Fwd: [New-imc] refining the new imc process - some comments

[Sheri Herndon]

blast from the past, but i think it's worth revisiting.

comments from matthew with sydney imc and cat, the tech collective 
that wrote the active code that runs alot of indymedia....

>
>>there was one kind of important imc thing that i was hoping to chat with
>>both of you about, after various discussions with some australian
>>indymedia people.
>>
>>it's about introducing new indymedia centres to the network.
>>
>>i would like to suggest a slight refinement of the process (although maybe
>>you've already done this).
>>
>>...
>>
>>1. when people first ask us about becoming indymedia centres, i think we
>>should make it very clear that they can go ahead and get started doing
>>whatever things their local group things is appropriate.
>>
>>2. if they can get their own server setup, great!
>>
>>3. if they can get access to share one of the existing servers, that's
>>great too! although of course each server collective will have some way of
>>deciding whether they want to host a new city, to do with their own level
>>of resources and how they perceive the new city's needs and methods.
>>
>>4. if they want to use existing software, we can point them to the various
>>copyleft indymedia softwares out there. if they want to code their own,
>>great!
>>
>>5. if they want advice on what methods of organising work for existing
>>indymedia centres, then we can point them to resources on that.
>>
>>6. if they want to use the indymedia name, and especially if they want to
>>be linked from the indymedia network and have cityname.indymedia.org,
>>*then* that's when they need to confirm they are aware of whatever
>>definitions that parts of the network have managed to come up with of just
>>what indymedia means: open publishing, principles of unity, etc.
>>
>>7. and finally we need to ask them, please do keep in the communication
>>loop, and here's how we're trying to do network communication at the
>>moment.
>>
>>...
>>
>>sheri and i were talking just before i left about the need to educate new
>>people when they join indymedia collectives. and about how important it is
>>not to drown beginners in information.
>>
>>i think the same applies to new indymedia centres, and it's especially
>>important to keep the information flow under control when the new people
>>joining don't have english as a native language.
>>
>>it's something i have seen happen several times in my community media
>>past, where people are very interested in a project, and the response is
>>an enthusiastic flood of info, and the new people feel overwhelmed and
>>effectively disconnect from the project. doesn't matter how many emails or
>>phone messages you leave, they're wiped out. meeting face to face might
>>help, but that's not always easy to do.
>>
>>so i hope we can all be strategic in our process of helping new
>>collectives become part of this powerful network.
>>
>>...
>>
>>anyway i think that's the guts of it. from stuff i've been hearing from
>>you and others, there is an awareness of parts of this atleast, and a lot
>>of this is already what is happening. but perhaps parts of it need to be
>>more explicit.
>>
>>my perception of what happened with jakarta is that they wanted to start
>>up in time for mayday 2001. now stallman was not ready to take on new
>>cities, but if there had been more explicit awareness of point (1) above,
>>then it's quite possible an australian server would have jumped in to help
>>- which is what ended up happening months later anyway.
>>
>>and if there were good mayday stories on jakarta's site, then some of them
>>would probably get linked as stories from australian (and other) imc's.
>>
>>(there could even be a list somewhere of indymedia-style sites that aren't
>>yet full network members - we could call them openmedia or freemedia or
>>something.)
>>
>>and then as jakarta learnt by doing, and as they wanted to get linked from
>>the sidebar, we could have then dealt with the network issues (perhaps
>>including evolution of those ideas to deal with the different cultual and
>>political situation in jakarta). meanwhile though, local people in jakarta
>>would be using indymedia ideas and technology to make media as much as
>>they find it useful and creative to do so, which is one of the most
>>important things.
>>
>>i think network solidarity and common ground is very important. i also
>>think that we need to be careful not to give the impression that local
>>groups need to stop making media while they go through the process of
>>joining the network. i think with ideas like the above we can have both.
>>
>>...
>>
>>i am almost completely ignorant about the new-imc process: what i know is
>>from the very early days of the new-imc list, plus various no doubt dodgy
>>second-hand reports. my apologies for that.
>>
>>please do with these ideas what you will. no obligations -- fundamentally
>>because i am not an active member of the indymedia network, it is up to
>>people who are active to decide whether they wish to take up the network's
>>time with my ramblings.
>>
>>cheers,
>>m.
>
>
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In sum, we are an army of dreamers, and therefore invincible.  How 
can we fail to win, with this imagination overturning everything. 

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