RADIO FREE USGENWEB....broadcasting live from pirate satellite! The following information represents summarized information from the minutes of the Advisory Board of the USGenWeb Project, obtained from the publicly available archives at Rootsweb. The original messages are no longer available at that site, and I have been placed under a threat of lawsuit if I post them. Thus they are here summarized for your information; all quotations from the original material are clearly marked and fall under the fair use' provision of U.S. Copyright law. If you want to see the originals, petition the Board for them. Message ID numbers have been provided to make this easier for you. Material in brackets constitutes editorial comments. All the following material represents the personal opinion of this author, based on my understanding of events and on the original material. As always, there are two sides to every coin, and if anyone wishes to clarify or rebut anything below, I will be happy to post it. 4 DECEMBER 1998 Highlights: Spam on GenConnect; the evil -ALL list and its resident critics; election committee reports; a CC talks to the Board; divorcing constituents; new lists and who to run them. +++++++ On December 4, 1998 the Advisory Board once again retreated to the sanctity and safety of its secret list. We'll see why below. Betsy Mills posts in reference to a "spammer" on the GenConnect boards who posted a solicitation for his genealogical research business on "GC boards all over the US". There is also some discussion of a complaint [apparently sent to Bob Bamford who had no idea what the complainant was referring to. Ed.] about the handling of the matter. The complainent thinks the handling of the complaint was "tasteless" and feels that the National Coordinator should have notified all national and state organizations that "absolutely no for hire will be tolerated". Betsy asks if she should forward the complaint to the GC staff. (Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 10:42:32 -0600; From: Betsy Mills ; Message-Id: <199812041640.IAA16164@bl-3.rootsweb.com>; Subject: Re: Somebody?) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" In a later post, Bob Bamford asks her to forward the complaint to the GC staff. (Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 12:05:05 -0500; From: Bob Bamford ; Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19981204120505.007c6c40@citrus.infi.net>; Subject: Re: Somebody?) Betsy posts the response of George Waller [USGENWEB-ALL list moderater] to her complaint about "merope" posting her private message. In her original message to George [attached to the Board-Exec post summarized here. Ed.] she asked George to "something about merope" as that poster has "gotten completely out of hand and is destroying what we have all worked so hard to create." Betsy obtained George's permission to share his thoughts concerning the -ALL list with the members of the Board. She thinks a new list, possibly called USGENWEB-POLITICS should be started [since they are prevented by the bylaws from actually closing the -ALL list. Ed.]. George's statements summarized are: 1. He will admonish merope' for posting private messages 2. He doesn't consider that merope' is destroying anything, but she is demoralizing and he considers that she has discredited herself with all but a few other subscribers 3. He considers that is OK to allow troublesome posters to "mouth off on -ALL" because it keeps them from discussing things on the state lists and stirring up discontent at the CC level. 4. He has observed that when issues are discussed at the state level, they tend to be ignored. (Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 14:15:48 -0600; From: Betsy Mills ; Message-Id: <199812042013.MAA28463@bl-3.rootsweb.com>; Subject: Fwd: Re: merope) Kay Mason, Election Committee Chair, posts information on the election committees and how they were formed. She says the committee is composes of volunteers from the last election and four new volunteers. She claims these are the only four people who volunteered [there might have been more had there been a call for volunteers. Ed.] She also solicited four members whose writings on various mail lists impressed her. Several people she asked declined. Each regional subcommittee is requested to find a liason from each state. Committee members are as follows: Dale "Doc" Schneider-software Randy Winch-software Bob Bamford... acting NC, ex-officio Trey Holt- Board member Megan Zurawicz- Advisor Sue Soden - Advisor Webpages- Celia Snyder NE/NC voters Bob Bremer -chair Jeri Shangle NW/Plains Bob Oliver - chair SW/SC Ken Short - chair Harold Kilmer NM SE/MA Ellen Pack chair Beck Earles - KY Nominations: Ginger Hayes chair Shari Handley Ron Eason Roger Swafford Rita Maggard Committee to combine all the lists: Carol Walker Les Shockey (Date: Fri, 4 Dec 1998 07:41:31 -0800; From: "Kay Mason" ; Message-Id: <199812041544.HAA06584@mail.networkone.net>; Subject: Elections committee) Kathy Heidel posts a message from a member indicating that a previous message can be posted to the Board list and indicates she is "doing this to shut her up." She [Kathy] is "tired of being grilled by her" and offers to "send her along to somone else." She asks for volunteers. [she apparently failed to post the correct message. Ed.] (Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 11:42:42 -0600; From: Kathy Welch Heidel ; Message-ID: <36681F0D.4A4F2799@tri.net>; Subject: Me again) Bob Bamford posts that he has read responses to "the above posting" [he is referring to a post by a CC that is not presented here to preserve that person's anonymity, by their request. Ed.] and his options have ranged from frustration to "physical mayhem" [committed upon whom, I wonder? Ed.] The consensus of the group is that they should dissasociate themselves from the -ALL list and have a plan. His suggestions: 1. Remove all mention of the -ALL list from the national pages [without a public vote by the Board, like the last time you edited that page? For shame, Bob. Ed.] 2. Should it be replaced with a "help" list or steer the CCs to their state organizations. He feels the Board is "in fact usurping the SCs authority." 3. He has asked the sender of the original message for permission to use it anonymously, as a post to either the -ALL list or to BOARD-L. 4. He suggests a Daily Board Report to counter the Daily Board Show [As if. Ed.], as follows: MOTIONS (Motion, as made and seconded along with voting period. Results of votes) TOPICS UNDER DISCUSSION (Items "on the floor" with the board for example: Discussing improved communication; Discussing complaint about a certain page carrying advertising (no specifics); etc.) GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS (Call for volunteers to help with election at state level; Date for closing of nominations; etc.) He also suggests that they post the last 10, 15 or 30 days of Board reports be placed on a website, to replace the current vote count page [and after 30 days where would we go to see who voted on what? Ed.] Bob feels it is imperative that the Board establish a line of communication with the CCs that does not burden the SCs. He states: "The intent here, very simply is to develop a line of communication that makes the -ALL list redundant. As someone suggested, let it die on the vine". ( Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 13:16:35 -0500; From: Bob Bamford ; Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19981204131635.007e5b70@citrus.infi.net>; Subject: Communication from a potential CC etc.) Betsy Mills, in reference to a troublesome constituent who she responded privately to only because she didn't want be told to that she ignored her, posts the following: "I will send any further communication from her to the trash. I am divorcing her as a constituent." [The constituent in question received no formal notification that she no longer has any representation on the Board. Ed.] Betsy also asks that the board be set to reply to the list. (Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 12:55:14 -0600; From: Betsy Mills ; Message-Id: <199812041853.KAA24015@bl-3.rootsweb.com>; Subject: Re: Me again) Kathy Heidel notes that Trey Holt is the remaining representative who has not "divorced" the constituent mentioned above. As she notes: "two down and one to go". (Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 14:15:44 -0600; From: Kathy Welch Heidel ; Message-ID: <366842ED.ECAB516D@tri.net>; Subject: Re: Me again) Bob Bamford attempts to crack several jokes about the divorcing of constituents and notes the soon merope' will "have no one to talk to but Timmy and Eric with John West to mediate". [no wonder they need a secret list. Ed.] (Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 16:02:36 -0500; From: Bob Bamford ; Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19981204160236.007b7410@citrus.infi.net>; Subject: Re: Me again) Teresa Davis, in reply to Bob's post above, notes that it is a shame. (Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 15:45:44 -0600; From: Teresa Davis ; Message-Id: <199812042145.QAA09838@mail.msy.bellsouth.net>; Subject: Re: Me again) Betsy Mills posts a message apparently with her "Rootsweb hat" on. She notes that both Rootslady' and Rita Maggard [currently the list manager of USGENWEB-DISCUSS] want a "new kinder list" and Brian Leverich is anxious to grant anyone's wish to resolve the problems with the -ALL list. He asked her in her capacity as RW staff to help other RW staff members decide which list to create and all list creation is on hold until the Board gives its input. She asks for the board's "input and approval" to "make this a list blessed by the board". She indicates that potential listowners needed to begin writing their welcome messages with rules for participation. She also needs to report on her progress to her boss [that would be Brian Leverich, not the USGW National Coordinator. Ed]. She points out that otherwise they would "still have the old ALL list hanging over our heads." She wants to keep the ALL list but rename it to USGENWEB-POLITICS and thinks it will be used to discuss bylaws revisions. She also says: "We need to either allow people to sub to board-l without being able to post or we need the new list that is read-only that Bob mentioned for our own Daily Board Report. We will be able to get that one very quickly also." [of course. Ed.] (Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 21:37:31 -0600; From: Betsy Mills ; Message-Id: <199812050335.TAA24773@bl-3.rootsweb.com>; Subject: Possible solution to the ALL list) [The "problems with the -ALL list" agonized over so painfully in the messages cited above have been ongoing for seven or eight months. The flame wars during the election last summer are legendary. So why kill the list now? Well, the big difference is that then it was them flaming a bunch of people who they mostly managed to chase off the list, out of their elected office, out of their State and/or County Coordinatorships, and sometimes out of the project. Then it was OK that the -ALL list was a cesspool. Now that there are critics they can't scare off, can't get fired, can't get banned, its time to talk about shutting down the County Coordinator's list, the only truly national public forum in the project. Just wait. It gets better. Ed.] ------------------------------ Radio Free USGENWEB, 1998, Teresa Lindquist, all rights reserved.