Draft: 12/27/04

The Catalog

Policies

Governing Policies (to be adopted by governing board)

Name: ???

Mission: to provide mainstream Americans with resources to advance progressive personal, social, cultural, and political change leading to systemic transformation.

By “progressive,” we mean the affirmation of:

• steady personal, social, cultural, and political progress;
• the essential goodness of human beings and life in general;
• the empowerment of the individual and the community;
• a positive, important role for government.

By “systemic transformation,” we mean clearly establishing “promoting the common good” as the primary purpose of our society and reforming all of our institutions so that they help fulfill that purpose.

So that the catalog will have a clear focus and will be accessible to the mainstream, it will not include entries that affirm anarchism, socialism, libertarianism, conservatism, and/or fundamentalism.

Methods:

• Compile both print and Web versions of the catalog.
  • The print version will consist of selected highlights from the Web version, additional graphics, and other elements.
  • The Web version will utilize collaborative software to maximize participation from contributors, be constantly updated, highlight high quality entries that are most accessible to the mainstream, and include cutting-edge projects that aren’t yet mainstream but could become so.
  • Conduct outreach and publicity, both online and using other traditional methods.
  • Organize and participate in public educational and social events.

Structure:

• The board of directors of [a non-profit corporation] will sponsor this project and direct it by adopting written policies, designating the line of authority, and regularly evaluating the effectiveness of this project and its adherence to those policies.
• Authority for determining the content and design of the catalog will be delegated to co-editors.
• The co-editors will invite others to join their editorial teams as co-equals and will assure that those teams are diverse.
• The editors will delegate authority to associate editors and others as needed, but they will be ultimately responsible for the project.
• All proceeds generated by the project, whether from a book contract, grants, individual donations, or other sources, will be handled by the sponsor, who will compensate staff in accordance with budgetary guidelines that will adopted by the sponsor with maximum input from the co-editors. These guidelines will set a cap on how much any one staff person may be compensated annually.

Editorial Team Policies (to be adopted by the co-editors)

The initial co-editors will implement the project’s policies as defined in its Governing Policies, form a democratic Editorial Team, adopt and amend these written Editorial Team Policies, post those policies on the Web, and adopt the initial philosophical framework for the project.

PRINT VERSION The initial co-editors will seek a book contract for the print version of the catalog.

• One or more co-editors will serve as initial Content Editor(s) and have final authority over the content of the catalog, though he/she will delegate that authority as feasible.
• One or more co-editors will serve as Design Editor(s) and have final authority over the design of the catalog, though he/she will delegate that authority as feasible.

WEB VERSION The Content Editor(s) will establish a website using collaborative software that will maximize input from collaborators while guarding against vandalism to the site.

The website will:

• clearly inform collaborators that their contributions may be utilized in the copyrighted print version without compensation to the collaborator.
• clearly inform collaborators about both the non-profit corporation that will oversee the project and the cap on how much any one staff person may be compensated annually.

Democratic Structure The initial Content Editor(s) invites others to join as co-equal Content Editors. Each Content Editor has immediate, equal access to amending the website, with the exception of the Introduction.

Decision-making Process The Content Editors will make decisions electronically. Decisions will require an 80% majority.

Affirmative Action To assure diversity, the Content Editor(s) invites others to join one-by-one. Following each addition, the team will specify required criteria for the next member and post those criteria.

• The criteria to be considered will include but not be limited to:
  • With or without a college degree.
  • Race or ethnicity.
  • Income: poor; almost poor; wealthy; or independently wealthy.
  • Net wealth: negative; zero; less than $30,000; more than $30,000.
  • Employment Status: unemployed; employed part-time, full-time or more than full-time; retired.
  • Gender.
  • Sexual orientation.
  • Age: under 21, 21-40, 41-60, over 60.
  • Disability: partly disabled, totally disabled.
• The team will aim to have a membership that will be at least 50% without a college degree and at least 50% people of color. In other respects, the team will aim to reflect the American population.

Application Process

• The website will describe the application process and encourage readers to apply.
• The team will invite to join people with whom they are personally familiar, people who are recommended by someone with whom they are personally familiar, people recommended by an organization with which they are familiar, or people recommended by a Working Group that has been contributing content for at least two months.
• Applicants must endorse the catalog’s Introduction.

Working Groups

• The website will encourage the formation of small working groups of collaborators who will work together regularly on the catalog and when feasible, meet together in person.
• The website will provide suggestions to such groups concerning how they might operate so as to maximize effectiveness and help build a sense of community.
• The Content Editors will convene regular public events in San Francisco to report on the progress of the project and invite people to collaborate. This event will include a meal and will encourage the formation of small, diverse groups that could meet weekly to work on the catalog.
• Working groups can form on their own initiative and establish their own procedures. However, they are encouraged to meet the affirmative action guidelines described above.

Editing Process

• With the exception of the Introduction, any Content Editor can make changes to the web version at any time.
• The Introduction serves as the philosophical framework for the catalog. Only the Design Editor(s) and the Content Editors(s) can amend that statement.

NOTE: It is assumed that the appropriate individual or body will appoint Wade Hudson and Michael Larsen as initial co-editors, and if so desired, also appoint a third person as co-editor.