[Dri-interest] Thank you, and welcome

[Colm MacCarthaigh]

Thank you for subscribing to the dri-interest mailing list. In the short
time it has been advertised, we've had over 75 people sign up. We've also
received great feedback, both in person at the events we've attended, and
through the Digital Rights Ireland blog at:

        http://www.digitalrightsireland.org/ 
        
It's been a great encouragement to have this level of interest and support
at such an early stage.

We will keep this mailing list high-value, but low-volume. We'll post
updates and announcements here to keep you informed on what's happening,
what's required and how you can help and get involved.

Table of Contents:

   1. Call for volunteers & ideas
   2. Who's who, what's what, and an organisational structure
   3. Current activities
   4. Data Retention: We need your help
   5. Digital Rights Ireland Launch Event

1. Call for volunteers & ideas

  Already we've had a huge number of suggestions on areas to cover,
  specific topics to investigate and actions to consider. We're working
  hard on many of these, and have hit the ground running in relation to our
  first identified priority; data retention. The work Digital Rights
  Ireland performs depends on the work volunteered.
 
  We'd like to be in a position to offer the legal support, coordination,
  political skills and public relations necessary to affect change in the
  issues you care about. If you would like to get involved, in any way,
  reply to this mail with a brief outline of how you would like to help.

  Everything from offers of proof-reading to volunteering particular
  expertise is appreciated. It is early days yet, so the organization is
  still fluid in many ways. This is a good time to have your say. 

  Even if you feel you don't have the time to volunteer, if you'd be
  willing to write a letter to your TD or MEP in future, reply and tell us
  your Dáil constituency. We are building a database of the policy makers
  who affect our issues. This includes Ministers, members of particular
  Oireachtas committees, MEP's and so on. Correspondence is always more
  powerful coming from constituents, and we would appreciate any offers of
  help. 

  As ever, we will never share your contact details. 

2. Who's who, what's what, and an organisational structure

  The current list of directors, members and professional advisers is now 
  on-line at:

         http://www.digitalrightsireland.org/about/

  Digital Rights Ireland is an interest group, similar in scope to the EFF
  or EDRI and hopefully similar in style to the Irish Council for Civil
  Liberties.  We've made contact with all of these organisations, as well
  as with other lobby and interest groups in Ireland. With help and
  feedback from their wealth of experience, we've come up with an initial
  organisational structure.

  Digital Rights Ireland Limited is in the process of incorporation as a
  company limited by guarantee. Like most companies, we have directors,
  members and professional advisers (lawyers, accountants). Ultimately, the
  directors have a legal responsibility for the workings of the company and
  make the final decision on matters such as whether or not to commence
  certain legal proceedings on behalf of the company. In addition, ordinary
  members of the company are the owners of  Digital Rights Ireland, and as
  shareholders have a say in how the company is run. 

  For the moment, membership of the company is fixed. But membership of the
  DRI campaign is not.  We want to be as open as possible, but we also have
  a responsibility to protect the efforts of the company and to ensure that
  sensitive information is not disclosed too widely. This will be a
  balancing act. We hope you will bear with us while we work our way to the
  right kind of balance. 

  By signing up to this list, you are already involved in what weÕre trying
  to do and we want to encourage as much participation as possible. We have
  a wiki online at:

     http://www.digitalrightsireland.org/bureau/

  This will give contributors some ideas of the areas we feel are relevant,
  and where we have begun to do the necessary research. But you may have
  your own suggestions for issues we ought to focus on. And chances are, if
  you do, youÕll know as much about them as we will. The wiki is the best
  place to let us know.

  Contributions can also be made via our blog, and the Boards.ie DRI forum:

     http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=570

  Again, due to the nature of our activities, we also want to adopt a more
  formal organisational structure than the usual on-line campaign. Loosely
  based on the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, we'd like specific people
  to take charge of a certain area and take responsibility for coordinating
  that area. Currently those proposed areas are:

        Media Relations
        Policy
        Legal Affairs
        Website / Communications / Marketing
        Finance / Admin

  A neat diagram of this structure is available at:

        http://www.digitalrightsireland.org/organisation.jpg

  We also want to have nominated spokespeople and liaisons for the major
  issues we will cover. Unlike many other online campaigns, DRI is going to
  need money to cover the day-to-day expenses of lobbying, litigation and
  public relations.  So far, we have survived on the personal donations of
  the founders. Eventually we'd like to establish a subscription scheme,
  similar to the EFF, but of the order of 5EUR a month or so (we will of
  course welcome more). 

  What that 5EUR gets you, and how soon we can establish our credentials
  and reputation sufficiently that people will be comfortable with such an
  arrangement, we don't yet know. Let us know what you think. 

  Hopefully, this brief introduction will give an idea of the structure we
  have in mind. But do remember that we are amenable to input, nothing is
  set in stone, and this project is open to ownership by you. If you get
  involved, you get to help set the agenda.

3. Current activities

  It's been just over one month since the first Digital Rights Ireland
  meeting was held, and we've been engaged in a number of activities. We've
  had 2 meetings of everyone involved, started the incorporation process,
  launched a website, a blog, this mailing list and given well-received
  talks at TechCamp Ireland, the Ireland Offline AGM and the Irish Linux
  Users Group AGM. 

  We've produced, procured and accumulated various reports, informational
  pamphlets and considerable research material, much of which we will be
  making available on our website. Some of this content is currently being
  fine-tuned in our Wiki, and your input is welcome.

  We've hit the ground running on one of our identified priorities: data
  retention. In addition to a serious volume of legal research we can't go
  into, we've conducted our first work through the Oireachtas. With help
  from the Labour Party, we submitted a question to the Minister for
  Justice on whether any data retention requests have been made, and what
  safeguards are in place to ensure that retained data is not abused. You
  can read the question, and the Minister's answer at; 

        http://www.digitalrightsireland.org/2005/10/25/

  This is only a small window into the work ongoing, but we're proud to
  have our first such action on the public record.

4. Data Retention: We need your help

  Not satisfied with the above response, we're keen to get a clear picture
  of data retention as implemented in Ireland. To do this, we're invoking
  the Data Protection Act and writing to all of our service providers
  requesting information on what data, if any, has been retained.

  If you'd like to help in this effort, and are willing to write to your
  service providers for this information, please reply and tell us who your
  phone provider, ISP, webmail provider and mobile phone provider are, and
  we'll try to coordinate it and avoid duplication of effort. You may need
  to stump up 6.35EUR.

  In addition, there is a Draft Directive mandating data retention
  Europe-wide currently being assessed by the European parliament. A letter
  (posted with a real stamp, or faxed to their office) to your MEP
  expressing your concerns on this matter now, while it is still being
  debated, will make more of a difference than you might imagine. If you'd
  like to get some ideas about what you could usefully say see this thread
  on the boards.ie board:

        http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=305425

5. Digital Rights Ireland Launch Event

  Once Digital Rights Ireland is fully incorporated we will be kicking off
  with a formal launch. If you have any suggestions for what you would like
  to see at the launch, now is the time to make them. We hope to have some
  interesting speakers, and to double up the media side of the launch with
  an opportunity for in-person discussion.

  Again, on behalf of everyone involved in Digital Rights Ireland, we'd
  like to thank you for your interest and support. If you have any
  comments, queries, questions or suggestions feel free to mail: 

        dri at digitalrightsireland.org

-- 
Digital Rights Ireland