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This is the internal wiki for the [https://www.bostondsa.org/ Boston chapter] of the [https://www.dsausa.org/ Democratic Socialists of America]. We are a democratic organization committed to the project of building a mass socialist movement in the United States and freeing people everywhere from the deprivations of capitalism.  
Welcome to Boston DSA's wiki! It's here to serve as a reference for how our chapter works, how to organize, and how to get involved in our work.


This wiki is members-only; any DSA member in good standing '''can [[Special:RequestAccount|request an account here]]'''. Make sure to use the email address you used to join DSA. Someone does have to manually check your membership and approve the request on the back end, so if you don't hear anything in a day or two, email [mailto:tech@bostondsa.org tech@bostondsa.org] and ask. If you are not yet a member, you can join DSA [https://act.dsausa.org/donate/membership/ here]!  
This wiki is members-only; any DSA member in good standing '''can [[Special:RequestAccount|request an account here]]'''. Make sure to use the email address you used to join DSA. Someone does have to manually check your membership and approve the request on the back end, so if you don't hear anything in a day or two, email [mailto:tech@bostondsa.org tech@bostondsa.org] and ask. If you are not yet a member, you can join DSA [https://act.dsausa.org/donate/membership/ here]!  


If you are a member looking to get more involved, check out the [https://wiki.bostondsa.org/view/New_Member_Resources New Member Resources] for some steps to get yourself plugged into chapter activities. Once you’re ready to get involved, visit the [https://www.bostondsa.org/events/ Chapter Events page] to see information about working group meetings and new member orientations. Find a working group you care about and pitch in!
== Getting Started in Boston DSA ==


== About the Boston DSA Wiki ==
* '''Join our [[How to use Discord|Discord]] server!''' This is where we do almost all of our discussion outside of meetings!
 
* [https://bostondsa.org/events/ Boston DSA events calendar]: Contains info about all of our upcoming events! Most Working Groups meet every month, we have a General Meeting every two months, and we have an Annual Convention every April.
Welcome to Boston DSA's wiki! A wiki is an editable website and any member of Boston DSA can view and edit this website. It's here to serve as a reference for how our chapter works, how to organize, and how to get involved in our work. If you would like to view and contribute to this wiki, please read the [[Main Page#How to contribute to this wiki|How to contribute to this wiki]] section below.
 
NOTE: Due to the COVID-19 emergency, all chapter meetings and most chapter events are remote for the foreseeable future. We realize this makes navigating the chapter a little harder since you can’t just turn up to a meeting anymore. Pages related to safely and cooperatively planning online events include [[How to set up a Zoom call]] and [[How to make a Facebook event]].
 
== Chapter Resources ==
 
===Getting Started===
 
What is Boston DSA up to?
 
* [https://www.bostondsa.org/ Boston DSA website]: Contains information about the chapter, along with working group contact information and a calendar of events.
* [[New Member Resources]]: New to the chapter? Start here! Find out how to get on the email list, how to get involved in a campaign or working group, how to get on the chapter Slack, the [https://sites.google.com/view/boston-dsa-new-member-handbook/home New Member Handbook], and other key information.
* [[Chapter Priorities]]: A description of the current chapter priorities and how to get involved with them.
* '''[[Special:RequestAccount|Request an account for this wiki]]'''. Make sure to use the email address you used to join DSA. Someone does have to manually check your membership and approve the request on the back end, so if you don't hear anything in a day or two, email [mailto:tech@bostondsa.org tech@bostondsa.org] and ask.
* '''[[Special:RequestAccount|Request an account for this wiki]]'''. Make sure to use the email address you used to join DSA. Someone does have to manually check your membership and approve the request on the back end, so if you don't hear anything in a day or two, email [mailto:tech@bostondsa.org tech@bostondsa.org] and ask.


===Getting Involved===
== How-to Guides ==


Your regularly scheduled socialisms.
The [[How-to Guides]] cover a wide variety of topics, and serve as the formal documentation for how to do things in the chapter.


* [[General Meetings]]: Information about the monthly all-chapter meetings.
== Chapter Policies ==
* [[Annual Convention]]: Information about our annual chapter convention (not to be confused with the national DSA convention, which occurs every two years).
* [[Priorities Process]]: Our chapter's process for selecting priorities.
* [https://www.bostondsa.org/events/ Events Calendar]: All our events can be found on the website, on Facebook, on Slack, and even on Google Calendar.


===Getting Organized===
* [https://www.bostondsa.org/bylaws/ Chapter Bylaws]
* [[Chapter Resolutions Archive]]
* [[Chapter Policies]]: Links to chapter bylaws, guidelines and policies regarding member data, security, financials, and other sensitive topics.


Making things happen and getting other people involved.
== Chapter Communications and Technology Platforms ==


* [[How-to Guides]]: Not sure how to do a thing? This section includes process documents and best practices for a range of activities within the chapter, including events planning and scheduling, graphic design resources, and sharing the Zoom nicely (see below).
* Discord: Where we do almost all of our discussion outside of meetings. To get the invite link, either log in to this wiki and visit the [[How to use Discord|Discord]] wiki page, or log in to the [https://members.bostondsa.org/home Member Portal].
* [[Chapter Policies]]: Links to chapter bylaws and other documents, as well as guidelines and policies regarding member data, security, financials, and other sensitive topics.
* Email: We send regular events emails to our membership, and each Working Group has their own email list.
* [[Chapter Communications]] (and other technical resources): Here is a list of the various media the chapter uses for communications, along with information for use and process guidelines.  
* Zoom: [[How to set up a Zoom call]]
** Importantly, it includes [[How to set up a Zoom call]].
* Social Media: [https://www.facebook.com/BostonDSA/ Facebook], [https://www.instagram.com/boston_dsa/ Instagram], [https://x.com/Boston_DSA Twitter]
* [[Voting|Online Voting Guidelines]]: Information about the online voting and discussion system used for absentee voting on resolutions posed at chapter-wide meetings. (During COVID-19 restrictions, all voting is handled through this system.)
* Google Drive: for leadership to share files with membership - for more detail, see [[Boston DSA Member Drive]]
* [[National DSA|Information about National DSA]]
* ActionNetwork: to manage member data - for more detail, see [[ActionNetwork]]
* Spoke: for sending out mass texts - for more detail, see [[Spoke]]


== Chapter Structure ==
== Chapter Structure ==
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=== Working Groups ===
=== Working Groups ===
Working groups carry out our external political work. Working groups meet regularly, and information about working group meetings can be found on the [https://www.bostondsa.org/events/ Events page]. A list of current working groups is below; if you have an idea for a new one, check out [[How to start a new working group]].
[https://bostondsa.org/chapter-structure/ Working Groups] carry out our external political work. Working groups meet regularly, and information about working group meetings can be found on the [https://www.bostondsa.org/events/ Events page].


* [[Eco-Socialism Working Group]]
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/cambridge/ Cambridge Working Group]
* [[Electoral Working Group‎]]
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/ecosocialism/ Ecosocialism Working Group]
* [[Healthcare Working Group]]
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/electoral/ Electoral Working Group]
* [[Housing Justice Working Group]]
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/healthcare/ Healthcare Working Group]
* [[Immigration Working Group]]
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/housing/ Housing Working Group]
* [[Internationalism Working Group]]
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/internationalism/ Internationalism Working Group]
* [[Labor Working Group]]
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/labor/ Labor Working Group]
* [[Mental Health Working Group]]
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/political-education/ Political Education Working Group]
* [[Political Education Working Group]]
* [https://bostondsa.org/?page_id=580 Socialist Feminism Working Group]
* [[Prison Abolition Working Group]]  
* [[Socialist Feminist Working Group]]


=== Committees ===
=== Committees ===
Committees help the chapter function by carrying out administrative work and other internal organizing. They maintain the various systems we use to do work in the chapter, such as administering elections and maintaining member data.
[https://bostondsa.org/our-work/committees/ Committees] help the chapter function by carrying out administrative work and other internal organizing. They maintain the various systems we use to do work in the chapter, such as administering elections and maintaining member data.
 
* [[Accessibility Committee]]
* [[Childwatch Committee]]
* [[Communications Committee]]
* [[Direct Action/De-escalation/Security (DADS)]]
* [[Elections Committee|Elections Committee (Hellections)]]
* [[General Meeting Planning Committee]]
* [[Membership Committee]]
* [[Tech and Infrastructure Committee]]
 
=== Campaigns and Teams ===
Campaigns and teams are individual projects, some of which are large enough to have their own infrastructure outside of a working group, others of which are run by individual working groups. Four campaigns are chosen as Chapter Priorities every year. Our current campaigns are:
 
* Take Back the Grid
* Project Right to Housing
 
=== Identity Caucuses ===
 
Identity Caucuses are affinity spaces hosting social events for members who share particular identities.
 
* [[AfroSocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus]]
* [[Queer Caucus]] (inactive)
* [[Disability Caucus]] (inactive)
* [[Women's and Non-Binary Caucus]] (inactive)
 
=== Political Caucuses ===
 
Political caucuses are vehicles for socialists to organize within the chapter in support of a shared political program.
 
* [[Forward Caucus]]
* [[Libertarian Socialist Caucus]]
* [[Revolutionary Socialist Caucus]]
* [[Reform & Revolution Caucus]]
 
=== Informal Groups ===
 
* [[Musicians' Caucus|Artists, Musicians, and Creators Caucus]]
 
== How to contribute to this wiki ==
 
# If you're a member of Boston DSA in good standing, '''you can [[Special:RequestAccount|request an account here]]'''. Make sure to use the email address you used to join DSA. If you're not a member of DSA, [https://act.dsausa.org/donate/membership/ join here!]. If you can't afford dues, email membership@dsausa.org and request a hardship waiver. If you're in another DSA chapter and would like access, contact the admins at boston-dsa-wiki-admins@googlegroups.com.
# Abide by these rules:
## Don't write other people's personal information besides first names (and last initials; think Rosa L) and non-personal email addresses (like tech@bostondsa.org or other emails they made for this purpose). No home addresses, workplace information, last names, personal email addresses, or work email addresses without explicit consent.
## Don't write anything about sensitive direct actions.
## Don't write anything that might compromise coalition partners or their members, or other vulnerable people.
## Get consent when taking notes at a meeting; people may want to use an alias or go off the record.
## These rules apply to Google Docs that you link to in the wiki as well. If a Google Doc has sensitive information in it, it should not have link sharing on (so that when people click on the link, they will only see the content if they have been granted permission to see it).
# Pitch in!
## If you see something incorrect or out of date, don't hesitate to fix it.
## If you have extra information that abides by our rules, add it!
## If an edit is getting changed back and forth multiple times, there's an [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Edit_warring edit war], and we like no war but class war. If you see an edit war, try resolving it through communication or tell the admins at boston-dsa-wiki-admins@googlegroups.com and we will take care of it.
## If you see information that violates our rules or is clearly inappropriate, undo the edit AND tell the admins at boston-dsa-wiki-admins@googlegroups.com. As always, our [https://www.bostondsa.org/code-of-conduct/ code of conduct] applies.
 
[[Example wiki page]] has basic instructions on how to create and edit new wiki pages.
 
[[Why use a Boston DSA wiki?]] and [[Wikifaq]] cover the answers to some basic questions regarding wiki use.
 
If editing a working group resource, consult [[Standards & Practices]] for a template and general guidelines.
 
[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents Here] is a comprehensive guide to [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Editing_pages editing existing pages], adding new pages, and viewing revision history.
 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Cheatsheet Here] is a cheat sheet to formatting edits to pages.
 
[[Contribution Wish List]] - check out what people want to see or add something you want to know about!

Latest revision as of 04:20, 15 August 2024

Welcome to Boston DSA's wiki! It's here to serve as a reference for how our chapter works, how to organize, and how to get involved in our work.

This wiki is members-only; any DSA member in good standing can request an account here. Make sure to use the email address you used to join DSA. Someone does have to manually check your membership and approve the request on the back end, so if you don't hear anything in a day or two, email tech@bostondsa.org and ask. If you are not yet a member, you can join DSA here!

Getting Started in Boston DSA[edit | edit source]

  • Join our Discord server! This is where we do almost all of our discussion outside of meetings!
  • Boston DSA events calendar: Contains info about all of our upcoming events! Most Working Groups meet every month, we have a General Meeting every two months, and we have an Annual Convention every April.
  • Request an account for this wiki. Make sure to use the email address you used to join DSA. Someone does have to manually check your membership and approve the request on the back end, so if you don't hear anything in a day or two, email tech@bostondsa.org and ask.

How-to Guides[edit | edit source]

The How-to Guides cover a wide variety of topics, and serve as the formal documentation for how to do things in the chapter.

Chapter Policies[edit | edit source]

Chapter Communications and Technology Platforms[edit | edit source]

  • Discord: Where we do almost all of our discussion outside of meetings. To get the invite link, either log in to this wiki and visit the Discord wiki page, or log in to the Member Portal.
  • Email: We send regular events emails to our membership, and each Working Group has their own email list.
  • Zoom: How to set up a Zoom call
  • Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
  • Google Drive: for leadership to share files with membership - for more detail, see Boston DSA Member Drive
  • ActionNetwork: to manage member data - for more detail, see ActionNetwork
  • Spoke: for sending out mass texts - for more detail, see Spoke

Chapter Structure[edit | edit source]

Officers[edit | edit source]

Working Groups[edit | edit source]

Working Groups carry out our external political work. Working groups meet regularly, and information about working group meetings can be found on the Events page.

Committees[edit | edit source]

Committees help the chapter function by carrying out administrative work and other internal organizing. They maintain the various systems we use to do work in the chapter, such as administering elections and maintaining member data.

A team of volunteers dedicated to a specific area of socialist organizing. See Working Group.

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