I didn’t write notes for this meeting to share out with other members, so I’ll just type out some of the thoughts I had…
RE: Discord
-I see Discord similar to the way I see Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Having our presence on multiple platforms allows people to connect with WCU/its members in the way they feel most comfortable. No platform on their own is going to reach everyone, and I think there’s a net benefit from having a presence on there.
-There is a risk that an official WCU Discord account could be deleted for reasons outside of our control, but if we follow what was voted on…
…and put things on the Discourse Forum that should be preserved (as we move along), then we should be able to transition to another website, without much disruption, in the event that that happens. And if that’s going to be used and seen as a sincere argument against not expanding to Discord, then maybe there should be some focus and attention paid to duplicating/archiving documents and recordings off of Google Drive which is just as vulnerable to deletion and where we actually keep important files. Otherwise, it can feel like folks are being selectively critical simply to block Discord from being another tool that we can use.
-If it is approved for use by the membership, it may be another thing for new members (who wish to join Discord) to be introduced to and on-boarded to (depending on how it’s used and if it’s considered an official communication channel or another website/tool like Instagram/Zoom). But if we find the prospect of that too onerous, I don’t know what business we have trying to convince others that our group will be organized enough to advance the cause of socialism.
-We weren’t conducting WCU business on The Solidarity Discord Server, so it wasn’t violating any Bylaws. It is actually often the case that the gatherings via Zoom–where a quorum of WCU members meet in-between General Meetings and that arguably serve as de facto meetings of the General Membership–are not recorded or documented beyond a notice on the Discourse Forum, even though WCU business is being deliberated and decided on there. Yet, a reading group on The Solidarity Discord Server seems to be getting much more scrutiny.