Example of how we lose (fwd)

[Rich Littleton]

On Fri, 25 Jun 1999, Barb Weismann wrote:

> Rich:

> What are your priorities?
> 
----------------

Whew!  That question opens worlds of responses.

Let me answer that, and then I'll suggest that we might not get to do
anyone's priority list.

Rich's Priority List

1.	Recruit volunteers.
	This involves several aspects, including giving volunteers real
benefits, providing a "hovering" volunteer coordinating agency to monitor,
motivate and manage volunteer activities (the 3 Ms), and TRAIN THE
VOLUNTEERS so they understand the need to serve the community.

	The Volunteer Committee has been revitalized by the presence of
Nan Hawthorne and optomism burns brightly in beating breasts.  (Not bad,
for off the cuff aliteration!)

2.	Improve our E-mail Offering
	We need to get a graphical (GUI) e-mail program of quality.  One
the largest services SCNA provides is e-mail. But it is an uncomfortable
product for too many.  I just learned that our planned PPP connection as a
solution to this need will not really do the job because it will allow
only 40 connections at a time.  We should contact techies from other free
nets that have GUI e-mail and find out how those free nets deliver e-mail
products.  [BTW, this would automatically affect the help desk effort.
We would have LESS (tho still some) need for the help desk.  We should be
giving enough effort to building our e-mail teaching program that we would
automatically create a huge pool of help desk people.]

3.	Establish Universal Voting for the Board
	We now rely on voting by those who show up at a meeting on only
one night in the year.  That is not democratic and not necessay.  We
should have mailin ballots.  I think we should have electronic voting,
though some of the techies worry about security. But we don't have
security in the current method.  But, whether by mail or by electron, we
have to start having voting available to all the SCNA members. This
implies also implementing a forum in which debate, discussion, and
defiance (I needed a third D) can occur publically, so voters can see
candidate attitude.
	Related to this is the need to have both (*) advanced notice of
board meeting agendas (so the membership knows what is to be discussed),
and (*) the rapid production and distribution of minutes. Without these
information tools, there is little relationship between the board and the
membership. 

4.	Fundraising
	We need to see what IRS regulations will permit and try to get
benefits for people to sign up with scnA.  Right now there is not real
benefit, and SCNA is quaking at the risk of making the same mistake made
by Eugene, OR. So let's go find out!  

	We also need some of our new volunteers to set up a fundraising
group (forget the Board).  The group should probably be a handful of grant
writers.  (This is why # 1 is #1:  We need to get qualified volunteers to
do ANYTHING.)

5.	Revitalize our IP program
	We we should be the IP site of choice.  This is the second-most
important function (depending) SCNA provides.  The Speakeasy Cafe has done
a lot of this (the Seattle City Council member, Nick Lacitas, uses
Speakeasy (not SCN) for his newsletter to the public.), and we could do
more.  HOWEVER, it must be said that SCN has done a lot here already.
(That's why it is rated #2 in the community service evaluation.)  This is
by no means a negative area for SCNA.  It has slowed up a lot lately, but
it is an area where SCNA can serve to community better.  Perhaps we can
re-kindle our relationship with the Seattle Public Library by offering to
teach WEB site classes -- but, that then runs into the near-fatal fact
that we don't have graphical capablities so we can't show the user what
s/he has built.

These 5 prioritized goals should get us started.

*****************

	Here's where I raise the question that we might not get to
implement any priority list. 

	SCNA is not setting goals and priorities. (I've asked for the
SCNA priority list several times.)  The importance of this is that SCNA
Board decisions are not being guided by a clear, known-to-all, measurable 
list of what the organization is all about.  Should e-mail be more
important than Web hookup?  (dunno)  Should SCNA invest in conferencing
software? (dunno)  Should SCNA implement GUI e-mail? (dunno)  Should SCNA
offer a graphical browser (making appropriate system changes)?  (dunno)
Could SCNA provide benefits that increase fund increasing?  (dunno)

	We are falling out of favor with librarians.  We COULD lose our
piggyback onto SPL's hookup to the internet if (a) we do offer graphical
capabilities and (b) a commercial ISP challenges our competing by means of
piggybacking on the PUBLIC library bandwidth.  So, should we explore
funding to operate independently of SPL?

	SCNA does not know what it wants to do. Our lack of clarity about
our mission and/or role in the community delays decisions, which in turn
delay action, which threatens our prestige still more.

	Obviously, mission decisions change the priority list.  If SCN
decides it cannot provide GUI e-mail, then the e-mail priority item above
(#2) must be stricken from the list.



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