1. RESOLUTION TO ADD OPEN DIALOGUE SECTION TO COFC WEB SITE

It is proposed that the Committees of Correspondence Web site encourage its full potential use by members and others and further support its political purposes by these two actions;

Part 1. Adding a open dialogue section.

Where as it was agreed at past NCC meetings and in discussions of the Web Page committee that there be a publicly accessible dialogue or discussion page, this has not yet been allowed. Several years have passed and much opportunity has been lost. We feel that the fear of criticism of the leadership and other critical submissions should not be used to block this powerful resource.

Such an open discussion page would dramatically facilitate "Correspondence" and dialogue among members and others. It would also dramatically promote the use of the Web Site by providing people with a place to submit and retrieve personally relevant political information in an open and immediate way, without censorship or delay.

The primary attractions that draw people to the most popular web sites are finding personally useful information and having some way to be personally involved. Delay and censorship will defeat this purpose and potential.

Therefore a workable discussion section would have the following characteristics:

Description:

• The link to the page should be prominently displayed on the opening page of the CofC web site and be further linked throughout the site.
• The page itself would be open and immediate. That means anyone could read the recent posts and responses and when motivated, could submit a their own posting or reply which would immediately show up on the page. This means there could be no prior censorship (however, abusers could be blocked from future postings). It could be in the form of any one of the many Web bulletin board or "visitor sign-in" forms.
• The posting could be archived monthly, or as often as needed, and links for past months listed.
• Only the assigned web masters would be able to delete or block abusers, but anyone could add their comments.

Advantages and uses of an open discussion section:

• Promotes free and open discussion about issues which members and others are concerned.
• Immediate and free postings will encourage members and others to repeatedly come to and use the web site.
• The more postings and users and the more the web site is publicized, further spreads the political messages and reaches new, potentially interested people.
• Allows for quick exchange of political news, ideas and organizing information.
• Promotes in-depth exchange, examination and involvement of political ideas and concerns, providing Correspondence and Dialogue in the best and largest forms.

• Allows for quick, free posting and exchange of CofC and related documents to members, chapters and friends.
• Would save labor and costs for the national office and staff and organization as a whole. Leaflets and other documents could be easily posted, exchanged and reprinted as needed. Official documents posted to the Web Page could be referenced from here also.
• More easily and effectively promote members input as to the content and usefulness of the web site. (Many other sites have been taking full advantage of this and their organization benefits. However, this works only if open and uncensored.)
• An open and immediately accessible page helps the web master and staff avoid having an out-of-date site. Mistakes, corrections and additions can be suggested by the increasing numbers of users that care about the and use the site.

Part 2. Post all official CofC documents (national, regional, state and local) on the site.

This would promote and speed the organization and its work. It would save time and money. Members and chapter could read, disseminate and print out documents as needed. They could easily use the text in their own leaflets, newsletters, etc. The national staff would not have to wait for printing and the time for mailings before getting the word out. It would be easier to for members and others to retrieve past documents and political resources. The would only have to mail to those without e-mail or access to the web. (Now-a-days, these functions are almost always synonymous and so there will be a declining number of people dependent on snail mail. Further, those members who have faxes but no email should receive their mail by fax, which is cheaper and faster.)

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