Here’s the plan: the newsletter will be open to all readers on-line at http://gbwnw.blogspot.com/. Whenever a quarterly issue comes out, I’ll send out an e-mail announcement to all NW Chapter members and the other GBW members who would normally receive a copy (members of the executive committee, chairs and newsletter editors of all chapters).
I’ve thought about providing a link to the newsletter from our chapter website, which would make it accessible to prospective members and GBW members from other regions. My guess, though, is that there would be concern about protecting access to the newsletter as a chapter membership privilege. Agreeing not to advertise the link would not be ironclad protection, but also wouldn’t be welcoming outsiders with open arms. I’m curious how GBW members who belong to (and support) multiple chapters feel about this issue, as it seems especially relevant to them.
It would also be possible to make the newsletter accessible only to a closed group of e-mail addresses, but somewhat cumbersome. Every member would have to have a Google account and log on in order to read it. In my mind, the increased ease and utility of an open newletter makes up for the lack of controls over readership. I realize others might see it differently. And I’m sure some of you have more expertise and experience in these things than I do, so I welcome your comments.
Please feel free to leave feedback by posting a comment, or by contacting me at smcollard@gmail.com. (To read or post comments, just click on "COMMENTS" at the bottom of each section to view the pop-up window. You can type or paste your comment in the box. Even if you have a Google account, please select "other" and enter your full name, then press "publish comment." Since comment moderation is in place, your comment will not appear immediately.)
1 comment:
I'm in favor of more openness than less. Not sure what we have to keep closeted anyhow. Not even sure that I want to keep the comments restricted to NW members. Keeping it open makes it searchable by the general public who might be interested in a particular topic, which I think is an advantage to members.
I like the blog format, much more of a 2 way street for a community newsletter. The only downside is that you don't get the goodies that used to arrive in the post along with the newsletter. But maybe that can be remedied in other ways,
Good job, Sue!
Shu-Ju Wang
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