[CRNMC] Fwd: Very important changes, dates for next large group face to face

[dougmck at mcn.org]

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From: "" 
To: crn at lists.mnn.org
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Sent: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 11:59:10 -0700
Subject: Very important changes, dates for next large group face to
face

 Hello to all,

Sorry that I have not been participating in this list serve of
late.  I have been working from a mobile device and the interface
has been frustrating.  I have purchased a new laptop and it appears
the problem is solved.

Honestly, I have not been willing to dedicate myself to all of this
completely as the personal problems and the difficulty with
communication made me wonder if the volunteer time is worth the
effort.  Unfortunately, it has been my experience that any attempt
to form a community based on consensus is an extremely difficult task
as it only takes on person, one "control freak," that will work
outside of the system believing they work for the benefit of the
group but actually subconsciously sabotaging the consensus process. 


In recent weeks, it has become apparent to me that our system of
consensus is not functioning very well and must be revisited if we
are to continue forward as a group.  In order to proceed we must
reorganize our Committee system and fine tune the list serve so
members of the CRNMC can participate at whatever level they choose. 
If accomplished, a member could only participate in their sub-group
and only receive emails related to the workings of that group (i.e.
"lets meet at Frank's on Friday to make posters").  If any member
chooses to be more involved, they could also receive emails from the
general discussion forum and other sub groupings that may evolve in
the future.  Each subgroup could have a "point person" that would
also be included in the "point person group" and on up the chain
until a representative of the group sat on the "Central Hub
Committee."  Members could also start discussion groups about
specific topics, including the organization of the network, should
they choose, and any member can choose which discussion they would
like to participate in.  This would reduce email traffic for
everyone and anyone can chose their level of participation in he on
going conversation.

Tim Rice is working on this idea and developing a prototype that
could be employed via our website.  The "general discussion" could
also be set up as a blog on the web site so members who wanted to
participate could do so via the website and not receive email at all.

The current "core team" is meeting this afternoon to discuss all of
this, however, it has become apparent to most of us that we need
another large group meeting to discuss all of this face to face. 
This meeting must be better organized than the last so all of those
interested can come.  We need everyone who is still interested to
try and make it as we will be making critical decisions that will
effect the work of the group for some time to come. 

I am also currently feeling that focusing on a single issue may not
be the best approach.  I think we should be coordinating with all
the social activists in the county (public bank, occupy ect.)  as
many of us are already involved in other things and I see no reason
why different groups should compete with our limited resources to get
this work done.  For example, our last meeting conflicted with a
Public Bank meeting and several people did not come.  Isn't it the
function of the CRN to coordinate all these actions so we can all
work more effectively together?  I think this is worthy of
discussion.

Meg has offered up Aug. 16 or 17 as possibilities.  We need to nail
this down so we can begin to promote the date and time. Any feedback
would be helpful 

We are also looking for someone interested in web design.  

Doug McKenty
Point Person
Social Media Committee


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