2025 Feb 06: How spokes communicate outside of meetings

How spokes communicate outside of meetings

Person or group submitting

Briar

Proposal History

Submission Date: 01/04/2025
Vote date: 2/6/25
Vote result: pass

Friendly Ammendments:

Worries expressed that discussion chat protocols need to be enforced
- Admins can figure out as they go, but some norms/protocols should be set in advance
Reword so there is no confusion about the representatives inviting new ones
suggestion proposed that any discussion should be wirtten inside the proposals themselves
Can the discussion chat be a free space to discuss? provides place for Working groups to discuss together
Does this proposal cause an issue with some admin metabolizing comments into meetings? Too much work, could be messy
discussion chat could be a “free play space”
Prep people for change i.e. “this is an experiment”
What is the relationship b/w this and the coordinators chat? (TBD pending directors sit down and refining the scope of the spokescouncil)
- Anyone can join the spokes chats v coordinators chat is currently only people who signed MOUs
QR codes to join chats

Motivation

To provide the spokes council with a means to discuss proposals outside of meetings, as well as to disseminate announcements to the larger body of the Woodbine membership.

Proposal overview slightly less tiny summary here

Two Signal chats will be created: 1) Woodbine Spokes Council Announcements, 2) Woodbine Spokes Council Chat. The first is purely for announcements (such as which proposals passed) and meant to be consumed by the entirety of the Woodbine membership. The latter is a chat for freeform discussion about upcoming proposals.

Details

Background info

To keep meetings moving quickly, we need a place for spokes representatives to discuss proposals before the meeting even starts. In addition, we need a way to keep the entirety of the Woodbine membership on the same page. These two chats will fulfill those functions.

Groups this affects

Spokes council

Work required

Create the 'Woodbine Spokes Council Announcements' Signal group and assign several members to administer it. Restrict messages to only the administrators.
Create the 'Woodbine Spokes Council Chat' Signal group and assign several members to administer it. Anyone can post in this chat.
Ongoing: Announcements chat administrators must follow up after meetings by consulting the meeting notes and share with the chat the outcome of the various agenda items.
Ongoing: people in the Announcements chat should invite new Woodbine members to join the chat.
Ongoing: after a spokes rep completes their term, they must invite the next rep to the Council Chat. They may choose to exit the chat at this point, though that is not required.

Individual or group doing labor

I will create both chats and invite Ash, Frank, Paul, Ella, LP, Andrew, and Iris to be admins
Whoever is representing the spokecouncilcouncil at the first meeting should announce the two chats at the first council and get everyone present to join the two chats.
The note-taker at each council meeting should message one of the Announcements administrators and send them the notes.
The Announcements administrator must forward the outcome of all agenda items to the Announcements group.
Spokes representatives must invite the incoming reps to the Chat group and invite new members of their working group to the Announcements chat

Money required

None

Proposals

Proposal #1: The Woodbine Spokes Council Announcements group

I propose that we form a Signal group called 'Woodbine Spokes Council Announcements,' which will be a platform through which the spokes council can communicate with the entirety of the Woodbine body. While everyone will have view access, only administrators will be allowed to send messages. New administrators can be voted in during a spokes council following the standard proposal process, and initial admins will include Ash, Frank, Paul, Ella, LP, Andrew, and Iris. Council note-takers are responsible for sending a link to the notes to one of the administrators, and that admin is responsible for forwarding the outcome of all agenda items to the group. Spokes representatives are responsible for inviting new working group members into the chat.

Proposal #2: The Woodbine Spokes Council Chat'group

I propose that we form a Signal group called 'Woodbine Spokes Council Chat',' which will be a platform through which the spokes reps can communicate prior to a meeting. Everyone will have both view access and the ability to send messages. Initial admins will include Ash, Frank, Paul, Ella, LP, Andrew, and Iris, though additional admins can be voted in via the group chat with 5+ thumbs up. After their terms, spokes representatives are responsible for inviting the new rep into the chat. Any member of a woodbine working group can join the chat, regardless of whether they are, have been, or will be a rep.

comments (format: commenter name: comment)

Ash: I like this idea. Seems a very simple and robust way to begin. To make sure we are embodying non-hiearchical values, we can caveat when we introduce the chats and the protocols to the wider group that the chats and their administration are open to changes via proposals, as anything else would be.

I have a question about this part: "After their terms, spokes representatives are responsible for inviting the new rep into the chat." Are we, as admin, only inviting the first round of delegates? Or are we adding everyone who is invited to the spokescouncil via a flyer?

briar: as admins, we need to ensure that the first round of delegates join, but anyone else is welcome to join too.

frankie: i like the idea of these chats! perhpas QR codes to join them can be posted in our glorious proposals area in Woodbine (as suggested in the other proposal)

LP: I'd like to consider condensing some of these various roles we're developing if possible? Again, in basement we had: Agenda wrangling, Meeting page posting, and Invites were one person, like "Convener." Might be