Open to the public, San Francisco, 12:00 PM Pacific Time, December 7, 2002
Please email board@onlinepolicy.org for specific location if you wish to attend.
Board Meeting Action Item Summary
New action items followed by action items from prior meetings.
Action Item: Will to put possibility of using OPG as agent on domain registration
form so that clients may stay out of whois database.
Action Item: Will to enter all board action items into new opg-board queue
in RT task manager.
Action Item: Roger to draft and Will to edit December donor appeal.
Action Item: Biella to investigate video conference locations available
to Across World Communications so that OPG may set up a video conference
with potential clients worldwide.
Action Item: David W. and Will to get keys for cage
at United Layer.
Action Item: Roger to contact Jeff about helping with United
Layer clients.
Action Item: Will to catch up on backlog of thank you notes.
Action Item: Alayna to put amounts requested onto OPG grant writing spreadsheet.
Action Item: Alayna to add Veritas Foundation to the list (http://www.veritas.com/aboutus/foundation/GrantProposal.jhtml)
Action Item: Roger and Will to come up with email list categories
and a pull-down for those categories on the email list request forms.
Action Item: Will to add default support queues
for email lists, web hosting, and domain registrations.
Action Item: Roger to make recommendations for improving
email request forms.
Action Item: Roger to investigate whether
OPG can make MoveableType available to clients so they can
set up blogs.
Action Item: Roger to investigate whether
OPG can make Gallery available to clients so they can
set up picture galleries.
Action Item: Biella to revitalize Rianna, the volunteer working on graphic treatment
for the Online oddities & atrocities museum.
Action Item: Will to make the items for free services and donations
are on the front page, but want them to be more obvious.
Action Item: Will to send volunteer brochure designer the Word
file for the brochure with specific directions on proposing
brochures that focus more on the organizational tag line than
the organizational name.
Action Item: Biella to write counter-proposal to Tech Fed email list
proposal and run it by OPG Board before posting on Tech Fed wiki.
Action Item: Biella to pitch a story on OPG to Andrew Leonard of Salon.
Action Item: Roger to ask Beth Weise of NLGJA to pitch or let OPG pitch
a story on OPG to their members.
Action Item: Roger to check on moving other websites under
QueerNet domain to private domains.
Action Item: Biella to request creation of remote-volunteers@lists.onlinepolicy.org
Action Item: Biella to investigate proposal to Alameda County Resource Center. [Renewed]
Action Item: David W. to ask his girlfriend if she wants to do grant writing. [Renewed]
Action Item: Biella to put grant writing intern flyers at local schools. [Renewed]
Action Item: Will to set up twice weekly aggregated automated task manager email reminders. [Renewed]
Action Item: Roger to connect Majordomo2 folks with extreme programmer team. [Done]
Action Item: Extreme programmers onto Majordomo2 development list at mj2-dev@csf.colorado.edu [Done]
Action Item: Will to create HTML stubs for email list, website hosting, domain registration,
and colocation services provided by [QueerNet|CCCP], a project of the
Online Policy Group. [Renewed]
Action Item: Roger to review all OPG domain registration contacts for bogosity. [Renewed]
Action Item: Will to write release on Special Olympics and Hurricane Electric.
[Done for Special Olympics; Board pointed out that the draft of the HE release
is overly praiseworthy of HE and that our goal should be publicity for CCCP/OPG
and good will with HE, but we need to watch out for possible contradiction with potential
later vendor problems. Board assigned Will to edit the release.]
Action Item: Roger to get ssh, ftp, and mail server working for Center tenants. [Done
with Mitch and Marlon's help]
Action Item: Will to investigate rent reduction for services offered to Center. [Board
agreed to stop investigating rent reduction.]
Action Item: Roger to add to email list subscription confirmation email a notice
not to confirm if under 13 years of age. [Renewed]
Action Item: Biella to recruit Larry Lessig for Academic Advisory Board. [Renewed]
Action Item: Biella to organize a meeting of advisory board members by summer 2003.
Action Item: Will to prepare next fiscal year budget with
assistance from Board (added after Board meeting). [Done]
Action Item: Roger and David W. to obtain donor email addresses
as discussed. [Renewed x2]
Action Item: Roger and Will to meet to brainstorm on major donor strategy. [Renewed,
Roger suggests he should contact Tim Cavanagh, CAPE Director of Development]
Action Item: Roger to add central script repository on
webs.onlinepolicy.net [Renewed x2, pending migration of web clients to webs.onlinepolicy.net]
Action Item: Roger and David W. to do a written redundancy plan including
mail server (MX2),
local backups, remote backups, spam block recovery, web server
failover, crash notification, DNS redundancy, and get in touch with Micah of
Tech Fed. Update: just need to set up disk-to-disk backups in each location
without MX2 or remote backups, but still considering spam block
redundancy, web server failover, crash notification, and
DNS redundancy.]
Action Item: Will to get graphic intern to do QueerNet and CCCP logos
plus QueerNet and CCCP inserts for the brochure, as well as office signs once logos are done.
[Renewed x2: OPG interns had no success on logos, David W. may have a volunteer.]
Action Item: Will to email PDF of brochure to Roger.
[Done]
Action Item: Will to experiment with brochure design to
move name of organization down and increase size of
motto while decreasing size of contact info block.
[Renewed x2]
Action Item: Will to investigate T-shirt designs.
[Renewed x2: Rejected German artist design, soliciting designs.
Roger to send Will idea he received from Carol for T-shirt design.]
Action Item: Roger to ask Bill about sales mechanism for OPG T-shirts.
[Done: Bill will do it if OPG covers all costs.]
Action Item: Roger and Will to do test market email to list-owners about T-shirts and stickers.
[Renewed]
Action Item: Roger to set up email list of website-owners.
[Renewed x2, pending move to webs.onlinepolicy.net.]
Action Item: Biella to attend a BAIDO meeting and let them know about OPG.
[Renewed x2]
Action Item: David W. to follow up with Paul about sending out an OPG
fundraising appeal to the Flock list and other lists he may suggest.
[Renewed: Roger and Will to generate both short and long appeal and send to Paul]
Action Item: Roger to write web page explaining why people have issues with
Yahoo and Topica and how OPG addresses those issues
even though OPG can't yet offer a fully developed online community forum capability. [Renewed x3.]
Action Item: Roger to write web page explaining how AOL handles different categories
of incoming email.
[Renewed x3.]
Board Meeting Agenda
1. Welcome
2. Approve Agenda
3. Board Responsibilities
4. Review Action Items
5. Financial Report
- Status: Month, Quarter, Fiscal Year to Date
- Forecast: Upcoming revenue and expenses
- Donor thank you notes
- 990 and 199 Filing
- Bank and brokerage account
- Grant proposals
- Fundraising strategy brainstorm
- Board fundraising commitments
6. Online Services
- Services: Email list hosting, Website hosting, Domain registrations, Colocation services
- Support: Task Manager, Upgrades, Redundancy
- Online Community Forum
- New services
7. Research
- Overall: need to recruit volunteers/interns and prioritize projects
- OSPA
- School & Library
- Online oddities & atrocities museum
8. Outreach
- Website status
- Materials: Logo design, website design, business cards, letterhead, brochure, reply card, office sign
- Schwag: T-shirts, stickers, etc.
- Events
9. Action
- Action alert updates
- Legislative and policymaking updates
10. Network
- Web and email list hosting excellent way to expand networking
- Networking brainstorm
- Tech Fed
11. Media
- Media coverage
12. Office Space
- EFF
- LGBT Community Center
12. Legal
- Representation
- Terms of Service Policy
- Privacy Policy
- Event Liability
13. Human Resources
- Board, advisory board, and committee recruitment
- Volunteer recruitment (regular weekly project meetings)
- Intern recruitment
14. Vacation and travel schedules
15. Public Comment Period
16. Next meeting(s):
- 12 noon, Saturday, March 1, 2003
- 12 noon, Saturday, June 7, 2003
- 12 noon, Saturday, September 6, 2003
- 12 noon, Saturday, December 6, 2003
-end-
Board Meeting Minutes
1. Welcome
Attending: Biella Coleman (Director), Will Doherty (Director), Roger Klorese (Director),
Alayna Smith (Grant Writer Intern)
2. Approve Agenda
Motion to approve, seconded, and approved unanimously.
3. Board Responsibilities
Discussed showing up to meetings, oversight and fundraising responsibilities, plus
what to do in case of conflict of interest.
4. Review Action Items
Reviewed and updated action items.
5. Financial Report
- Status: Month, Quarter, Fiscal Year to Date
Will provided report.
- Forecast: Upcoming revenue and expenses
Will provided report.
- Donor thank you notes
Action Item: Will to catch up on backlog of thank you notes.
- 990 and 199 Filing
Exempt from filings during first two fiscal years, but filed for second
fiscal year. Posted second fiscal year reports to website.
- Bank and brokerage account
Brokerage account still down. Cash position down.
- Grant proposals
Alayna presented a report on grant writing. She explained that it's a terrible
time to apply for funding because more groups are applying for a smaller pool
of foundation funds. Alayna has also been editing the OPG ENEWS and mentioned that
she could continue on that and perhaps some other tasks after she stops the
internship in December.
Action Item: Alayna to put amounts requested onto OPG grant writing spreadsheet.
Action Item: Alayna to add Veritas Foundation to the list (http://www.veritas.com/aboutus/foundation/GrantProposal.jhtml)
Action Item: Alayna to complete NNG Common Application before leaving.
- Fundraising strategy brainstorm
Roger mentioned possibility of OPG participating in street fairs as a
fundraising strategy. Need to remember to solicit participants from
OPG/QueerNet lists with large numbers of SF Bay subscribers.
Board agreed that we need to move to a direct donor fundraising
model where we send the fundraising appeal to list subscribers,
rather than list owners,
except for those in custom email domains where we ask the
organization to handle the appeal in some manner.
- Board fundraising commitments
All Board members are or have committed to at least a token
monthly contribution.
6. Online Services
- Services: Email list hosting, Website hosting, Domain registrations, Colocation services
In the context of how much training volunteers would need to handle requests
for services,
Roger brought up the issue of how much we need to vet requests for
duplicate email lists, etc.
The Board agreed that given guidelines volunteers should be able to
handle certain categories of requests.
Action Item: Roger and Will to come up with email list categories
and a pull-down for those categories on the email list request forms.
Roger moved, Biella seconded, and the Board approved unanimously
that the Seattle colo must provide services for free to individuals and
organizations using their services for nonprofit purposes if
they affiliate with OPG.
- Support: Task Manager, Upgrades, Redundancy
Action Item: Will to add default support queues
for email lists, web hosting, and domain registrations.
Action Item: Roger to make recommendations for improving
email request forms.
- Online Community Forum (codenamed Calliope)
The Board is concerned about the development velocity of the
project due to low level of programmer participation.
The Calliope team has prepared a brochure to distribute
at local events which will hopefully generate more volunteers.
OPG ENEWS has published repeated appeals for programmer
volunteers.
Roger commented that he is pleased with the survey the
Calliope team prepared for the list owners.
Action Item: Biella to write up and post Java Programming Intern
position to recruit for Calliope.
- New services
Action Item: Roger to investigate whether
OPG can make MoveableType available to clients so they can
set up blogs.
Action Item: Roger to investigate whether
OPG can make Gallery available to clients so they can
set up picture galleries.
7. Research
- Overall: need to recruit volunteers/interns and prioritize projects
- OSPA
No action this quarter.
- School & Library
Will showed off a near-final draft of the "Internet Blocking
in Schools" report which should be published later in December.
- Online oddities & atrocities museum
Action Item: Biella to revitalize Rianna, the volunteer working on graphic treatment
for the Online oddities & atrocities museum.
8. Outreach
- Website status
Action Item: Will to make the items for free services and donations
are on the front page, but want them to be more obvious.
- Materials: Logo design, website design, business cards, letterhead, brochure, reply card, office sign
Action Item: Will to send volunteer brochure designer the Word
file for the brochure with specific directions on proposing
brochures that focus more on the organizational tag line than
the organizational name.
- Schwag: T-shirts, stickers, etc.
Research with list owners to see if they want them.
- Events
Will hoping to go to the following conferences: Cyberspace After Capitalism in Brazil
in January 2003, Computers, Freedom, and Privacy in NYC in April 2003, and
Society for Sexuality? in San Jose in April 2003, and Riders (N-TEN) in Oakland in ???.
Biella is helping to organize and may go to GenderChangers meeting in Greece in summer 2003.
9. Action
- Action alert updates
Mostly referring to other organization's action alerts.
- Legislative and policymaking updates
U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the government's appeal
of the federal district court ruling that CIPA is unconsitutional
as applies to libraries. CIPA still holds for schools receiving
certain federal funds and discounts.
It's been a rough year for civil liberties with the passage
of the USA PATRIOT Act, the Homeland Security Act, opening FBI to
domestic surveillance activities, the FISA Review court ruling,
and DARPA's IAO office Total Information Awareness project.
10. Network
- Web and email list hosting excellent way to expand networking
- Networking brainstorm
Biella pointed out that it would help to bring outreach coordinator interns and
volunteers on board.
- Tech Fed
Action Item: Biella to write counter-proposal to Tech Fed email list
proposal and run it by OPG Board before posting on Tech Fed wiki.
The Board provided comments on the other standing Tech Fed proposals
while at the meeting.
11. Media
- Media coverage
Some coverage of OPG activities in the last quarter, focusing on Internet blocking issues.
- Media releases
OPG released three media releases in the last quarter, focusing on Internet blocking issues.
Action Item: Biella to pitch a story on OPG to Andrew Leonard of Salon.
Action Item: Roger to ask Beth Weise of NLGJA to pitch or let OPG pitch
a story on OPG to their members.
12. Office Space
- EFF
Office is expanding but should have no impact on OPG.
- LGBT Community Center
OPG office still there, used primarily to support donation of equipment
to other nonprofit organizations.
12. Legal
OPG received a legal notice asking us to remove
two trademarked terms from an obsolete website that we host,
so we did.
Action Item: Roger to check on moving other websites under
QueerNet domain to private domains.
13. Human Resources
- Board, advisory board, and committee recruitment
The Board discussed potential candidates.
Action Item: Biella to organize a meeting of advisory board members by summer 2003.
- Volunteer recruitment (regular weekly project meetings)
Biella will post volunteer positions online again in January.
- Intern recruitment
Biella will post intern positions online again in January.
Biella brought up the issue of how to handle remote volunteers.
Action Item: Biella to request creation of remote-volunteers@lists.onlinepolicy.org
14. Vacation and travel schedules
Biella out of town December 30 - January 14.
Roger out of town December 8 - 22 and January 17 - 19.
15. Public Comment Period
No members of the public attending.
16. Next meeting(s):
- 12 noon, Saturday, March 1, 2003
- 12 noon, Saturday, June 7, 2003
- 12 noon, Saturday, September 6, 2003
- 12 noon, Saturday, December 6, 2003
-end-
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