[![HOW TO: Free Culture][1]][2]
I would like to start a discussion regarding something I’m myself guilty
of. I feel there’s no communication between chapters. Sure, we meet
every two years at our conference, some are very active in the
discussion mailing list, but this is definitely not enough. Chapters are
at the battlefront of the issues we are fighting, like [closed
universities][3], net neutrality, and copyright law reform.
Currently I feel we are working independently. I think this is not the
best approach. Chapters should be collaborating with each other. Sharing
ideas and planning activities together. Telling everyone else what they
are doing, and how they are doing it.
This is very helpful for many reasons. First, for already established
chapters, it’s a way to organize new activities. We can copy and remix
what others have done. For new chapters, it is invaluable information.
It shows them what we are doing, what they can do too. We have already
prepared a chapter kick starter, [Year One][4], but more information is
always better.
I also believe this speeds up the planning of activities. For example,
if I plan a [FOSS Gaming Night][5] for [...@uprm][6], I need to prepare a
flier to post in the bulletin boards around campus. But, if a chapter
decides to host a gaming night as well, or something very similar, they
shouldn’t need to make a whole new flier. They should be able to use the
same flier/art a chapter already used. It’s only a matter of changing
some text and, perhaps, a little bit of remixing. It’s the model we
support and sponsor, a bottom-up way of making things. Like Newton once
said “If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders
of Giants."
[![free culture and mind 009][7]][8]
This is not a new idea. I know there are a couple fliers somewhere in
the [wiki][9], but I have no idea where they are, and that’s a problem.
There should be a centralized place for all this, and something that is
chapter friendly. The wiki can be a good place, but it’s currently more
like a labyrinth. Perhaps a couple people from various chapters can join
the [webteam][10] and do something together. I recently joined the
webteam and I’m ready to work on this. Who’s with me?
I propose many things:
* The creation of a new mailing list for chapters. Think of it like
chapter news. We tell each other what we are doing. It might be short
and sweet. Something like “We are talking about ACTA next Thursday.” Or
better yet, attached to the message is some art for the activity.
* UPDATE: Well, this mailing list exists. I had no idea about it. I
don’t know if I’m the only one that didn’t know about it, but, let use
that. It already exists [here][11].
* A centralized place for fliers. Something that’s organized and
usable.
* Meeting in IRC. I miss the days when chapters would have meetings in
IRC. These were planned meetings, not just “Hey Sparragus, what’s up?
How’s f...@uprm doing?” It would also be awesome if the board attended the
meetings, too.
* Blogging more! We should be blogging more. In the SFC website, under
[chapter news][12], I always see a couple posts every other month. This
is great. However, I would love to see more, and specially from more
chapters. Blog once for every activity you have. And this is not
necessarily blogging for SFC, but blogging for our members, our
university, and for the world. We need to make sure the name of Students
for Free Culture stands up high, and so does our chapters. Blogging is
the easiest and quickest solution for this. Once again, it’s a great way
to know what others are doing.
Let’s start conversing with each other! I would love to hear your
thoughts on this. What should we do and how should we do it?
See ya all around!
[1]: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/2/3556250_449e2d42b2.jpg
[2]: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scuddr/3556250/ (HOW TO: Free
Culture by Scuddr, on Flickr)
[3]: http://wiki.freeculture.org/Open_University_Campaign
[4]: http://wiki.freeculture.org/Year_one
[5]: http://wiki.freeculture.org/UPRM_FOSS_Gaming_Night
[6]: http://uprm.freeculture.org
[7]: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/3/5140927_7d1770011b.jpg
[8]: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fcb/5140927/ (free culture and mind
009 by mecredis, on Flickr)
[9]: http://wiki.freeculture.org/Propaganda
[10]: http://freeculture.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/webteam
[11]: http://freeculture.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/chapters
[12]: http://freeculture.org/chapternews/
URL: http://freeculture.org/blog/2010/10/05/together-we-stand-divided-we-fall/
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