Poll Position: All Blogs Membership

Technorati tags: All Blogs, Blogging, Freedom of Speech, Poll Results

Related post: All-Blogs Membership Poser...

The poll results are in, and frankly they accurately represent the very mixed feelings everyone has over whom should be members of All Blogs.

Straw-poll results of whom All Blogs should admit as members

A total of 168 votes were gathered over the two-week period that the poll was up. A breakdown of the voting can be seen in the pix above. In a nutshell, most of you thought that anonymous bloggers should be included, but only as Associate Members, meaning those with lesser rights than ordinary members.

The two votes for Other Criteria, interestingly enough, did not result in any other suggested mode of membership. Sort like spoilt votes, if you ask Walski.

In any case, there were some very valid comments made to the post in which the poll was initially announced. The main concern is how, in fact, can anonymous bloggers become members, if All Blogs is to have the blessings of the ROS? And this is a very valid question indeed.
(anonymity, accountability, and more, in the full post)

Meanwhile, the brilliant folks behind SiPM have made the following four recommendations to All Blogs, pertaining to the latter's mission:
1. Maintain to operate within the cyberspace.
2. Employ a working committee of individuals who will do the leg work in the real world.
3. Allow anonymous bloggers to remain anonymous AND be office bearers.
4. Promote freedom of speech in its ENTIRETY.

Walski has to say that he agrees in principal, particularly when it comes to Freedom of Speech. Yes, it is true that Freedom of Speech can hurt, especially if you're on the receiving end. Speech that incites, too, has to be protected, no matter how distasteful it might be. This position may be a very contentious one, but that, in essence is what freedom of speech is all about - the ability to speak freely without consequence.

However, recommendation number 3 may not fly with the Registrar of Societies, and while in an ideal world that would be preferred, Malaysia is far from ideal - sometimes Walski even wonders which world we would be classified in. In any case, good recomendation line item, possibly not so realizable.

Then, out of the blue, you have idiotic suggestions that bloggers should be classified as professional and amateur based on totally stupid criteria. Suggested by our own Minister of Propaganda, no less (hat-tip: The Malaysian). File this under Totally Unclear on the Concept of Blogging.

In the end, at least in Walski's mind, the question of whom All Blogs is to represent is simple, really: it represents all bloggers. Regardless of whether these bloggers are actual members is irrelevant to All Blogs' mission: to promote and protect bloggers and blogging.

Walski will compile his findings and present it to the next All Blogs pro tem committee meeting, which is scheduled for next week.