1997-98 Policy Report


As discussed in the Policy Committee's last report to the Chebucto Community Net Society's general membership at last year's Annual General Meeting, the role of the committee is:

  1. to address policy development and implementation issues; and

  2. to address complaints or abuses about and by CCN members.

Since last year, some of the policy development and implementation goals have been met. A policy page exists on CCN showing new or previously informal policy positions in both draft and final states . Some items were considered low priority and were placed in abeyance.

A final version of the Policy on Commercial Use has been approved by the Board. A general announcement will be welcomed by the many small business owners in our electronic community and could stimulate interest amongst small business owners who are currently not members of the CCN, but who could benefit from the many advantages the internet has to offer them. The policy is designed to allow sole proprietorship type businesses to advertise through web pages.

Dispute resolution and addressing complaints consumed a great deal of committee time this past year. One user account was terminated and CCN was subjected to some media attention, which is not necessarily a bad thing for us. The experiences of the past year suggest that the Policy Committee should divest itself of complaint and abuse issues and that the creation of a separate complaint/abuse group should be explored.

In the coming year, the committee will continue to develop up to date, consistent policies that are responsive to the needs of the members. The role of Chair was passed to Michael Colborne in April 1998.

John van Gurp Chair, Policy Committee