GOSA structure

[JS4]

GOSA will use Facebook as a primary means of organising, at least initially.

Most will probably be duplicated on GunSite in any case, however we need to stretch the net wider.

I know we are going to get a chorus of "but I don't do Facebook" posts now.

Then start. You can sign up here: www.facebook.com

Or build us an alternative website and put it to the members for a vote.

Structure envisioned as follows:

1. GOSA National page - membership limited to current EXCO members and supplemented/replaced by the provincial representatives as voted in on the underlying structures. Amount of representatives per province to be decided but definitely more than one.
2. 9 GOSA provincial pages - membership restricted to the municipal/regional representatives as voted in on the underlying structures - we'll need to cap the amount of representatives here... maybe two per underlying structure? Three?
3. Municipal/regional GOSA pages (we need to decide how to demarcate these) - membership restricted to ward representatives as voted in on the underlying structures - cap to two/three or however many again (IMO as long as it is more than one - both on this level and the two above, to give balance and to act as a control to ensure that representatives give true account of the underlying structures' wishes).
   
   • Municipa boundaries as here: http://www.demarcation.org.za/index....pal-boundaries
   
   
4. Ward GOSA pages - membership open to all comers. These are the grassroots levels and will be where most of the debate takes place and actions originate. All wards can act independently and/or in concert with other wards, as long as those actions are in line with GOSA's principles.
   
   • Motions carried here will be taken up through the levels by the appointed representatives, as high as it needs to go.
   • We'll get some use for all our tax money by aligning the wards with the municipal wards as demarcated by the Municipal Demarcation Board here: http://www.demarcation.org.za/index....ion/2010-wards
   
   

Who's gonna do all of this you ask? The members themselves. Any and every gun owner is by default a member of GOSA. We'll use GunSite to mobilise us by getting people to put their hands up for starting their ward's FB page. We'll also use our existing, open FB page to help with this.


Once there are more than one ward per municipality/region then they can co-ordinate the creation of the regional page.


The regions then coordinate the formation of the provincial pages.


The current EXCO sets up the national page and do the initial populating of the membership.


Every page will have to vote on the administrator for that page and for the representatives to be seconded to the next level page, whose administrator will add and remove the representatives as required.


If it comes to light that there are more than one page per ward/region/province the level above that will get them to merge. If they don't (due to personalty clashes or whatever) a decision will be made as to which one is the actual page and that decision communicated to all members in that province/region/ward.

Remember: always act and make decisions based on the GOSA principles.

[uBestRi]

Great, let us know when we can join the ward pages.

[JS4]

Great, let us know when we can join the ward pages.

You start the page yourself boet - all you need is internet (check) and another gunowner in your ward.

Between you you vote in a representative for the municipal page, link up with the rep from another ward in your municipality and start the page, and so forth.

[HadEnuf]

It's not that I don't do FB, it's that I do not put anything on my personal FB that indicates I have a firearm. As I have said before, 30 seconds on the Telkom white pages website will get you from my full name as visible on FB to my street address.

Fortunately I do have a second HadEnuf FB login, but I think people need to consider the real risks of having stuff on a public forum that can lead to your street address.

[uBestRi]

This is true HadEnuf.

[uBestRi]

I believe there are other closed social media platforms that have the look and feel of Facebook but the security can be customized. This may be onerous and will cost money though, and may even defeat the goals that GOSA have envisaged.

[JS4]

It's not that I don't do FB, it's that I do not put anything on my personal FB that indicates I have a firearm. As I have said before, 30 seconds on the Telkom white pages website will get you from my full name as visible on FB to my street address.

Fortunately I do have a second HadEnuf FB login, but I think people need to consider the real risks of having stuff on a public forum that can lead to your street address.

I understand your concerns.

However.

If you don't stand up for our rights as firearm owners, then who?



Ask not what GOSA can do for you, ask what YOU can do for the Gun Owners of South Africa!

[540i]

i am in the hartbeespoort area and am happy to help but have no idea what to do now.....

[mostlyharmless]

JS4
Will there be a naming convention for the groups/pages like: GOSA-Ward-name or GOSA-Region-WC
Then I see some wards don't have a name ... just a number... sigh...

Or we just call ourselves for example "The Durbanville Braais and Guns Club" and then affiliate with GOSA?

Can I table that this be discussed by the GOSA Exco ;-)

[Kreefstert]

Suggestion, get gunshops involved and when a gun gets sold the new owner signs a onepager at no fee that gets passed to GOSA so they automatically gets added to the e-mail/whatever network.