ali wrote:wangi wrote:Bob, what's the PCC got to do with anything, and why?
At this point I think you'll be met with the usual wall of silence.
OK I'll try to give some sort of personal response, to a question that has been discussed pretty thoroughly recently, albeit mainly in private. Here's my take on it - I shall assume that everyone knows how Bob came to set up the Portobello Online (with £50 from the CC) and how he set up the sub-committee which oversees it (he was the sole administrator of the site at the time).
For the greater part of the site's existence no-one from the PCC was really very interested in it, but as it became more successful (winning an award etc.) POL's profile with the CC grew. For example, I became the POL representative on the CC and am responsible for giving a monthly report.
It was only, however, when some members of the CC were approached with complaints about the content and tone of some Forum posts that the exact role of the CC came under scrutiny. While this has meant some stressful experiences at recent CC meetings it has also resulted in a relatively positive process which made us all re-assess what the CC expect from POL and what we need in return.
I know that some members feel that we should have the same status as say 'The Portobello Reporter' and be represented on the CC only as an interest group. This may seem straightforward enough, but it would involve setting up POL with some sort of non-profit making/charitable legal status and operating a separate bank account etc. Not a major task, but it does mean more work/responsibility for the 3 administrators.
At the moment POL is an arm of the CC and keeps its accounts with it, which means that we are transparent in our financial dealings.
We are also a community website and it seems fitting that we should operate under the umbrella of the CC, which after all represents our community and under new legislation will become an even more important tool in local democracy. Anyone could set up a website for Portobello, but as a body affiliated to the CC we can cross-fertilise ideas. For example, Rapunzell's campaign to gain equal access to the beach has a direct voice on the CC through the POL representative (myself!) and we quickly hear of planning issues etc. which will impact on the local community. Not everyone can make it along to a CC meeting (or indeed may want to!) but POL can act as an effective channel for communication which can only be a good thing for us all.
It is crucial, however, that we are supported by the CC and trusted to apply our posting rules as fairly as possible. We are all on a rather steep learning curve at the moment , but I am hopeful that POl can remain part of the CC. I do stress, however, that this is a personal view.
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