I agree that we should vote, for precedent's sake.
I would support a bullshit consensus to begin voting as soon as we have a specific plan laid out, provided that voting is open on at least one weekend day and one week day.
I would also support adding Deena's graphic or one like it at the same height as the logo, either in place of the logo for the duration of the strike or immediately to the right of it. Immediately to the left would be aesthetically displeasing to me.
Go go gadget fandom. Support the writers. I'll vote early and often, whenever the community decides.
That is all.
I think people are interchanging a couple of ideas here.
- One is supporting the WGA.
- The other is aligning with the Fans4Writers.com support of the WGA
I believe that Allyson is proposing some version of the second. And if so, that needs to be spelled out, for the vote. What that involves and what committment the Buffistas are making.
On one end of the spectrum, we can do that banner, post a link and say, yeah, B.org is on board, yay! On the other end, we establish as a Campaign Affiliate and begin to work out how we align Buffistas support activities.
The Fans4Writers site is looking to Consolidate the fanbase support of the Writers and the WGA. There site provides a lot of resources and ideas on how to effectively do that.
- There's a Strike FAQ page which is being continually updated.
- A Participation page with ideas about how to support the Strikers; contact the Networks; contact the Advertisers; and get the word out.
- Then there is "Food for Thought", which is co-ordination of and help with the snacks for the picket lines approach. Part of it is to manage volunteers, part of it is to collect funds, but part of it is trying to consolidate the response and spread the efforts to avoid clustering. It also provides a way for fandoms or fansites to give as a group for their own specified agendas, but without any real risk of money disappearing or efforts being wasted.
I do think that there will be overwhelming support to align the b.org and to take on whatever that involves according to how Allyson writes the end ballot.
But I also don't think that anyone wants to have to keep coming back and choosing between consensus and voting every time some new show of support crops up. That's the situation we created when we decided to move with Bureaucracy and voting and for it to have any value, we have to honour it in all situations.
Maybe though, the decision isn't about aligning with this particular group, but whether Buffistas wish to actively support the WGA and how they will do that. I'm not trying to make this more difficult than it needs to be, but if we take a bit longer now, thinking it through, I believe we'll overcome some delays and be able to act faster, and more effectively later on.
Personally, I'd suggest electing a couple of representatives to run with it, whatever may come up. They can take responsibility for making calls when they are comfortable doing so and for taking the boards temperature on things they aren't so sure about. They can alert the board to things that are happening, opportunitites to donate, ways to volunteer etc. And in electing them, everyone else agrees to be personally responsible for keeping up with the discussions in whichever thread they are taking place.
It's not a bullshit consensus if we elect our Spartacuses, right?
A Participation page with ideas about how to support the Strikers; contact the Networks; contact the Advertisers; and get the word out.
Other than the AMPTP address on that page, has anyone consolidated a list of the Advertisers? I don't mean all of them. Just the main ones that you see over and over.
topicy: I would completely support an alliance and would love to see a support logo on the site.
Julie, I love your idea of electing representatives. If, you know, there are people willing to do it. (I myself have neither the time nor the contacts, but my credit card is all warmed up!)
I am only proposing that we put the logo on our site as a sign of solidarity with the writers, and with the organization who is organizing support for the writers. They're sort of a booster club, setting up a way for a) various fandoms and individuals to contribute to keeping spirits up during the strike by organizing a continuous stream of fandom support, b) educating the public about the strike, and c) showing the studios that the audience is supporting the writers.
By way of that, if we collect funds and bring goodie bags to our loved ones holding signs, I'd post that information to their site so that they know that particular area has been covered for the day.
We remain autonomous.
If I may summarize, to get this show on the road, a graphic with a link on the front page (and every page?), with the understanding that it would be nice to let them know about anything we're doing in support. Is that a fair summary?
I will offer to count, btw, if no one else has.
I would add: Temporary edit to the Minearverse slug saying "Strike talk lives here!"
I'm all for the ideas presented here, whichever ones we wind up implementing. I'm also for direct support of the strikers, as I've driven by them several times, and was already thinking about actually putting in some time on the picket lines in some way. I'm glad to see a web site offering ways to do that, and to coordinate efforts.