[AmazonSteeringCte] Fw: use of Amazon Neighbors listserv

Fri Mar 29 16:07:46 CDT 2019

Hi Lindsay,

Here is the report I made to Amazon Steering Committee regarding the policies I have been following as Admin of our two email listservs.  This could and probably should be edited into a document to be posted on our website.  As admin, I tried to follow what was customary in the past as well as my view that regarding our Steering Committee listserv,  business and discussions conducted electronically are public records.  Many persons, yourself included, have been added to our Steering Committee email list without being official members, when participating in its work and discussions.  This helps us recruit new official members (as you became) and keep former official members (such as yourself) informed enough to continue to share their knowledge.

As explained at the end, this particular communication wasn't posted to the Steering Committee list due to exceptional circumstances--some members were too distrustful/lacking information about our list that they refused to use it. So I sent it their way to show I understood they had concerns.  We didn't vote on these policies one way or another; this is not the only time the SC has come to an apparent agreement but neglected to hold an official vote at a meeting, which is something to avoid.  But since I was officially designated email admin by our annual election, these are the rules I have set, subject to the will of the body.

As mentioned in the beginning of the email, I didn't make any explicit statement about what is private or public in Steering Committee business.  I will say that I don't believe it is necessary for a few individuals who are tasked with a job, or preparing a proposal for the entire group, to archive their email discussions or record their phone calls for the sake of complying with open meeting laws.  Also, we follow the HRNI (Human Rights and Neighborhood Involvement) guidelines about releasing personal information on Steering Committee members...only one contact for the group is posted online by the City, names of members are available on request/checking minutes online but contact information for individual members is only provided by them.

If and when we prepare a document describing our email policies, I will advocate having some general goals stated, such as: including all neighbors in our business when they wish to be involved or kept informed; insuring our discussions are potentially available to all city residents, in particular those involved in neighborhood associations; having our electronic communications be as useful and desired as possible by the recipients; and help us recruit participants for our work on behalf of the neighborhood.

Thank you for your continued interest in the Amazon Neighborhood Association!

Randy Prince
ANA Steering Committee, Email Admin
541-345-3306

________________________________
From: Randy Prince <randyprince24 at hotmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2019 10:01 PM
To: Jay DeKalb; Rachael Latimer
Cc: Kara Steffensen; Kevin Shanley; Robert MacConnell; Rene Kane; KANE Rene C
Subject: Re: use of Amazon Neighbors listserv

I have some other work I must complete today and am not able to address tonight the issues of transparency and inclusiveness vs privacy in our Steering Committee and General Membership email lists.  However I would like to provide some factual information prior to such a discussion, which I recommend be conducted at a meeting.  Some of this information differs with some of the statements made in the email below that I am replying to.  Hopefully this will clarify.

The Membership list is maintained with all addresses supplied by persons who attend any ANA meetings or who otherwise request it.  As such, it is not restricted to residents of the Amazon neighborhood, no attempt is made to screen those who are not known to be members as to whether they qualify by virtue of ownership or business operation in the neighborhood.  Some persons who are known to not be members of the Association are on the list, for example, City Councilor, board members and residents of adjoining neighborhoods, guest speakers and others who have attended our general meetings.  As list administrator, I do not vet these non ANA members for any particular qualifications, nor are Association members vetted as qualified to receive or submit posts.  There have been no requests to remove persons from our list for reasons of improper use of the information distributed on this list.

All posts on the Membership list are moderated by the administrator, with six exceptions.  These six are the current Steering Committee members who use email in connection with their membership on the SC:  Jay, Kevin, Kara, Rachael, Randy, Robert.  Those persons may post to the general membership list without moderation.  The list is moderated by the administrator (one; myself) to meet criteria that:  1)There is a limit of about 5-20 posts per month, to insure interest, with the subject line clearly stating the subject.  In general, there are no discussion threads or "re:" subject lines. 2) the posts must be potentially of interest to all those on the list, although they need not necessarily concern ANA activities.  Events and activities specific to our neighborhood and the immediate environs are preferred.  3) The posts must be non-partisan and on controversial issues must not imply official endorsement on one side of an issue, particularly where the ANA has taken no position.  4) Activities of the ANA take top priority; announcement of events scheduled in conflict with ANA events, or in the same week, may be declined or time shifted if it could result in lowered attendance at the ANA event.

Typical posts that the moderator has been approving with little delay include:  posts of public activities in the Masonic Cemetery; some of the public activities sponsored by 4J schools or parent associations, eg sales, donation drives; activities in Amazon Park; public events sponsored by adjoining Neighborhood Associations.  Some submissions have been rejected or returned for rewrite, most often because because it is a topic that is not of general interest to the list members or is not specific to events in or near or neighborhood.  Posting of ANA General Meeting announcements, official Steering Committee minutes and draft SC agendas is viewed as a primary purpose of this list--outreach to the neighbors--and have never been withheld when available.

There are currently 184 names on the list.  I currently have some to add.  Subtractions only occur when the recipients unsubscribe or the address is defunct.

The Steering Committee list is composed of those SC members who use email and any other regular participants in SC business.  There are currently 8 persons who receive the posts made to the SC list.  Those are the six SC members mentioned above, plus two "others".  The criteria for being an "other" is whether the person is an Amazon neighbor who regularly participates in the business of the SC, by attending SC meetings in person, and/or has prior experience in ANA and provides institutional memory.

Current "others" on the list are 1)  Bob Cassidy [longtime former SC member, occasional SC meeting attendee]  and 2) Marcy Cauthorn [longtime publications volunteer/editor, past attendee of SC meetings].

"Others" who have recently been deleted or suspended from receiving posts are:  1) Lindsay Massara [2018 SC member; no recent SC meeting attendance], 2 Todd Boyle [Amazon neighbor frequent participant in 2018 SC meeting; no recent SC meeting attendance],  2) Val Blood [ 2017 SC member; moved out of neighborhood], 4) Larry Robidoux/Thelma Soderquist [Longtime SC members; no recent ANA meeting attendance].

Several recent or current SC members have been included on the Steering Committee list prior or just after official membership on the SC.  The purpose of maintaining an SC list is to facilitate a centralized email address where the emailed business of the SC can be found.  It is intended to provide an easily accessible (to SC members) record of matters such as email votes and delegation of tasks.  In the recent past it has also been used to encourage prospective SC members to participate in ANA business, however it has never been sent to someone who has never been to an ANA Steering Committee meeting.

All persons on the SC list are unmoderated and may post to immediately communicate with the other members and participants.  There have been no complaints as to anyone's posts, which have been generally few.

There is a Resources list owned by Amazon Neighbors with two names on it; once used for threads and discussions similar to Nextdoor, it is currently inactive.

All lists used by the ANA are for public outreach and related organizational support and are managed to be eligible for cost-reimbursement in accordance with City policies pertaining to the Communications funds.

Out of consideration for the privacy concerns voiced, and the lack of specific information prior to now as to who is on what list, I have made this post to individuals only and not to the SC list as would be customary for discussion like this.  The List administrator (myself) regards it as the responsibility of the Co-Chairs to insure that SC members who do not participate in SC business through email are informed of the contents of SC business conducted by email.  Rene Kane at HRNI is copied.

Randy Prince
ANA Steering Committee, Email Admin

________________________________
From: Jay DeKalb <jaydekalb at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2019 7:27 PM
To: Rachael Latimer
Cc: Kara Steffensen; Kevin Shanley; Randy prince; Robert MacConnell
Subject: Re: use of Amazon Neighbors listserv

I agree! We also have subscribers to the website that request updates. Maybe we can scrub and combine the lists.

On Jan 31, 2019, at 2:25 PM, Rachael Latimer <rachaellatimer at gmail.com<mailto:rachaellatimer at gmail.com>> wrote:

All,

I would like us to be on the same page regarding the way to initiate board discussions and distribute information that is intended for current board members.

To that end, because our Amazon Neighbors listserv includes individuals that are not on the board, I'd like to see us not use it to distribute meeting minutes and other communications. We should be using individual emails. If anyone needs the emails of board members, please let me know.

I would also like to address the use of the Amazon Neighbors listserv. People give us their email addresses to be updated by the board on events and news of the neighborhood. It is not for individuals to use as an op ed. I believe we need to moderate the list so that members are not receiving email they did not sign up for. If we can not act as moderators, then we may risk losing people to our listserv. If moderation is not possible, we might also ask that those subscribed agree to a Terms of Use (to be developed) that include getting posts approved.

Thanks for considering these actions that are really about considering those that have entrusted us with their email addresses and the importance of being able to have a fruitful board discussion.

Hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy this sun!

-Rachael
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