc.)
> * poorly written or incomprehensible content Occasionally we choose to
> hide posts that violate the open posting guidelines. Because of the
> 'real time' nature of the newswire, it is not possible to monitor its
> contents 24 hours a day. (All articles, hidden and showing can be
> inspected via the View all posts page. ) Articles and/or comments may
> be hidden for the following reasons:
> * Discrimination: posts using language, imagery, or other forms of
> communication promoting racism, fascism, xenophobia, sexism,
> homophobia, or any other form of discrimination.
> * Inaccuracy: posts that are inaccurate or misleading.
> * Advertising: posts with personal, group, or product advertisement.
> *Disruptive: Contributions by individuals who habitually publish above
> mentioned discouraged content. Posts where topical or regional
> selections disrupt the utility of the sub pages (i.e. spamming
> regional and topic selections).
> * Reposts: Articles that are simply copy-pasted from corporate news sites
> * Personal attack: Articles and/or comments that contain abusive
> language against other activists or site users. On very rare
> occasions, some content may be fully deleted. Past instances have
> included content including pornography and personal details. Korea IMC
> follows this editorial guideline which is designed for the smooth
> functioning of the website and upholding the IMC Principles of Unity.