2005 Business Meetings
January
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GROW BUSINESS MEETING: January 4, 2005
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Quarterly Reports
Trusted Servants - No openings
(Corrected 1/15/05 - Term ends for Weekly Meeting Lead Listkeeper)
Business
[1] During the October business meeting we discussed combining certain trusted servant positions. We reached consensus for and consensus against two combinations. Four out of 11 spoke against combining the sponsor/12 step position, but we didn't have time to begin the formal process (motion - second - discussion - vote - discussion - revote if necessary). If anyone wishes to further pursue combining these positions, a motion must be made and seconded. If no motion is made we will consider the subject closed.
[2] Archivist Job Descriptions
AGENDA ITEM #2: Archivist Job Descriptions - 1/8/05
Revised by LauraARCHIVIST
-Non-rotating term
-5 years sobriety
-Must be member of Business List
-Be a non-voting member of the Steering Committee
-Reads all email from GROW meeting list, all email from GROW Business List, and all Steering Committee correspondence daily.
-Ensures that any publicly-presented material appropriately protects the anonymity of anyone mentioned.
-Works closely with the other Trusted Servants, especially the Co-archivist and steering committee recording secretary.
-Upon retirement, provides successor with all necessary information, including job guidelines, letter templates, and active lists; and serve as a mentor for a period of time to ensure continuity of service.
-The following are helpful to this position:
o Organized
o Good E-mail program such as Eudora, Outlook, Netscape, etc.
o Reliable Server
o Good communication skills
o Be able to cut, copy, paste, and save to a folder
o Good service sponsor
-Saves all Grow Digests, both business and regular.
-Provides the incoming co-archivist with an updated back up list of archive files.
- Coordinates with Co-archivist and Westkeeper to ensure that group conscience decisions are recorded accurately on the g-r-o-w website.---------------------------------------------------
CO-ARCHIVIST
-1 year term
-3 years sobriety
-3 months GROW membership
-Must be member of Business List
-Reads all email from GROW meeting list, all email from GROW Business List, and all steering committee correspondence daily. -Assists the archivist in making access possible to group members, as determined by GROW Archive Guidelines and in consultation with the Steering Committee.
-Maintains a back-up copy of archive files. (Each new co-archivist is provided with an up-to-date archive file by the previous co-archivist, which she maintains and adds to during her term, then passes on to the next co-archivist.)
-Works closely with the other Trusted Servants, especially the Archivist and Steering Committee Recording Secretary.
-Provides successor with all necessary information, including job guidelines and all back-up files of archives; as well as serve as a mentor for a period of time to ensure continuity of service.
-The following are helpful to this position:
o Organized
o Good E-mail program such as Eudora, Outlook, Netscape, etc.
o Reliable Server
o Good communication skills
o Be able to cut, copy, paste, and save to a folder
o Good service sponsor
-Be a non-voting member of the Steering Committee.
-Assists the archivist in the collection, indexing and preservation of regular and business GROW Digests, insuring that pertinent group history is preserved.
-Coordinate with the Archivist, the Steering Committee Recording Secretary, and the web keeper to ensure that Group Conscience decisions and historical documents that may be of the greatest interest to the largest number of our members are displayed on the members-only section of the GROW website.
-Coordinate with the archivist to ensure that any publicly presented material appropriately protect the anonymity of anyone mentioned.
[3] Report from Website Committee (See separate email)
AGENDA ITEM #3: Website Committee Recommendation - 1/4/05
Gigi, Laura and Cheryl (the current webkeeper) discussed a back-up plan to ensure the continuation of g-r-o-w.com should Cheryl need assistance and/or be unable to fulfill her duties as webkeeper. We think the following steps will provide adequate back-up:
1) The web hosting and domain registration accounts list Cheryl as owner. Cheryl will provide both Laura and Gigi with the necessary contact information so that either one of them could access the account should Cheryl be unable to. This would allow Laura, Gigi or a designee to change the account information, make payments, etc.
2) Laura has the experience and willingness to serve as back-up webkeeper. Cheryl will provide her with the necessary information to access the webserver to make changes or updates, if necessary.
3) Gigi is interested in learning about web building and will do so little by little. In the meantime, she will continue to help Cheryl monitor the website for mistakes, broken links and problems.
This proposal is open for discussion through January 8. On your response, please indicate the agenda item and/or title in the subject line of your email.
Cheryl T., ChairAGENDA ITEM #3: Website Committee Recommendation - 1/8/05
We appear to be in agreement with the plan as presented by the committee with one exception. Annette suggested that we use the term of "web committee" instead of individual names. No one disagreed and several expressed support.
Annette, if you will revise the plan below to reflect your suggestion and post it to the business list within the next four days, I will ask for head nods to confirm consensus.
Thank you!
Cheryl T., Chair1) The web hosting and domain registration accounts list Cheryl as owner. Cheryl will provide both Laura and Gigi with the necessary contact information so that either one of them could access the account should Cheryl be unable to. This would allow Laura, Gigi or a designee to change the account information, make payments, etc.
2) Laura has the experience and willingness to serve as back-up webkeeper. Cheryl will provide her with the necessary information to access the webserver to make changes or updates, if necessary.
3) Gigi is interested in learning about web building and will do so little by little. In the meantime, she will continue to help Cheryl monitor the website for mistakes, broken links and problems.
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AGENDA Update: January 8, 2005
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[1] Combining Sponsor/12 Step Positions
No motion has been made. The subject is closed.
[2] Archivist Job Descriptions
Continue discussion through Jan. 11
[3] Report from Website Committee
Continue discussion through Jan. 11
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AGENDA Update: January 12, 2005
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[2] Archivist Job Descriptions
Request for input
AGENDA ITEM #2: Archivist Job Descriptions - 1/12/05
I am uncertain as to how to proceed with this agenda item. Different aspects of the archives and/or archive job descriptions have been on the agenda for at least the last three business meetings. In October, responding to Timi's original concerns, we clearly affirmed (reaffirmed?) our group conscience regarding what we archive.
By group conscience we do not revisit an issue for six months once a decision is made. Timi still has concerns, and feels that we haven't had enough discussion. There may be others who feel the same way.
So we need to decide what to do next.
1) Do we say that group conscience stands and ask Timi to bring her concerns back in six months?
Or
2) Do we put the job descriptions on hold, back up, and revisit archive content, in which case I will call for a motion to carry us into the formal decision making process?Please comment briefly so that we can determine our next step.
[3] Report from Website Committee
Request for Annette
AGENDA ITEM #3: Website Committee Recommendation - 1/12/05
Annette has graciously and promptly revised the web committee's recommended plan as requested. Thank you, Annette!
Here it is:1) The web hosting and domain registration accounts shall list Webmaster as owner. Webmaster will provide Web Committee with the necessary contact information so they can access the account should Webmaster be unable to. This would allow the Web Committee or a designee to change the account information, make payments, etc.
2) Web Committee members who have the experience and willingness to serve as back up will be provided with the necessary information by Web Master to access the webserver to make changes or updates, if necessary.
3) Committee members interested in learning about web building can do so little by little and help the Web Master monitor the website for mistakes, broken links and problems.
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Are there any objections?IMPORTANT NOTE: if no one objects, we assume we have consensus and the plan is recorded as "group conscience by consensus." As a participant on the business list you represent the voice of GROW. You are free to agree or disagree, and either way you have the right and the responsibility to say so.
Thank you for being here. Like sobriety, it isn't always easy, but it's always worth it.
Cheryl T., Chair
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AGENDA Update: January 12, 2005
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It is the consensus of the business meeting participants representing GROW that we revisit the Archive content in April. This will be six months from the last group conscience regarding Archive content. With apologies to our Archivists, the The Archivist/Co-Archivist job description will be tabled until we have resolved this issue.
I will post a separate email today which outlines pertinent group conscience decisions and current guidlines related to our archives. We will begin the April 05 business meeting with a 4-day discussion, after which the chair will call for a motion.
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Agenda Item 3: Web Committee Recommendations
There were no objections to the web committee recommendations as revised by Annette. The following will be recorded as group conscience by consensus:
1) The web hosting and domain registration accounts shall list Webmaster as owner. Webmaster will provide Web Committee with the necessary contact information so they can access the account should Webmaster be unable to. This would allow the Web Committee or a designee to change the account information, make payments, etc.
2) Web Committee members who have the experience and willingness to serve as back up will be provided with the necessary information by Web Master to access the webserver to make changes or updates, if necessary.
3) Committee members interested in learning about web building can do so little by little and help the Web Master monitor the website for mistakes, broken links and problems.
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The business meeting will remain open until we have a volunteer for Weekly Meeting Listkeeper.
Cheryl T., Chair
April
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GROW BUSINESS MEETING: April 3, 2005
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Quarterly Reports
Trusted Servants
* Businss Meeting Chair
* Twelve-Step Listkeeper
Business
[1] ARCHIVES
This will be a re-visit of the issue regarding archive content, originally brought forth by T. In October 04 we reaffirmed that our current practice was in keeping with traditions and group conscience. In January, T. expressed concerns that our discussion had not been thorough. In keeping with GROW's 6-month "no revisit" policy we agreed to bring this issue back in April.
I have asked T. to re-state her concerns. She will do this later today.
In light of the charge that we have not given adequate attention to this issue, and as this is, conveniently, our only agenda item this month, I ask that we all refrain from commenting during this first 4-day segment. Instead, I hope that each of us will spend this time in private contemplation of T's specific concerns.
I will open discussion of this agenda item on April 7. At that time we will also hear the research G. has done for us. In the meantime, the following links on the g-r-o-w website may be helpful as you consider the issues:
In the general section, you may want to review (About GROW (Our Guiding Philosophy and Traditions in Cyberspace).
In the Members Only section, Group Conscience Decisions, and Archives may be helpful to you.
[2] REVISED GREETER/WELCOMER JOB DESCRIPTION
After I sent out the Agenda in the wee hours of the morning, it came to my attention that we need to combine the Greeter & Welcomer job descriptions.
Below, for your consideration, is the Greeter job description with the Welcomer duties added. Suggested revisions are BOLD.. You can review the previous Greeter and Welcomer job descriptions here. Please review the suggested combined job description and comment by April 6.
Cheryl T., Business Meeting Chair
GREETER/WELCOMER JOB DESCRIPTION DRAFT
* 1 Year Term
* 1 Year Sobriety
* Member of Business List
* Receive inquiries requesting information about GROW from Listkeeper.
* Send initial response to potential new member.
* Keep track of inquiries.
* After receiving appropriate response (sometimes need to clarify Third
Tradition adherence or being female) subscribe them to the list.
* After receiving confirmation from listservice that the subscription has
been accepted, send a welcome letter to the new member (letter provided),
AND introduce new member to the group. ( Place in subject line: New Member)
* Respond to questions from new members regarding the group.
* If new member does not have access to the web, forward group information, as requested.
* Work closely with Listkeeper.
* Send resubscription requests to the Listkeeper.
* Provide successor with all necessary information, including job guidelines; and serve as a mentor for a period of time to ensure continuity of service.
The following are helpful to this position:
-Good organizational skills
-Frequent checks for e-mail
-Good e-mail program with filters and know how to set them up
-Be able to cut, copy, paste, and save to a folder
If you have concerns, questions, or other issues that you feel should be discussed during this meeting, please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you!
Cheryl T.
Business Meeting Chair
July
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GROW BUSINESS MEETING: July 6, 2005
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Quarterly Reports
Trusted Servants: All positions have been filled
Business
[1] Changes to wording and duties of Secretary and Chair For a better and more efficient Secretary/Business Chair it is proposed we change in the Secretary's list:
Current wording: Keep minutes of all business meetings and report to the GROW and GROW BUS every four days during business meeting months.
Proposed wording: Keep minutes of all business meetings and report to the GROW
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And to consider changing one of the job duties in the Business Chair's list:
Current wording: Coordinate business report with Secretary
Proposed wording: Coordinate business report with Secretary and report summary to the Business List every 4 days during the meeting.
[2] Archives
A few comments from the Archives Committee
Backup for Archivist while she is on holiday July 23 - August Although we will be re-visiting this agenda topic in our OCTOBER Business Meeting with a full report from the Archives Committee then.
If you have concerns, questions, or other issues that you feel should be discussed during this meeting, please Chair know. Otherwise, we will adjourn when our trusted servant positions are filled. Thank you!
Minutes: Posted to GROW July 10, 2005
Chair opened the business meeting.
We've had postings from trusted servants about how things have gone in the past quarter.
We have discussed small proposed changes to the Business Chair and Secretary's job descriptions. (See webkeeper's notes: agenda item 1)
We expect to finish up the proposed changes, have some short discussion of the archives, and a final listing of the new Trusted Servants.
Anyone can join the business meeting at any time; just write to grow-owner@binhost.com and ask to join.
Agenda Update: Posted July 10
We have a pretty much a consensus on this item with one question being raised about whether this change of wording will in fact change the duties of the Secretary and Business Meeting Chair.
The concern is that the secretary's minutes will not be posted to both GROW list and GROW-BUS list and by not doing this we are making a protocol error and confusing the positions.
The Chair proposes to leave the discussion open for a further 3 days - but as this was started last night (very very early a.m. my time) - the discussion will be closed at Tuesday 12 July 5pm EDT (I am working on California time)
Agenda Update: Posted July 13
[3] Changes to Archivist/Co-Archivist Job Descriptions
It is suggested for that changes are made to the wording of the Archivist/Co-Archivist poistions.
Archivist current wording: 5 years sobriety; Proposed wording: 5 years of continuous sobriety and membership in Alcoholics Anonymous
Co-Archivist Current wording: 3 years sobriety; Proposed wording: 3 years of continuous sobriety and membership in Alcoholics Anonymous"
If you have concerns, questions, or other issues that you feel should be discussed during this meeting, please let me know. Thank you
Minutes Posted to GROW: July 19
Discussion of the small proposed changes to the Secretary and Business Chair positions have been tabled until October as there is still active discussion on the topic. (See webkeeper's notes: agenda item 1)
We are now discussing a few items regarding the archives.(See webkeeper's notes: agenda item 3)
Agenda Update Posted July 21
Discussion is now open on Agenda Item 3 until 24th July 5pm EDT
Minutes: Posted July 27
The following is a summary of the past period from our business meeting.
Agenda item #2 - who is backup archivist when the archivist is away from her computer? The meeting reached a consensus that the co-archivist backs up the archivist.
Agenda item #3 - report from the Archives Committee with some suggested changes. Very little discussion; the Business Chair is seeking a sense of the meeting as to where we go from her (See webkeeper's notes re: item 3)
Adjournment: Posted July 31
Hi Everyone
In our Business Meeting for this quarter we have dealt with 3 Agenda Items
as follows:-
[1] Changes to wording and duties of Secretary and Chair This item has been tabled for discussion in the October Meeting
[2] Archives
We had 2 points to cover and this is how we resolved them:-
1.Co-Archivist will take over from Archivist while she's on holiday.
2. Discussion revolved around the principal of 'keep it simple' and the group is waiting for the Archive Committee full report in October. In the October meeting we will be looking at the role of archives in detail.
[3] Changes to Archivist/Co-Archivist Job Descriptions
Everyone agreed once again on the principle of 'Keep It Simple' and leave
the wording alone as we rely on the honesty of the person applying for the
position....
The word "continuous" is considered unnecessary and the words "membership of AA" redundant.
Remember, our listkeepers will unsub everyone from GROW Business after we
adjourn, and only Steering Committee members are automatically subbed for
the next meeting. All other participants, including Trusted Serants not on
the Steering Committee, must request to the business list each quarter.
Thanks to each and every one of you for being here to speak for GROW.
We are adjourned.
Clarifying comments re: Agenda Item 1 (added by Webkeeper for future reference):
The suggestion was to change the wording of the Secretary and Chair job descriptions so that the Secretary sends Minutes to GROW and the Chair sends an Agenda Summary to GROW-BUS. The suggestion was made by the outgoing Secretary to accurately reflect current practice and for a better and more efficient Secretary/Business Chair.
Several members expressed the concerns about not sending minutes to GROW-BUS. There were also concerns by several members concerning the content of the Minutes, as summarized by Annette's questions:
"What happens if the minutes sent to the meeting list are inaccurate or incomplete? Don't mean to muddy the waters here, but to give an example, the summary sent out today (the 10th) says the business list has discussed small proposed changes to the Chair and Secretary's job description, but doesn't state the proposed changes. For the purpose of clarity and archiving, shouldn't that be in the minutes?"
Members agreed that our language be consistent with our actions, as expressed by Gigi. "If the Secretary posts summaries to the main list, that action must be reflected in the job description. If the Biz Chair posts agenda updates to the biz list, it must be mentioned in her job description. Custom and language should match. These comments were then followed by a suggestion to further change the Secretary and Chair job descriptions to specifying that the Chair submit agenda updates.
Cheryl T. suggested that the Chair does not need to be assigned the task of specifically posting agenda updates as it is already covered in the Chair's job description (keep discussions focused on agenda, keep track of and review all discussions; be responsible for keeping the issues clear). She explained how the duties of Secretary and Chair had evolved over a period of four terms, and that the agenda update was something she had done over many terms as Chair to help keep issues clear and discussions focused. She clarified that the agenda update was not the same as the Minutes, in content or in purpose. Cheryl also explained that she unintentionally stopped sending minutes to GROW-BUS when filling in as both Chair and Secretary, and the new Secretary had simply followed suit.
Cheryl suggested that if we could all agree that Minutes should be posted to both GROW and GROW-BUS the job descriptions do not need to change. The Chair and the Secretary simply need to do what their job descriptions have said all along.
There appeared to be consensus for this suggestion. However, there was confusion between this suggestion and a post from the Chair that was posted shortly thereafter, and so the decision was made to table the discussion to the October meeting.
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Clarifying comments re: Agenda Item 3 (added by Webkeeper for future reference):
The suggestion was to change the Archivist job description to specify "5 years of continuous sobriety and membership in Alcoholics Anonymous" and the Co-Archivist to specify "3 years of continuous sobriety and membership in Alcoholics Anonymous"
Two members asked for the reasoning behind the suggestion and clarification regarding the membership in A.A. Timi responded for the archives committee, with the correction that since A.A. membership is covered in another part of the job description, there's no need to state anything about it in this item, afterall. She In general, she further explained, the archive committee is seeking clarity and specificity. Excerpt: "We're not suggesting policing or dictating anything...Being specific by adding the word 'continuous' is only that, being specific. That's honesty, too. It can help members be honest and have a clear understanding."
Karen expressed the opinion that keeping members honest isn't our job. "Anyone who would claim total intermittent sobriety periods is following the dictates of a conscience that is not going to be influenced by a TS description. We have to trust what our members tell us because we have no way to confirm or disprove any of it. Jean pointed to the 9th Tradition, and further offered that group founders felt each job should have a suggested term of sobriety so that some jobs could be performed by newer members in sobriety but that the more involved jobs would have longer term sobriety. Nowhere was it stated that these terms were to be *continuous or to be served as members of Alcoholics Anonymous*.
There was strong consensus in support of these opinions.
October
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GROW BUSINESS MEETING AGENDA: October 3 - 6
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1) Secretary & business chair job descriptions:
We discussed this in July. Toward the end of the meeting we were close to consensus on a proposal, until some posting cross-wires created confusion. We tabled the discussion until October.
1A - SECRETARY/CHAIR DUTIES: HEAD NOD?
Because, at the end of the July business meeting there appeared to be consensus for not changing the Chair and Secretary job descriptions, and simply having both trusted servants do their jobs as written, I will ask for a head nod on this item.
By nodding your head, you are saying that you can support the Secretary posting Minutes to both GROW and GROW-BUS.
This item is open through October 7.
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1B - MINUTES: DISCUSSION
During July's discussion of whether or not Minutes should go to both GROW and GROW-BUS, the issue of Minutes content was brought up by several members.
The following question is open for discussion, at least through October 7.
What is the purpose of GROW BUS Minutes, and what should Minutes contain?
Cheryl T.
Business Meeting Chair
Filling in for Bronwyn
2) Archives
Other than reaching clear consensus not to add the word "continuous" to the sobriety suggestion on the Archivist/Co-archivist job descriptions, in July, we put the balance of the archive discussion on hold until we heard a full report from the Archives committee in October.
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MINUTES - OCT. 7
Consensus has been reached on the Secretary/Chair job descriptions As a group conscience decision by consensus, the Secretary and Chair will carry out their duties as written, and the Secretary will post Minutes to both GROW and GROW-BUS.
Consensus has also been reached on the purpose and content of GROW business meeting minutes. It has been agreed that GROW business minutes should include enough detail to accurately record what occurs during each four-day segment. Additionally, Annette requested that this document be identified in the subject line as "Minutes" rather than "Update" or "Summary." No one disagreed.
Notes added by webkeeper:
Item 1A: Of the 15 participants who responded to this item, all nodded in support of keeping the Chair and Secretary job descriptions as they are and resuming the sending Minutes to both GROW and GROW-BUS.
Item 1B: Nine participants responded to this item and all were in favor of providing enough detail in the Minutes to serve as a record of what transpired during each 4-day segment.
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GROW BUSINESS MEETING AGENDA: October 7 - 10
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[1A] Secretary/Chair Job Descriptions - Consensus Reached
It will be recorded as a group conscience decision by consensus that the Secretary and Chair will carry out their duties as written and the Secretary will post Minutes to both GROW and GROW-BUS. This reaffirms a long-standing group conscience decision.
[1B] Minutes - Consensus Reached
Everyone who has voiced an opinion on the purpose and content of Minutes has agreed that GROW BUS Minutes should include enough detail to accurately record what transpires during each 4-day segment. Additionally, Annette requested that this document be identified in the subject line as "Minutes" rather than "Update" or "Summary." No one disagreed.
This will be recorded as a group conscience decision by consensus. This also reaffirms a long-standing group conscience decision.
[2] Archive Content - Discussion
Gigi, as a representative of the Archive Committee, has submitted a report which I will post separately for discussion.
This is a continuation of an ongoing discussion regarding what we archive.
Following is a lengthy report from Gigi, as a representative of the Archive Committee. As you will read, Gigi's research has led her to believe that we should dispense with archiving our main list shares. I propose that, rather than trying to respond to all of Gigi's questions at once, we begin by focusing on only one question.
Should we stop archiving main list shares?
This item is open for discussion at least through October 11.
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[3] Birthday Celebrations
Josee has requested that, in addition to recognizing annual sobriety dates, we also celebrate 3- and 6-month anniversaries of GROW members. This will be posted separately for discussion.
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Cheryl T.
Business Meeting Chair
Filling in for Bronwyn
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GROW BUSINESS MINUTES: October 7 - 10
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Here's what's been going on:
Archive Content: Gigi, represening the Archive Committee, submitted a report which included the opinion that we should discontinue archiving the individual shares posted to GROW. All agreed; however, there were two qualifications, which are being discussed in the present four-day period.
Birthday Celebrations: We have agreed to celebrate quarterly sobriety dates (3, 6, 9, and then 18 months) in addition to the annual birthdays we now recognize. This means a change in the Birthday Listkeeper job description. There is continuing discussion on this topic in terms of how these differ from yearly celebrations, and the needed change in the Birthday Listkeeper position.
Respectfully submitted,
Cathy K.
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GROW BUSINESS MEETING AGENDA: October 11 - 14
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[2] Archive Content - Continued Discussion
Gigi, as a representative of the Archive Committee, submitted a report which included the opinion that we should discontinue archiving the individual shares posted to GROW. Of the 10 business meeting participants who responded, everyone agreed with the opinion. There were, however, two qualifications which we will discuss for the next four-day segment (see item 2a posted separately).
[3] Birthday Celebrations - Consensus/Continued Discussion
We have agreed to celebrate quarterly sobriety dates in addition to the annual birthdays we now recognize. This means a change in the Birthday Listkeeper job description (See Agenda Item 3a posted separately).
Cheryl T.
Business Meeting Chair
Filling in for Bronwyn
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GROW BUSINESS MINUTES: October 11 - 14
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On item [2]a, Archive Content: There appears to be consensus to authorize our Archivist to save, at her discretion, specific GROW emails that could alter and/or further define GROW history with the understanding that these shares would never go public. Several of the 12 who responded feel that it is unnecessary but will go along with whatever the group decides.
The issue of saving individual meeting topic leads without authorship is still under discussion.
[3]a Birthday Celebrations - Consensus: We have agreed to celebrate quarterly sobriety dates in addition to the annual birthdays we now recognize, and we have agreed on a revised job description to reflect the change. This will be recorded as group conscience by consensus. Ongoing: Trusted service positions
Cathy K. will be posting a message regarding outgoing and incoming trusted service, and encouraging someone new to service to take on the position of Backup 12 Step Volunteer Listkeeper.
Additional notes by web keeper:
During Oct. 11 - 14, GROW-BUS attendees continued discussing archive content and the celebration of birthdays.
Archives Content:
This was a continuation of the previous question about archiving topic shares in which all who responded agreed that we should discontinue the archiving of GROW shares. Two members qualified their support with the following exceptions:
1) That we save the individual weekly topics with authorship removed. Reviewing past topics could be useful during a group inventory and can help identify if our group drifts away from the primary purpose.
2) That we authorize our Archivist to save, at her discretion, specific GROW emails that could alter and/or further define GROW history. This would be done with the understanding that these shares would never go public, and would be for the use of the Archivist only to insure an accurate GROW history is maintained.
Although several of the 12 who responded felt that it was unnecessary, they agreed to support the decision to authorize the Archivist to save specific GROW emails as outlined above.
Twelve members also responded to the question of saving topic shares. Most agreed with the exception, several felt saving a list of topics would serve the same purpose as archiving the shares, and no one out and out disagreed. Those who responded to the question of a timeline for maintaining shares felt that two years makes sense, given the stated purpose of helping with our group inventory. However, another member reminded us that it is part of the Meeting Leader listkeeper's job description to maintain a list of topics and to pass them on to the next holder of the position. This reminder put a new twist on the discussion, and it will be continued for the next 4-day segment.
Birthday Celebrations
Having reached consensus in the previous 4 days on celebrating quarterly sobriety anniversaries in addition to the annual anniversaries, the chair asked for review and comment on a suggested revision of the Birthday Listkeeper job description to reflect the change.
Everyone who responded agreed to the changes as follows:
WHAT IT SAID:
-Send out notice to group toward end of month, asking who is celebrating annual birthdays in the following month (requesting replies to be sent privately).
WHAT IT WAS CHANGED TO:
[***Send out notice to group toward end of month, asking who is celebrating 3-, 6-, 9-, 12- AND 18-MONTH BIRTHDAYS in the following month, requesting replies to be sent privately.]***
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WHAT IT SAID:
-Develop list of celebrants for each month and -- at the end of each week -- send to the group a list of those members who will celebrate annual anniversaries during the coming week; or, if the Birthday Listkeeper so chooses, send birthday announcements to the group early in the a.m.on the day of each birthday.
WHAT IT WAS CHANGED TO:
[***Develop list of celebrants for each month and -- at the end of each week -- send to the group a list of those members who will celebrate 3-, 6-, 9-, 12- AND 18-MONTH ANNIVERSARIES during the coming week; or, if the Birthday Listkeeper so chooses, send birthday announcements to the group early in the a.m.on the day of each birthday.]***
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WHAT IT WAS SAID:
-At the end of each month, send a letter to the group with a list including all the celebrants for that month and the total years of sobriety that were celebrated.
WHAT IT WAS CHANGED TO:
[***At the end of each month, send a letter to the group with a list including all the celebrants for that month and the total MONTHS of sobriety that were celebrated.]***
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This concluded the discussions of Oct. 11-14.
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GROW BUSINESS MEETING AGENDA: October 15 - 18
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[2]a Archive Content - Continued Discussion
There appears to be consensus to authorize our Archivist to save, at her discretion, specific GROW emails that could alter and/or further define GROW history with the understanding that these shares would never go public. Several of the 12 who responded feel that it is unnecessary but will go along with whatever the group decides.
The proposal that we save the individual weekly topics with authorship removed isn't quite so clear, and I think we need a little more discussion (posted separately as Item [2]b).
[3]a Birthday Celebrations - Consensus
We have agreed to celebrate quarterly sobriety dates in addition to the annual birthdays we now recognize, and we have agreed on a revised job description to reflect the change. This will be recorded as group conscience by consensus.
Cheryl T.
Filling in for Bronwyn
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GROW BUS MINUTES FOR OCT. 15-18 (Posted Oct. 22, 2005)
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Cathy K., Secretary recognized outgoing trusted servants, and introduced the incoming trusted servants as follows:
Birthday Listkeeper - Outgoing, Josee; Incoming: Dolores
Sponsor Listkeeper - Outgoing, Jill K.; Incoming, Sherrie W.
12-Step Volunteer Listkeeper - Deanna (continuing a second term)
12-Step Volunteer Listkeeper Backup - Outgoing, Susan G.; Incoming, Shirley
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In business during this four day segment we continued the disussion on Archives and added a question about what should be the next step in the archives discussion.
Item 2b - Saving Topic Shares/Lists
We spent this four days honing in on group conscience regarding whether we save shares, or simply a list of shares. During the previous discussion, Jean reminded us that it is part of the Meeting Leader Listkeeper's job to maintain a list of topics and to pass them on to the next holder of the position.
Cheryl T., Chair, began this discussion by posting the following excerpts from the Weekly Meeting Leader Listkeeper's job description:
"Maintain list of past topics and pass that on to the weekly leader to help avoid frequent duplication."
"Provide successor with all necessary information, including current list of weekly leaders and list of past topics, job guidelines, letter templates; and serve as a mentor for a period of time to ensure continuity of service."
She then proposed three questions for continuing the discussion:
1) If a topic list was maintained and passed to each new trusted servant holding the position, as written in the job description, would that be record enough?
and/or
2) What if the Archivist saves the list of topics for two years, and the webkeeper maintains a topic list for two years on the www.g-r-o-w.com website in the archives section?
OR
3) Do you feel strongly about having the Archivist save the actual share introducing the weekly topic each week?
Of the six members who responded to this item, all said they could support saving a list of topics, not the actual shares; all can support the Weekly Meeting Lead Listkeeper maintaining the list and passing it on to her replacement as written in the job description, with some doubt as to whether this will happen consistently; and the opinion was mixed on whether or not we should include the topic list on the website with other archived material. Regarding a timeline, several members support two years; one feels 6-8 weeks is appropriate.
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[4] Archives Discussion -- What's Next?
Cheryl T., Chair, re-posted the October 2005 Archive Committee Report/Proposal and suggested that we review it and decide which question(s) need to be tackled next in order to manage the ongoing archives discussion most efficiently.
The one member who responded to this issue felt that we should deal with item #2 in the report, as follows:
2. How do we coordinate the needs of GROW archiving with our Binhost server? Binhost automatically archives all shares by name of subscriber, date, topic, and thread of conversation. If we continue to archive our main list shares for a limited period of time, what is appropriate? One week? One month? Other suggestions?
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QUESTION/CLARIFICATION REGARDING MINUTES
In addition to the agenda items above, Annette asked that, as guidance for our current and/or future secretaries, we clarify what our minutes should include, such as:
What TS reports were presented to the meeting
What discussions were on the table
The outcome of the discussion
How that decision would be entered into the record as a GC Decision (wording)
What discussions are ongoing and a brief background as to why
If there was a change to a previous GC, what it is changing from and to
Any other business before us and the outcome
TS positions filled and still open
GROW website url and password
Jean agreed.
This concluded the Grow Business Meeting segment Oct. 15-18, 2005. Please let me know if you find any errors in these minutes, or if you disagree with this translation of what has occured over the past 4 days.
Respectfully submitted,
Cathy K.
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GROW BUSINESS MEETING AGENDA: October 19 - 22
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[2]b Archive Content - Consensus?
Six members responded to the question regarding topic shares. See separate email for proposal, (Agenda Item 2b).
[4]a Archives Next step - Discussion
One person responded to this question. Jean recommends that we tackle Issue 2 from the Archives Report. See separate email (Agenda Item 4a)
[5] Minutes GC Decision
Annette has requested a brief discussion regarding GROW-BUS Minutes. See separate email (Agenda Item 5).
Cheryl T.
Business Meeting Chair
Filling in for Bronwyn
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GROW BUSINESS MINUTES FOR OCT. 19 - 22
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The g-r-o-w.com website is updated to show the meeting in progress. You can read the complete agenda, all the committee reports, and the October 2005 Archive Committee Report here at:
http://www.g-r-o-w
Select "Especially for Members"
username: sobertoday
password: how2484
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There were three items on the table during this past four-day segment.
[2]b Archive Content - Consensus
Based on the previous discussion, Cheryl T., Chair, suggested that we display one year of topics on the website as reference for members. Because it will be maintained by the Weekly Meeting Lead Listkeeper and listed on the website, it should not involve excessive work for the Archivist.
She then asked if the group could support the following:
"Our Weekly Meeting Lead Listkeeper will resume maintaining a list of topic shares and pass the list on to her replacement. For reference purposes, a list of topic shares will be displayed in the Archive section of g-r-o-w.com for a period of one year."
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[4]a Archives Next step - Discussion
Nine members contributed to this discussion.
Most seem to feel that if we aren't going to archive shares, we should stop now. Karen noted that there is no way for the listkeepers to delete the current archives, as it is not a binhost feature, but Mailman (our listserver)
Ideas about how long to leave the archive feature on, vary from immediate to one month. Annette noted that the only purpose she could think of was if a flame war broke out. If we needed to implement our "disruptions policy" we would need to review past email to determine how the flame war started.
Laura pointed out that the listkeeper (or backup or both) is supposed to save 10 digests so that folks who have had to temporarily turn off their email can get caught up when they get back (or have lost the email for other reasons).
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[5] Minutes GC Decision
Annette had previously asked that, as guidance for our current and/or future secretaries, we clarify what our minutes should include, such as:
What TS reports were presented to the meeting
What discussions were on the table
The outcome of the discussion
How that decision would be entered into the record as a GC Decision (wording)
What discussions are ongoing and a brief background as to why
If there was a change to a previous GC, what it is changing from and to
Any other business before us and the outcome
TS positions filled and still open
GROW website url and password
To further focus the discussion, Cheryl T., Chair suggested that such guidelines be included in the Secretary's job description.
Nine members responded to this item, each agreeing that the above clarifications shall be included in the Secretary's job description.
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This concluded the Grow Business Meeting segment Oct. 19-22, 2005. Please let me know if you find any errors in these minutes, or if you disagree with my translation of what has occured over the past 4 days. Respectfully submitted, Cathy K.
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GROW BUSINESS MEETING AGENDA: October 23 - 26, 2005
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[2]b Archive Content - Consensus
There being no objections, the following will be recorded as group conscience by consensus:
"Our Weekly Meeting Lead Listkeeper will resume maintaining a list of topic shares and pass the list on to her replacement. For reference purposes, a list of topic shares will be displayed in the Archive section of g-r-o-w.com for a period of one year."
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[4]a Archives Next step - Proposal for Consensus
See separate email (Agenda Item 4a - Objections?)
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[5] Minutes GC Decision
There being no objections, the following will be recorded as a group conscience by consensus, and added to the Secretary's job description:
What TS reports were presented to the meeting
What discussions were on the table
The outcome of the discussion
How that decision would be entered into the record as a GC Decision (wording)
What discussions are ongoing and a brief background as to why
If there was a change to a previous GC, what it is changing from and to
Any other business before us and the outcome
TS positions filled and still open
GROW website url and password
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[6] Agenda Next Step
See separate email (Agenda Item 6)
Cheryl T.
Business Meeting Chair
Filling in for Bronwyn
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GROW BUSINESS MEETING AGENDA: October 27
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[4]a Archives
We are agreed that we will maintain 10 GROW digests at all times, that we leave it to our Listkeepers and Archivists (guided by these and the past group conscience decisions that have not been revised) to determine how and when to delete past archives and turn off the current archive option.
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[6] Agenda Next Step
We have agreed that at the January 2006 meeting we will address
1) Who may have access to GROW archives; and how to insure our archives remain up-to-date, accessible and secure;
and
2) whether we want to amass a collection of documents of interest to GROW members, such as a Grapvine article published about GROW, and a history of the founding of this group?
In addition, all who responded to a request for clarification seem to be of the same mind regarding our group conscience decision to discontinue the archiving of shares to the GROW. Our decision to authorize our Archivist to save, at her discretion, specific GROW emails that could alter and/or further define GROW history with the understanding that these shares would never go public, applies to past, present and future archiving procedures. Anything not meeting our guidelines will be deleted/destroyed.
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We could run this meeting out for four more days, but I think it's time to adjourn. If there are no objections, I will post a list of all the decisions we have made this month and adjourn the meeting tomorrow (October 28).
Cheryl T.
Business Meeting Chair
Filling in for Bronwyn