Category: Communications

From the Archives: Corporate Policy on Electronic Communications, 2004

In 2004, the Board added a section to Society’s Governing Documents governing publishing of official Society material, email correspondence with officers, and internal record keeping.

Early 2003: Draft

The process started in early 2003, when the Board reviewed a proposed addition to the corporate policies and approved it to be circulated to the populace for feedback.

Mid 2003: Revision

At the July 2003 Quarterly Board Meeting, the draft policy was revised based on feedback and put back out for further discussion. The highlighted sections here mark the sections which were changed from the earlier proposal:

This policy was put out for comment by the membership and received predominantly favorable commentary. Some of the specific suggestions received were very good, and have generated changes in the proposed policy. The Directors felt that some of these changes were sufficiently substantive to warrant putting the revised proposal out for commentary again. The policy will therefore soon appear in the usual places (the mailing list, the www.sca.org website, and Kingdom newsletters). Your input is requested. Commentary will be due by January 1, 2004.

The proposed text as revised appears below:

Amended Proposed Policy on Electronic Communications
(amended 7-23-03–SCA Corporate Policies X)
  1. Electronic Publication of SCA Documents

When official corporate documents are published electronically on a site not sponsored by the SCA, Inc., the original copyright notice for the document must be provided along with the text. The following addition should be made to the copyright notice:

“In cases of conflict, the governing version of this document is (title of document), copyright (date) by the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., and obtainable in printed form from the SCA Stock Clerk, P.O. Box 360789, Milpitas CA 95036. Disputes over the contents of this document will be decided in favor of the printed version available from the SCA, Inc.”

  1. Participation of SCA Officials in Electronic Communications Media

A. Unless otherwise stated as a prerequisite of office, electronic communication is not required of any officer. Traditional paper correspondence is always acceptable, and is the default means for official correspondence.

B. The SCA, Inc. neither prohibits nor requires members’ or officers’ participation in electronic communications media such as newsgroups or mailing lists.

  1. Electronic Communications to and from SCA Officers

A. Electronic communications to SCA officers may be regarded as formal communications only if approved in advance by the officer, or if a confirmation of receipt is obtained.

B. Messages posted for general attention on any public electronic communications forum are not regarded as formal communications to an officer, whether or not that officer is known to participate on the forum in question. Communications posted by corporate or kingdom officers to their officer-specific forums may be considered official communications to those officers subscribed to the forum.

C. Any policies or procedures governing the handling of correspondence, such as maintenance of file copies for correspondence with lasting effect, apply equally to electronic mail. Officers must ensure that any electronic files are passed on in a format readable by their successor.

D. SCA officers must distinguish between their personal opinions and official statements or policies of their office in electronic communications. (changed wording in D from “must be careful to distinguish” to “must distinguish”)

January 2004: Adoption

This revised version of the unified policy was officially added to the Governing Documents in January 2004 (page 53 of 55).

The Present

This policy is still included in the current Governing Documents and appears to have remained unchanged from 2004 to the present.

From the Archives: Chronicler’s Internet Policies, 1998–2002

As the web became an element of the SCA’s communications portfolio in the late 1990s, it was added to the bailiwick of the Chronicler’s office. Even as the early versions of the Webministry began to emerge, the Society Chronicler continued to set policy in this year.

In 2002, the Society Chronicler, Nika Dmitrieva doch’ Zvezdina, assembled a list of actions from Board meetings in the years from 1998 to 2002 that affected web communication and publishing, which was then circulated by the Corporate VP of Communications.

(My thanks to Magistra Nika for sharing this document online, which I have reformatted slightly to match the style used on this site.)

The following compilation contains all of the internet-related policies that have been formally approved by the Board of Directors of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. Each entry starts with the text of the approved policy, followed by the date of the Board meeting where the policy was upheld, and the line item of the board minutes where the item may be found. These policies will form the basis of the Electronic Publications Policy document that is currently being drafted.

Ross E. Wilkins
Vice President for Communications, SCA, Inc.

Advertising on SCA-recognized web sites:

Web sites recognized by the Society shall not display banner ads or other forms of advertising unless such ads are required as a condition of the hosting agreement by the site’s Internet Service Provider (ISP).

— Upheld April 18, 1998 Quarterly Board Meeting (VLE Society Chronicler)

Clarification of the status of Kingdom Webministers:

Kingdom Webministers will remain part of the Kingdom Chronicler’s staff and will report to the Electronic Publications Manager (EPM). Warrants for the Kingdom Webministers will be signed by the Crown and the EPM. In accordance with Corpora VLC.1, the office of Kingdom Webminister may be elevated to the status of a Great Office of State by the Crown in accordance with kingdom law and custom. Kingdom Webministers so elevated will no longer be considered part of the Kingdom Chronicler’s staff but will continue to report to the EPM.

— Upheld October l6, 1999 Quarterly Board Meeting (VLG Vice President for Communications)

Replace section LD.1 of the Society Chronicler’s Policies with the following: D. Electronic Publications

1. Responsibility for Oversight

The Kingdom Chronicler shall: act as the recognizing authority for the Kingdom’s internet sites; be responsible for overseeing the kingdom-level internet site; maintain a roster of recognized group sites for the kingdom; monitor those sites for compliance with applicable SCA and Kingdom policies; and report on such to the Society Electronic Publications Manager. It is highly recommended that the Kingdom Chronicler appoint a deputy to handle these responsibilities. If a deputy is appointed, he shall report to both the Kingdom Chronicler, and the Society Electronic Publications manager.

— Upheld April 15, 2000 Quarterly Board Meeting (VLG Vice President for Communications)

Accessibility of web sites:

As a non-profit educational organization, the Society for Creative Anachronism should be concerned that its electronic publications are as accessible to persons with disabilities as possible. This policy sets the minimum accessibility guidelines for SCA-recognized Internet sites.

The World Wide Web Consortium has released Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to persons with disabilities. The guidelines are intended for all web content developers (page authors and site designers) and are quoted below:

[Priority 1] – Conformance Level A

A web content developer must satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it impossible to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint is a basic requirement for some groups to be able to use web documents.

[Priority 2] – Conformance Level Double-A

A web content developer should satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will remove significant barriers to accessing web documents.

[Priority 3] – Conformance Level Triple-A

A web content developer may address this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it somewhat difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will improve access to web documents.”

Using these guidelines, all corporate-sponsored Internet sites must comply with conformance level Double-A of the WCAG. Kingdom-level Internet sites must comply with conformance level A of the WCAG. Local group Internet sites are encouraged to be as accessible as possible to persons with disabilities, in accordance with applicable kingdom law. The recommended tool for evaluating a site and correcting incompatibilities can be found at . For further assistance contact the Electronic Publications Manager.

— Upheld April 15, 2000 Quarterly Board Meeting (VLG.3 Electronic Publications Manager)

Publication Permission for Personal Information:

Personal information will not be published on any SCA-recognized Internet site without first gaining permission from the individuals involved. Permission must be received in writing – email is acceptable. Permission to electronically publish the contact information of an individual is in effect until that same individual revokes permission.

For the purposes of this policy, personal information includes the following:
• Correlation of modern name to Society name
• Home or work address
• Phone numbers
• Personal email address

It is permissible to list just a person’s Society name in connection with any office they hold without permission, i.e. – Group Seneschal, Lord Robert the Volunteer”; as well as “role” email addresses such as chronicler@sca.org

— Upheld April 15, 2000 Quarterly Board Meeting (VLG.3 Electronic Publications Manager)
— Clarification upheld July 22, 2000 Quarterly Board Meeting (VLG.3 Electronic Publications Manager)
— Clarification upheld January 20, 2002 Quarterly Board Meeting (VLG.3 Electronic Publications Manager)

Internet Site Recognition:

For an Internet site to be recognized by the Society for Creative Anachronism, it must represent an established branch of the Society and must have a warranted web minister responsible for its content. The Society for Creative Anachronism will not recognize Internet sites for households or guilds. Group officers with an Internet site for that office are responsible for ensuring that the site complies with Society guidelines.

— Upheld April 15, 2000 Quarterly Board Meeting (VLG.3 Electronic Publications Manager)
— Clarification upheld July 22, 2000 Quarterly Board Meeting (VLG.3 Electronic Publications Manager)

Photographs and Portrait-Style Artwork:

Web pages containing photographic images or portrait-style artwork must contain a clear and obvious means by which the subject(s) of the image may contact the web minister to request the removal of any image in which the subject(s) appear. Should the Web Minister receive such a removal request the image must be removed from the site, or the image must be modified in such a way as to render the subject unrecognizable. Such modification may only be made with the permission of the copyright holder. If such permission is not obtained, the image must be removed from the site.

— Upheld (as revised) February 24, 2002 Conference Call Meeting (ILB, remanded from 1-19-02 meeting, VLG.3)

Required Disclaimer for websites recognized by the 3CA:

All websites that are recognized by the SCA are required to display the following disclaimer and copyright statement. This statement should be displayed on the home page of the site, but may instead be displayed on a separate page provided that an obvious link to such a disclaimer page is provided on the home page.

This is the recognized website for the <group name> of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. and is maintained by <Modern and/or SCA Name of web minister>. This site may contain electronic versions of the group’s governing documents. Any discrepancies between the electronic version of any information on this site and the printed version that is available from the originating office will be decided in favor of the printed version.

Copyright © <Year> <group name>. The original contributors retain the copyright of certain portions of this site.

For information on using photographs, articles, or artwork from this website, please contact the web minister at <web minister’s email address>. They will assist you in contacting the original creator of the piece. Please respect the legal rights of our contributors.

— Upheld February 24, 2002 Conference Call Meeting (ILC, remanded from 1-19-02 meeting, VLG.3)

A Better Solution for Local Branch Electronic Newsletters

In the SCA, “electronic newsletters” generally take the form of infrequently-published PDFs that have a unique content and format and production infrastructure and distribution calendar, making them very different communications channels than branch websites and outwards-facing social media channels — but it doesn’t need to be like this.

One possible step along the path suggested in yesterday’s post would be for the web ministry to provide publishing solutions for electronic newsletters that could be used by the two hundred baronies which are required to produce them, as well as the smaller number of shires and cantons that produce them by choice.

Continue reading “A Better Solution for Local Branch Electronic Newsletters”

One Path Towards Modernizing the Society’s Communications Offices

Every few months, I run into another discussion about modernizing the SCA’s communications offices. There is widespread agreement on many of the problems — information about events and activities routinely appears only in one channel or another, with key details of an upcoming championship to be found only on a Facebook group, and a fighter practice being announced only on a closed Discord server, and discussion of a feast menu happening on a mailing list which only a fraction of the populace receives, and court reports being included in a PDF “newsletter” which almost nobody reads.

The fact that these communications channels are siloed into separate offices is frequently identified as a problem — with Chroniclers producing newsletters, Web Ministers maintaining Society-run websites, and Social Media Officers administering Society-organized online discussion channels, perhaps it is no surprise that communications end up fragmented as well… And it’s natural to suspect that if we merged those offices into a single team, that would allow our communications to be more coherent across that entire spectrum.

Continue reading “One Path Towards Modernizing the Society’s Communications Offices”

Local Branches Shouldn’t Be Required to Publish Newsletters

There have been ongoing discussions for many years about how local branches can best manage communications with their populace in light of the changing media landscape.

Decades ago, the Society established a policy that each local barony and province should publish a newsletter to get information out to the membership and the public, but given the increasing importance of websites and social media, a growing number of branches find that those newsletters no longer play a meaningful role in their communications portfolio.

Continue reading “Local Branches Shouldn’t Be Required to Publish Newsletters”

Recent Board Minutes Posted

The minutes from the first two quarterly meetings of the SCA Board of Directors for 2023 have now been posted to their website in the usual location, along with the minutes from the first four conference calls of the year:
https://sca.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/sca/neonPage.jsp?pageId=10

Correspondence follows, for those curious.

Continue reading “Recent Board Minutes Posted”

From the Archives: The “SCA Gazette” Proposal of 2015–2017

In April 2015, the Society’s Publications Office undertook a survey, variously referred to as the “Evolution of SCA Communications” or “Newsletter & Communications Survey,” which asked participants about the channels they used to obtain information about SCA activities.

Survey announcement sent to kingdom chroniclers

At the next quarterly meeting of the Board of Directors, the Publications Office submitted a flurry of proposed policies and actions based on the survey results.

Continue reading “From the Archives: The “SCA Gazette” Proposal of 2015–2017″

The SCA Lists Archive Breach

TL/DR: An SCA IT web configuration error exposed confidential email messages.

  • For three years, the SCA mistakenly published all email sent to Board of Directors’ feedback address, allowing anyone on the Internet to read messages that had been sent in confidence, including reports of harassment and sexual assault.
  • If you emailed sca-comments@sca.org between March 6, 2020 and February 2, 2023, you should be aware that the message you sent is no longer secret and has likely been read by other people outside of the organization’s leadership.
  • Six mailing lists used by committees for internal communication were also affected.
Continue reading “The SCA Lists Archive Breach”

Questioning An “Optical Illusion”

At the end of March, the SCA announced the availability of a t-shirt being sold as a fundraiser for the Society’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

I am always glad to see the Society taking steps to promote inclusion, and in general I like the design of this shirt, but I was one of several people who wryly noted that the placement of the of the white chivalric arming sword as the first item, and just a bit larger than any of the other items, somewhat undercut the message.

Continue reading “Questioning An “Optical Illusion””

Limitations on Local Control

The ongoing debate about allowing individual events to set masking requirements has been heated, and I think others have done a good job of laying out the argument, but one particular salvo in this dispute caught my eye and seemed worth of note:

The Society’s leadership says that it decided against allowing individual groups to set their own masking policies because “to do so would be cumbersome and problematic for people traveling outside their home groups.”

Continue reading “Limitations on Local Control”