Theos-Talk Archives (April 2008 Message tt00224)

World of communications changed in early nineties, with use of e-mail, the
simplest application in the Internet. Along with that came maillists.

One of the keys to motivate members and keep them active is to keep them
informed of the going ons and interacting with them as well as the world at
large.

If one looks at the TS, other than routine periodical publications, where
the flow of info is in one direction, the membership has been kept in the
dark most of the time. While e-mail was available from early 90s, very
little use has been made in membership communication. All you need to do is
to go and review how frequently you received any communication from TS. One
wonders why. Could it be that fear of the communication becoming two-way, it
is easy and cheap to send and receive e-mail, that prevented it being used
effectively.

One of the most effective interactive means of communication is thru
maillists. Theosophical Maillists have been around from early 90s. If you go
and look at the archives, you will be amazed. I have not seen any of the
officials or their underlings participating in any of them. One wonders why.
Also a question arises is whether there was an unwritten understanding
between the leaders and their underlings, not to show up and discuss issues
on these maillists.

You may be told -- we have websites. Again the communication is one-way.
Also how do you bring people to the website. No one has really figured it
out. One thing is for sure. If there is any scandal, then lots of visits can
be expended.

So, in spite of the incessant talk about Internet and asking for donations
to support Internet, the effective utilization for the purposes listed above
is non-exisitent.

In today's world, transparency issue is becoming important and necessary. A
lot of upfront transparency might have helped to avoid the current situation
with elections. Next is the communication with membership. These have not
been effectively addressed by TS Internationally and Nationally. With the
current mind set of the leadership, it is unlikely to change unless a severe
crisis comes down on the organization.

mkr


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