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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.
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. 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]!
'''This wiki is members-only''' and most pages are not accessible without a wiki account. Any DSA member in good standing can [[Special:RequestAccount|request an account here]]. '''Make sure to use the email address associated with your DSA membership.''' Wiki membership requests are overseen and approved by appointed volunteers, so there may be some delay in granting your account; if you haven't gotten a response in 48 hours, please email [mailto:tech@bostondsa.org tech@bostondsa.org].


== How to use the Boston DSA Wiki ==
= Getting Started in Boston DSA =


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!
* Our [https://bostondsa.org/events/ chapter events calendar] contains info about all of our upcoming events! Most Working Groups meet every month, we have a General Meeting (where members vote on chapter business and resolution) and General Organizing Meetings (including skills trainings, announcements, etc.) alternating every month, and we have an Annual Convention in April or May.
 
* '''Join our [[How to use Discord|Discord]] server [bdsa.us/discord here]!''' This is 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].
'''Not sure how to do a thing?''' These handy [[How-to Guides|'''how-to Guides''']] include process documents and best practices range of activities within the chapter, such as events planning and scheduling, graphic design resources, and sharing the Zoom nicely. It also includes guides for [[ActionNetwork|how to use Action Network]] and [[How to make a Facebook event|how to get an event on the chapter calendar]].
* Most [[Work Request Form | work requests]] including reimbursements, phone or text banks, emails requests, endorsement requests, and so on can be submitted through the form at [https://bdsa.us/requests bdsa.us/requests].
 
== 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.
* Join [[How to use Discord|Discord]]!
* The [[How-to Guides]] cover a wide variety of topics and serve as the formal documentation for how to do things in the chapter. These are generally not formal policies, but are either technical documents for the tools and platforms the chapter uses, or best practices documents so that members can have shared expectations and easier delegation of organizing tasks.
* Consult the [[Glossary]] if you encounter jargon you don't recognize.


===Getting Involved===
= Chapter Structure =


Your regularly scheduled socialisms.
== Chapter Policies ==


* [[General Meetings]]: Information about the monthly all-chapter meetings.
* [https://www.bostondsa.org/bylaws/ Chapter Bylaws]: the overriding core documents that determine the structure and function of the chapter
* [[Annual Convention]]: Information about our annual chapter convention (not to be confused with the national DSA convention, which occurs every two years).
* [[Chapter Policies]]: guidelines regarding member data, security, financials, and other sensitive topics
* [[Priorities Process]]: Our chapter's process for selecting priorities.
* [[Chapter Resolutions Archive]]: resolutions passed at General Meetings, even if they've been overturned or supplanted
* [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.
* [https://www.dsausa.org/resources/harassment-and-grievance/ National policy] and [https://www.dsausa.org/resources/harassment-and-grievance/harassment-and-grievance-faq/ frequently asked questions] about resolving concerns about harassment, grievances, and bullying. Grievances can be filed by emailing [mailto:hgo@bostondsa.org hgo@bostondsa.org]. After a resolution is reached, the reporting party and accused party have the right to appeal by emailing [mailto:nationalgrievanceofficer@dsausa.org nationalgrievanceofficer@dsausa.org].


===Getting Organized===
== Officers and Chapter-wide Elected Leadership ==


Making things happen and getting other people involved.
All decision-making and leadership roles in Boston DSA and National DSA are elected. Chapter-wide leadership is structured as follows:


* [[How-to Guides]]: This page 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.
* The [[Coordinating Committee]], which consists of:
* [[Chapter Policies]]: Links to chapter bylaws, guidelines and policies regarding member data, security, financials, and other sensitive topics.
* [[Chapter Communications]] (and other technical resources): A list of the various media the chapter uses for communications, along with information for use and process guidelines.
** Importantly, it includes [[How to set up a Zoom call]].
* [[Voting|Online Voting Guidelines]]: Information about the online voting and discussion system used for absentee voting on resolutions posed at chapter-wide meetings.
* [[National DSA|Information about National DSA]]
 
== Chapter Structure ==
 
=== Officers ===
 
* [[Coordinating Committee]]
** [[Co-chairs]]
** [[Co-chairs]]
** [[Membership Coordinators]]
** [[Membership Coordinators]]
** [[Communications Coordinator]]
** [[Communications Coordinator]]
* [[Harassment and Grievance Officers]]
** [[Clerk]]
 
** [[Treasurer]]
=== Working Groups ===
** [[At-Large (Coordinating Committee)|At-Large]]
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]].
* [[Harassment and Grievance Officers]], which resolve interpersonal conflicts and address harassment, grievances, and bullying together with the Coordinating Committee.
 
* [[Eco-Socialism Working Group]]
* [[Electoral Working Group‎]]
* [[Healthcare Working Group]]
* [[Housing Justice Working Group]]
* [[Immigration Working Group]] (inactive)
* [[Internationalism Working Group]]
* [[Labor Working Group]]
* [[Mental Health Working Group]] (inactive)
* [[Political Education Working Group]]
* [[Prison Abolition Working Group]]  (inactive)
* [[Socialist Feminist Working Group]]
 
=== 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]]
== Working Groups ==
* [[Administrative Committee]]
* [[Childwatch Committee]]
* [[Communications Committee]] (merged into Administrative Committee as of Spring 2023)
* [[Direct Action/De-escalation/Security (DADS)]]
* [[Elections Committee|Elections Committee (Hellections)]] (merged into Administrative Committee as of Spring 2023)
* [[General Meeting Planning Committee]]
* [[Membership Committee]] (merged into Administrative Committee as of Spring 2023)
* [[Tech and Infrastructure Committee]] (merged into Administrative Committee as of Spring 2023)


=== Political Caucuses ===
[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].


Political caucuses are vehicles for socialists to organize within the chapter in support of a shared political program.
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/cambridge/ Cambridge Working Group]
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/ecosocialism/ Ecosocialism Working Group] (Ecosoc)
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/electoral/ Electoral Working Group] (EWG)
* Gender Justice Working Group
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/healthcare/ Healthcare Working Group]
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/housing/ Housing Working Group] (HWG)
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/internationalism/ Internationalism and Immigration Working Group] (IIWG)
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/labor/ Labor Working Group] (LWG)
* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/palestine/ Palestine Working Group] (PWG)
* Somerville Working Group


* [[Forward Caucus]]
== Neighborhood Groups & Regional Branches ==
* [[Libertarian Socialist Caucus]]
* [[Revolutionary Socialist Caucus]]
Boston DSA spans all of Eastern Massachusetts (east of Worcester County), other than Cape Cod. Because we have a large territory, some cities and neighborhoods within it have their own elected leadership, mailing lists, campaigns, and discussion groups to focus on local issues. All members of these regional branches and neighborhood groups are members of Boston DSA.
* [[Reform & Revolution Caucus]]
* Allston/Brighton
* Arlington
* Brookline
* Dorchester
* East Boston/Chelsea
* Jamaica Plain
* Malden
* Medford
* Merrimack Valley
* MetroWest
* North Shore
* [https://wiki.bostondsa.org/view/Roxbury_Neighborhood_Group Roxbury]
* [https://wiki.bostondsa.org/view/South_Shore_Neighborhood_Group South Shore]


== How to contribute to this wiki ==
All Working Groups and Neighborhood Groups have channels on the BDSA chapter Discord.


# 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.
== Committees ==
# Abide by these rules:
[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.
## 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.
* [[Administrative Committee]] (AdComm) handles most internal chapter functions: technology, archiving and information management, and managing chapter resources.
** [[General Meeting Planning Committee]] (GMPC) plans and organizes General Meetings and General Organizing Meetings.
** [[Elections Committee]] (Hellections) directly holds (or assists with) running internal chapter elections.
* [[Boston Y/DSA Committee]] coordinates between Boston DSA and its local [https://y.dsausa.org/ Young Democratic Socialists of America] chapters.
* [[Communications Committee]] (Comms) handles outward-facing chapter social media posts, emails, and communications.
* [[Direct Action/De-escalation/Security (DADS)]] organizes antifascist actions; manages event safety for chapter-wide events such as General Meetings; and trains members in skills related to security (digital, informational, and physical), de-escalation, and anti-harassment throughout the chapter.
* [[Membership Committee]] (MemComm) handles member growth, retention, and development, as well as overseeing orientations, some social events, and Neighborhood Groups.
* [[Political Education Committee]] (PoliEd) handles our [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/political-education/ education] by running reading groups and making presentations.
* [[Protest Organizing & Political Strategy]] (POPS) organizes protests, rallies, vigils, and other rapid response work.


[[Why use a Boston DSA wiki?]] and [[Wikifaq]] cover the answers to some basic questions regarding wiki use.
= How-To Guides, Tutorials, and Chapter Resources =


If editing a working group resource, consult [[Standards & Practices]] for a template and general guidelines.
We have a lot of [[Category:How-To Guide|how-to guides]] and tutorials on getting stuff done in the chapter! Several major guides are:
* [[How to set up a Zoom call]]
* [[General Meetings|How to get an item on a General Meeting agenda]]
* [[How to Plan an Event]]
* [[How to Plan a Working Group Meeting]]
* [[Venues|Where to find event venues]]
* [https://www.dsausa.org/safety_tips_for_events How to run an event safely]
* [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kFKVSwyOYXl03nneW1CrLCqjwzqIdMTTAV5_12hGncE/edit?usp=sharing How to Chair a Working Group]
* [[Internal Elections#Running Online Elections|How to run an online election]]
* [[How to run a phonebank]]
* [[Outreach and Tabling|How to do outreach and tabling]]
* [[How to find and make BDSA graphics]]
* [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CjTRFimtZDTfvYLmsBc0TrZbDvDdE-TyajVocycOWUg/edit?usp=sharing How to Promote Your Event on the Chapter Platforms]


[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.
= Connect with Chapter Communications and Socials =


[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Cheatsheet Here] is a cheat sheet to formatting edits to pages.
* 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].
* Signal: The chapter's de facto encrypted messaging app, often used instead of text messages
* Zoom: [[How to set up a Zoom call]]
* Social Media: [https://www.facebook.com/BostonDSA/ Facebook], [https://www.instagram.com/boston_dsa/ Instagram], [https://bsky.app/profile/bostondsa.org BlueSky], [https://x.com/Boston_DSA Twitter]
* Google Drive: for leadership to share files with membership - for more detail, see [[Boston DSA Member Drive]]


[[Contribution Wish List]] - check out what people want to see or add something you want to know about!
See [[Chapter Technology]] for descriptions of which technologies we use for chapter functions.

Latest revision as of 00:32, 1 March 2026

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. If you are not yet a member, you can join DSA here!

This wiki is members-only and most pages are not accessible without a wiki account. Any DSA member in good standing can request an account here. Make sure to use the email address associated with your DSA membership. Wiki membership requests are overseen and approved by appointed volunteers, so there may be some delay in granting your account; if you haven't gotten a response in 48 hours, please email tech@bostondsa.org.

Getting Started in Boston DSA[edit | edit source]

  • Our chapter events calendar contains info about all of our upcoming events! Most Working Groups meet every month, we have a General Meeting (where members vote on chapter business and resolution) and General Organizing Meetings (including skills trainings, announcements, etc.) alternating every month, and we have an Annual Convention in April or May.
  • Join our Discord server [bdsa.us/discord here]! This is 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.
  • Most work requests including reimbursements, phone or text banks, emails requests, endorsement requests, and so on can be submitted through the form at bdsa.us/requests.
  • 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.
  • The How-to Guides cover a wide variety of topics and serve as the formal documentation for how to do things in the chapter. These are generally not formal policies, but are either technical documents for the tools and platforms the chapter uses, or best practices documents so that members can have shared expectations and easier delegation of organizing tasks.
  • Consult the Glossary if you encounter jargon you don't recognize.

Chapter Structure[edit | edit source]

Chapter Policies[edit | edit source]

Officers and Chapter-wide Elected Leadership[edit | edit source]

All decision-making and leadership roles in Boston DSA and National DSA are elected. Chapter-wide leadership is structured as follows:

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.

Neighborhood Groups & Regional Branches[edit | edit source]

Boston DSA spans all of Eastern Massachusetts (east of Worcester County), other than Cape Cod. Because we have a large territory, some cities and neighborhoods within it have their own elected leadership, mailing lists, campaigns, and discussion groups to focus on local issues. All members of these regional branches and neighborhood groups are members of Boston DSA.

  • Allston/Brighton
  • Arlington
  • Brookline
  • Dorchester
  • East Boston/Chelsea
  • Jamaica Plain
  • Malden
  • Medford
  • Merrimack Valley
  • MetroWest
  • North Shore
  • Roxbury
  • South Shore

All Working Groups and Neighborhood Groups have channels on the BDSA chapter Discord.

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.

How-To Guides, Tutorials, and Chapter Resources[edit | edit source]

We have a lot of and tutorials on getting stuff done in the chapter! Several major guides are:

Connect with Chapter Communications and Socials[edit | edit source]

See Chapter Technology for descriptions of which technologies we use for chapter functions.

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