Article

Personal Interest

RI Policy on Internet and Electronic Communications

by Loon-Shin Ho
Monday, August 22, 2005. 06:20PM
1,366 Views 6 Comments

RI's original Policy on Electronic Communications, dating from 1996, was rescinded by the Board at its November 1999 meeting on the recommendation of the Communications Committee and replaced with the guidelines below, which appear in Board decision #230 (52.020.1 in the Code of Policies).

Guidelines for Rotary club, district, and affiliated publications

The primary purpose of any Rotary publication, whether it be a printed piece, such as a club or district bulletin or newsletter, a sound recording, or be published electronically such as the content of Web site or electronic mailing list, is to advance the Object of Rotary.

Content and design of such publications should be under the direct supervision of the publishing entity's highest officer, whether it be the Rotary club president, district governor, or Fellowship chairperson, and must conform to current RI policies as set forth in the Manual of Procedure. (Of particular note are those policies pertaining to Rotary Mark and Emblem usage and those prohibiting circularization.)

Rotary International maintains a site on the World Wide Web (www.rotary.org) to provide Rotarians with timely and accurate information about the programs of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation. Editors of Rotary publications in all media are encouraged to use this information in their respective Rotary organs, provided they adhere to the copyright policies posted on the RI site. Furthermore Rotarians in charge of club, district and affiliate Web sites are encouraged, when feasible, to link to the RI Web site for the benefit of those wishing to learn more about Rotary.

In addition, the Board adopted at its November 2000 meeting a set of guidelines for the use of electronic communications. The guidelines, developed by the Customer Focus Group of the Technology Task Force, can be downloaded here.

Guidelines for the Use of Electronic Communications in Rotary International hyperlink:

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Comments

 6 shown
Thursday, August 25, 2005. 09:22PM by Geof Lambert
Thanks for your dialogue and observations! geof
Wednesday, August 24, 2005. 05:37PM by Loon-Shin Ho
Dear Geof, Let us be fair in our comments. 1. I have frequently corresponded in emails with RI office and staff and they have followed the guidelines fully in my case. 2. I agree with you that we may need to review the guidelines or any guidelines from time to time. Maybe it is a good idea that you forward your suggestions to RI. Best wishes, Dr Ho RC Kulai, Malaysia District 3310
Wednesday, August 24, 2005. 05:19PM by Geof Lambert
I like the guildine about the ROTARY in the subject line of every message that pertains to Rotary in all emails you send. As Rick says "with the best of intentions" especially in light of the ever increasing emails that come on a daily basis....but it is just about NEVER followed, even by people in the Rotary Interntational office in Chicago. It is kind of like the speed limit. Great idea, but in practical purposes sometimes people don't follow it. I think the technology task force should take another look at the guidlines and recognize all the changes that have taken place on the Internet in the past six years, and more importantly understand the implications of the changes that are going to be coming in the NEXT six years, and update these guidlines accordingly.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005. 11:54AM by Jesse Tayler
bureaucrats can do things that nobody pays attention to, but it can be an interesting look into the state of mind in any organization as well. I'd wonder what were the major changes between the drafts? I recall the web being introduced in many organizations and often there was a period where the executives themselves would have to have their own personal experience with it before letting go of so many misconceptions regarding the nature of a website. Many larger organizations, at first, thought it to be an uncomfortable concept before the majority of the leadership themselves had personal experience.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005. 02:45AM by Loon-Shin Ho
Point taken. c'est la vie
Tuesday, August 23, 2005. 02:25AM by Rick Thornton
What about the club that just wants to tell people what they do? These guideines are so numerous people tend to ignore them. You need to trust the workers to do the right thing. No one has time to read endless guidelines written (with the best of intentions) by bureaucrats.