What's the point? Article 1: Provide a forum.

Finally, the initial entry in our introspective series called "What is the point of the STC Australia Chapter?".

In my introductory post, I copy-pasted the STC Australia Chapter's charter.

Today, we'll look at article 1: "to provide a forum where Australian technical communicators can discuss their work"


It may be a corny way to start, but the Google card that gets displayed when I search "forum definition" goes like this:
fo·rum (/ˈfôrəm/)
Noun
- A meeting or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged.
- An Internet message board.

I couldn't have found a more perfect definition for my own purposes unless I'd written it myself!

Key to both of the entries is the possibility of exchange. The STC Australia Chapter has as its first aim the provision of a space for exchange of ideas and views on technical writing.

The obvious question is: Do we?

Well, let's do a little inventory of possible forums for STC members to exchange ideas that are provided by the STC Australia Chapter.

1. This blog allows comments on posts. It arguably enables more participation than the service it replaced, the newsletter. However, the blog enables a directed exchange, as the posts are all written by STC Committee members. We attempt to initiate conversations  that technical communicators might be interested in participating in, which is not the same as allowing a free conversation on whatever members feel like discussing. 
2. Social media. The STC Australia Chapter has a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a Google+ page. We've been promoting these, and of anything that we have put on, I think they go the farthest in terms of addressing article 1 of the charter. However, we've gotten almost no response on Twitter and Google+. We've had 11 likes on Facebook, which means that 11 people can discuss whatever they want on the Facebook page. Social media may or may not the ideal medium for carrying on discussions, but it is a good way for STC Australia Chapter members to find each other and provide information and links that may be interesting to each other. They also allow the STC Australia Chapter to present itself to potential members.
3. The monthly meetings. On the second Thursday of every month, the STC Australia Chapter Committee meets to discuss the activities of the committee. Steve Salter, the meetings coordinator, sends out a link to the meeting chat room to every STC Australia Chapter member that we know about. Generally, chapter members don't come to the meetings. We don't know if you are too busy, don't know about the meetings, don't like the chosen software, or what. We'd love to see you there, and are open to suggestions as to how we could make it more appealing to you. The meeting times are provided on the right sidebar of the blog. Let us know if you aren't getting the messages.

That's it. I think it'd be irresponsible to stop there, however, because there are other organizations and groups catering to technical communicators in Australia.

1. There is the ATW mailing list, which provides an unmoderated forum for anyone who wishes to join. This list allows any technical writer, or anyone who can find that webpage, to participate in discussions that are, ostensibly, technical communications related. 
2. There is a LinkedIn group called Australia Technical Writers, with subgroups for individual states. People do discuss on here, but the discussion tends towards professional networking. 

Those are also forums for technical writers. Do I think that they do it, so we don't have to?

No.

I think we can provide STC Australia Chapter members with value by providing a discussion forum that is limited to members only, alongside the forums with wider membership. That could take one of two forms: an actual forum or message board hosted on stc-aus.org.au, and/or an STC Australia Chapter members mailing list.

Chapter members self-select by paying their chapter membership fee. Ability to pay is not necessarily an indication of quality. But, willingness to invest in a regional body reflects a particular interest in the craft of technical communication, its place in Australia, and the place of Australian technical writers in the global technical communications industry.

I think the STC Australia Chapter has a responsibility to cater you, the members, by providing you with a forum in which you can talk amongst yourselves.

How do you think we should do that?

Please, feel free to take up this discussion on any of our social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, Google+).