Latest revision as of 04:31, 2 February 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 this form.
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]

Chapter Bylaws: the overriding core documents that determine the structure and function of the chapter
Chapter Policies: guidelines regarding member data, security, financials, and other sensitive topics
Chapter Resolutions Archive: resolutions passed at General Meetings, even if they've been overturned or supplanted
National policy and frequently asked questions about resolving concerns about harassment, grievances, and bullying. Grievances can be filed by emailing hgo@bostondsa.org. After a resolution is reached, the reporting party and accused party have the right to appeal by emailing nationalgrievanceofficer@dsausa.org.

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:

The Coordinating Committee, which consists of:
Harassment and Grievance Officers, which resolve interpersonal conflicts and address harassment, grievances, and bullying together with the Coordinating Committee.

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.

Cambridge Working Group
Ecosocialism Working Group (Ecosoc)
Electoral Working Group (EWG)
Healthcare Working Group
Housing Working Group (HWG)
Internationalism and Immigration Working Group (IIWG)
Labor Working Group (LWG)
Palestine Working Group (PWG)
Somerville Working Group

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.

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 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) ensures that all of our chapter meetings, social events, and rallies are safe.
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 education by running reading groups and making presentations.
Protest Organizing & Political Strategy (POPS) organizes direct actions such as protests, rallies, vigils, and other rapid response work.

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:

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
Signal: The chapter's de facto encrypted messaging app, often used instead of text messages
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

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-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. 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!
+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''' 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].
-== About the Boston DSA Wiki ==
+= Getting Started in Boston DSA =
-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.
+* 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].
+* Most work requests including reimbursements, phone or text banks, emails requests, endorsement requests, and so on can be submitted [https://airtable.com/appt5WkXVfwvdG1nd/shrGf4B4DaW0WIwoO through this form].
+* '''[[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.
+* 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.
-NOTE: Due to the COVID-19 emergency, all chapter meetings and events (except for protests) are meeting remotely 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 Structure =
-== Chapter Resources ==
+== Chapter Policies ==
+* [https://www.bostondsa.org/bylaws/ Chapter Bylaws]: the overriding core documents that determine the structure and function of the chapter
+* [[Chapter Policies]]: guidelines regarding member data, security, financials, and other sensitive topics
+* [[Chapter Resolutions Archive]]: resolutions passed at General Meetings, even if they've been overturned or supplanted
+* [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].
-* [https://www.bostondsa.org/ Boston DSA website]: Contains information about the chapter, along with working group contact information and a calendar of events.
+== Officers and Chapter-wide Elected Leadership ==
-* [[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, and other key information about the chapter.
-* [[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. Importantly, it includes How to set up a Zoom call.
-* [[Chapter Policies]]: Links to chapter bylaws and other documents, as well as guidelines and policies regarding member data, security, financials, and other sensitive topics.
-* [[How-to Guides]]: Not sure how to do a thing? This section includes process documents and best practices for a variety of activities within the chapter, including events planning, administrative tips and tricks, and other organizing basics.
-* [[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.)
-* [[Chapter Priorities]]: Information about the chapter’s process for selecting chapter priorities, as well as a description of the current chapter priorities and how to get involved with them.
-* [[General Meetings]]: Information about the monthly all-chapter meetings.
-* [[Annual Convention]]: Information about our annual chapter convention (not to be confused with the national DSA convention, which occurs every two years).
-* [[National DSA|Information about National DSA]]
-== Chapter Structure ==
+All decision-making and leadership roles in Boston DSA and National DSA are elected. Chapter-wide leadership is structured as follows:
-=== Officers ===
+* The [[Coordinating Committee]], which consists of:
-* [[Coordinating Committee]]
 ** [[Co-chairs]]
 ** [[Membership Coordinators]]
 ** [[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]]
-* [[Internationalism Working Group]]
-* [[Labor Working Group]]
-* [[Mental Health Working Group]]
-* [[Mutual Aid Working Group]]
-* [[Political Education Working Group]]
-* [[Prison Abolition Working Group]] (on hiatus)
-* [[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.
-* [[Childwatch Committee]]
-* [[Communications Committee]]
-* [[Elections Committee|Elections Committee (Hellections)]]
-* [[Direct Action/De-escalation/Security (DADS)]]
-* [[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
-* DSA for Rent Control
-* Tenant Organizing
-* Anti-Harassment and Inclusion
-* Boosting Member Participation and Capacity
-=== Identity Caucuses ===
-Identity Caucuses are affinity spaces hosting social events for members who share particular identities.
-* [[Disability Caucus]]
-* [[People of Color Caucus]]
-* [[Queer Caucus]]
-* [[Women's and Non-Binary Caucus]]
-=== 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 ===
+== Working Groups ==
-* [[Musicians' Caucus|Artists, Musicians, and Creators Caucus]]
+[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].
-=== Sister City Program ===
+* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/cambridge/ Cambridge Working Group]
-* [[Sister City|Our current sister cities]]
+* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/ecosocialism/ Ecosocialism Working Group] (Ecosoc)
+* [https://bostondsa.org/our-work/electoral/ Electoral Working Group] (EWG)
+* [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
-== How to contribute to this wiki ==
+== Neighborhood Groups & Regional Branches ==
+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
+* [https://www.southshore.bostondsa.org/ South Shore]
-# 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.
+All Working Groups and Neighborhood Groups have channels on the BDSA chapter Discord.
-# 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.
+== Committees ==
+[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.
-[[Why use a Boston DSA wiki?]] and [[Wikifaq]] cover the answers to some basic questions regarding wiki use.
+* [[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)]] ensures that all of our chapter meetings, social events, and rallies are safe.
+* [[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 direct actions such as protests, rallies, vigils, and other rapid response work.
-If editing a working group resource, consult [[Standards & Practices]] for a template and general guidelines.
+= How-To Guides, Tutorials, and Chapter Resources =
-[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.
+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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Cheatsheet Here] is a cheat sheet to formatting edits to pages.
+= Chapter Communications and Technology Platforms =
-[[Contribution Wish List]] - check out what people want to see or add something you want to know about!
+* 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].
+* 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]]
+* Signal: The chapter's de facto encrypted messaging app, often used instead of text messages
+* Social Media: [https://www.facebook.com/BostonDSA/ Facebook], [https://www.instagram.com/boston_dsa/ Instagram], [https://x.com/Boston_DSA 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]]