New Forum in Brooklyn Park

> Very similar issues in Brooklyn Park.  Interesting
> http://www.brooklynparkcityhall.com/

I took a look at this site, it is interesting. I'd encourage other
folks to take a look as well and think about the differences between
online forums in other communities and the Roseville Issues Forum (RIF).

While, I wish the folks in Brooklyn Park the best in their efforts.
I'd like to distinguish our own model for online issues forums with
what they have started.

#1) RIF does not allow members to post anonymously. In the Brooklyn
Park forum, all posts are anonymous. There is no way to tell who or
how many people are involved in the discussion. There is no way to
hold participants accountable for the information they post there or
to follow up with folks privately.

When you attend a town hall meeting, you look around the room and can
see who is there. If someone speaks up in opposition to an
initiative, you can see who they are and base your response upon
their credibility on the issue or their personal interests in the
discussion.

In RIF, you can see who is subscribed to the forum:  http://forums.e-
democracy.org/Roseville/groups/roseville-issues/members   AND, you
know who is responsible for each post. Each individual member build
or looses credibility based upon the quality of their posts. There is
an incentive to post responsibly, although there is no guarantee that
everyone will.

#2) The Roseville Issues Forum was launched with almost 100 local
residents subscribed, along with the entire city council, school
board, and other local committees (we have now reached 150 regular
subscribers, not including those who read via the web but have not
subscribed). E-Democracy.Org encourages communities to make sure that
they have a critical mass BEFORE launching a forum. Organizers must
do the hard work of getting out into the community and signing people
up, so that the forum is successful from the start. It appears that
the Brooklyn Park forum has launched with just two members  http://
www.brooklynparkcityhall.com/discussion/memberlist.php

While I wish them luck in attracting more members, its very difficult
to build momentum on a discussion started with just two participants
(but, it is possible).

#3) Email - The Roseville Issues Forum is set up to allow
participation via email or thru a web based interface. This is not
typical of most online community forums, where users are generally
limited to one option or the other. While some folks INSIST upon
participating via a web interface, such as the one in Brooklyn Park,
many folks do not have the time nor the inclination to go back to the
web site day after day, or week after week. The Email option allows
us to deliver RIF directly into the email boxes of participants;
including elected officials, community leaders, and other low tech
citizens for whom web sites can be intimidating. Responding to a
Roseville Issues Forum topic is as simple as pushing the "reply to
all" button in your email browser.

#4) Civility - While it might not always feel that way, the Roseville
Issues Forum is actively managed to keep things civil and respectful.
Occasionally, things get a little crazy, but its the job of the Forum
Manager to work with participants online and offline to ensure that
folks are nice to each other. This includes elected officials.

The Brooklyn Park forum policy is as follows: "This is a self
directed Public Web forum. Any mention of Non-Public Figures (NPF) is
strictly prohibited. Mention of Non-Public Figures will be expunged
from the forum." In other words, its against the rules to "attack"
other members of the forum by name, but it appears that public
figures are "fair game." We believe, that if we expect elected
officials to engage with us in this forum, we need to treat them with
the same respect we treat each other.

#5) Participation of elected officials - As I mentioned, Roseville
Issues Forum launched with the support of the city council and city
staff. Its read by folks in city hall, including many who do not post
here. Keys to keeping elected officials and city staff involved are:
    - easy access (email for some, web for others)
    - keeping discussion focused on local issues
    - keeping things civil, not allowing it to become a "rant" space
    - good content (that is up to participants)

#6) The Roseville Issues Forum belongs to the community. While the
city council supported its launch and E-Democracy.Org is providing
technical and organizational support, this forum belongs to the
community. In the future, this forum will be maintained and managed
by a committee of local volunteers, its "Steering Committee." We are
also looking for a local Forum Manager to take over my job.

If you are willing to help us support and maintain this forum, please
contact me at.

    Tim Erickson
    651-246-5045
    <email obscured>

Also, I'm contacting the organizers of the Brooklyn Park forum with
an offer to open a dialogue on the effective use of online tools for
citizen participation. It would be great if we are able to support
and learn from each other.

Best wishes,

Tim Erickson
Temporary Forum Manager
Roseville Issues Forum