New OList: OPeople

 Announcements, OList, Pledge Project
Mar 282011
 

Thanks to Earl Parson of Creatures of Prometheus, OList.com hosts regular online get-togethers, particularly twice-weekly OList Virtual Socials and every-other-week Movie Nights.

These events have been going fabulously well. I find that they’re a great way to connect with my many awesome OList friends, as well as a way to get to know new Objectivists. In fact, these social events were one of the many reasons why SnowCon 2011 was so much fun: many attendees were regular participants in the OList Virtual Socials!

The only problem with these events has been that we’ve not had any way to disseminate announcements and reminders of them just to the people interested in them. I really hate to send announcements to all the OLists, as I think that’s bothersome for many people. Until now, however, that’s been the only option.

Now the problem is solved… with OPeople! (I’d hoped for “OFriends,” but alas, that name was already in use on Google Groups.)

OPeople is the latest OList. The most basic function of OPeople will be to “disseminate announcements about OList events, such as Movie Night and Virtual Socials.” That’s starting immediately, so if you’d like to receive those announcements, please subscribe now.

The only criterion for subscription is that you be an Objectivist, meaning that you agree with and live by the principles of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism as best you understand them. You need not be subscribed to any other OList. Also, you can lurk, but for that, you must be a lurker on at least one other OList.

In addition, I would like to open the OPeople list to friendly, off-topic chatter, such as movie and art recommendations, discussions of work and hobbies, requests for information and advice, and more. Basically anything off-topic for the other OLists would be welcome on OPeople. It’s a kind of catch-all OList.

However, for that to happen, I’m asking that interested people pledge a few dollars, just as was done for OLeaders, OGeeks, and OCrafters. I want to make sure that sufficient people are interested in that option, and if so, I’d like a fair trade for the work required of the list manager (William Green) and me.

So if you want to pledge, please do so using this form:

Please note that your payment won’t be due until after $200 is pledged, when I open up the list to that off-topic chatter. I’ll send an invoice. And if you pledge, thank you — and don’t forget to subscribe!

 Posted by on 28 March 2011 at 11:30 am  No Responses »

Reminder: Preview for Luc Travers’ Webcast

 OList, OWebcasts, Pledge Project
Feb 092011
 

Remember… the preview for Luc Travers’ OList Webcast on “Bringing an Artwork to Life” will be tonight: Wednesday, February 9th at 6 pm PT / 7 pm MT / 8 pm CT / 9 pm ET. It’s free and open to anyone. To join that preview, just go to the webcast’s page on OList.com at the appointed hour.

The webcast itself will be on Wednesday, February 23rd at 6 pm PT / 7 pm MT / 8 pm CT / 9 pm ET. You can find out more about the webcast — and pledge for it — on that same page.

I hope to see you tonight!

 Posted by on 9 February 2011 at 8:00 am  No Responses »

New OList: OCrafters

 Announcements, OList, Pledge Project
Feb 072011
 

I’m pleased to report that OCrafters raised the $200 in pledges required for its creation and launch! Yipee! (And wow, I’d better resume my long-forgotten knitting projects!) Here’s the basic description of the list:

OCrafters is an informal private discussion list for Objectivists and others who engage in the production of crafts such as knitting, furniture-building, weaving, metalworking, paper-making, sewing, flower-arranging, jewelry-making, and so on. Its purpose is to provide a forum for Objectivist crafters to ask each other questions, share useful advice and resources, and to brag about work in progress or completed.

Any Objectivist who engages in at least one craft may subscribe and post to OCrafters. Moreover, non-Objectivist crafters, as well as non-crafty Objectivists are welcome to subscribe to the list, but only as lurkers; they cannot post. OCrafters is not moderated, but members who violate its rules will be subject to moderation, if not unsubscribed.

As usual, OCrafters is open for subscriptions, but discussion won’t begin for a few days. (That’s to give people time to subscribe to the list.) If you’d like to join, please review the full subscription requirements posted here, then request a subscription to the Google Group.

OCrafters is managed by Earl Parson — accomplished knitter, welder, and woodworker. If you have any questions about OCrafters, he can be reached at [email protected].

I’ve now created three new OLists via pledges. I’m delighted that my experiment in funding new OLists worked so well — and many thanks to everyone who pledged! For those of you who pledged for OCrafters, I’ll send your invoices sometime in the next few days.

 Posted by on 7 February 2011 at 2:00 pm  No Responses »

Two New OLists: OGeeks & OLeaders

 Announcements, OList, Pledge Project
Jan 242011
 

I’m tickled pink to report that — after just a few short days — $200 in pledges were made for the creation and launch of each of two new OLists: OLeaders and OGeeks. The lists are now open for subscriptions, and they’ll open for discussion on Friday. If you’d like to join please review the full subscription requirements on OList.com, then request a subscription to the Google Group.

  • OGeeks is an e-mail list for Objectivists and others interested in geeky topics like science, computing, engineering, mathematics, and technology. Its purpose is to facilitate discussion and sharing among Objectivists about all things geeky, such as best practices in programming, software reviews, scientific discoveries, educational resources, logic puzzles, technology trends, and geek comics. Non-Objectivist lurkers are welcome. OGeeks is managed by Rose Wiegley of A Little Bit of Green.
  • OLeaders is an e-mail list for Objectivists who manage or assist with Objectivist organizations, particularly community groups and campus clubs. Its purpose is to facilitate the exchange of ideas about the effective creation, management, and expansion of Objectivist organizations and their events, as well as communicate announcements of likely interest. Membership is limited to Objectivists. OLeaders is managed by Santiago Valenzuela.

One list remains in utero, waiting to be born: OCrafters.

  • If created, OCrafters will be an e-mail list for Objectivists and others who engage in the production of crafts such as knitting, furniture-building, weaving, metalworking, paper-making, sewing, flower-arranging, jewelry-making, and so on. Its purpose would be to provide a forum for Objectivist crafters to ask each other questions, share useful advice and resources, and to brag about work in progress or completed. Non-Objectivist lurkers will be welcome. It will be managed by Earl Parson of Creatures of Prometheus.

So far, OCrafters has collected $65 in pledges. It needs $135 more before March 20th to come into existence. If you’d like to help make that happen, you can pledge using the form below (or here):

I can’t express just how thrilled I am that this experiment in funding the creation and launch of new OLists via pledges has worked so well. I’m definitely open to creating new OLists by that method, provided that I have some reliable person willing to manage the list.

Many, many thanks to those of you who pledged for OGeeks and OLeaders. I’ll send your invoices sometime in the next few days.

 Posted by on 24 January 2011 at 3:00 pm  No Responses »

New OLists… Maybe

 Announcements, OList, Pledge Project
Jan 192011
 

Over the past few months, I’ve had lots of requests for two new OList.com e-mail lists: OGeeks and OCrafters.

OGeeks would be an informal private discussion list for Objectivists interested in geeky topics like science, computing, engineering, mathematics, and technology. Its purpose would be to facilitate discussion and sharing about all things geeky, such as best practices in programming, software reviews, scientific discoveries, educational resources, logic puzzles, technology trends, and geek comics. Posters would be limited to Objectivist geeks, but non-Objectivist geeks and non-geeky Objectivists would be welcome to lurk.

OCrafters would be an informal private discussion list for Objectivists who engage in the production of crafts, such as knitting, furniture-building, weaving, metalworking, paper-making, sewing, flower-arranging, jewelry-making, and so on. Its purpose would be to provide a forum for crafters to ask each other questions, share useful advice and resources, and to brag about work in progress or completed. Posters would be limited to Objectivist crafters, but non-Objectivist crafters and non-crafty Objectivists would be welcome to lurk.

In addition, given the creation and expansion of so many Objectivist groups in 2010, then the minicons popping up in 2011, I think it’s high time to create OLeaders. OLeaders would be an informal private discussion list for Objectivists who manage or assist with Objectivist organizations, particularly community groups and campus clubs. Its purpose would be to exchange ideas about the effective creation, management, and expansion of Objectivist organizations and their events. The list would serve as a conduit for announcements of likely interest to other group leaders and their members too. Posters to OLeaders would be limited to Objectivists actively involved in the management of an Objectivist organization (or seriously considering creating such), but any Objectivist would be welcome to lurk.

I’ve been a bit reluctant to create these lists, even though I have reliable people eager to manage them, because the process of launching a new OList consumes a good bit of my time and effort. It’s also a bunch of work for the manager at the outset. Plus, I just don’t know how many people are really interested in those lists, particularly OGeeks and OCrafters.

Happily, I realized a few weeks ago that I could use the pledge system to solve those problems. By asking people to pledge for the creation of the list, I could determine whether enough people were sufficiently interested in it to justify its creation, as well as compensate the manager and me for the work involved in launching it.

So… here’s the deal that I’m offering for OGeeks and OCrafters. I’ll create these lists provided that I can raise $200 in pledges for each list. As soon as the total money pledged reaches $200, I’ll close the pledge form and create the list. That $200 will be divided evenly between myself and the list’s manager. If I don’t get enough pledges by March 20th, I’ll conclude that interest is too weak, so I’ll close the pledge form, void the pledges made, and ignore all future requests for the creation of such a list. (Yup, I’m just that mean!)

As for OLeaders, I’m sufficiently committed to that as an activist project that I will personally fund that list, if needed. That way, I can launch the list next week, whether anyone pledges for it or not. However, I’d definitely appreciate any contributions for that list, particularly because I’ll need to do some extra work for its launch. And you can contribute to it by pledging for it, as with the OCrafters and OGeeks.

Update: OGeeks and OLeaders have been fully funded by pledges! Thank you! OCrafters still needs pledges, and you can pledge for it using the form below (or here):

This attempt to fund the creation of OCrafters and OGeeks via pledges is definitely an experiment. If it works, then I’ll be willing to create more OLists using this same method. So… I really really really hope that this works!

 Posted by on 19 January 2011 at 8:00 am  No Responses »

Green Light: Eric Daniels Webcast on Free Speech

 Announcements, Pledge Project
Jan 062011
 

I’m pleased to announce that Eric Daniels’ upcoming webcast on free speech has been green-lit, thanks to the support of the people who pledged! YAY! And thank you, thank you, to everyone who pledged!

For those of you who haven’t yet pledged…. you have until the start of the webcast itself — Monday, January 10th, 6 pm PT / 7 pm MT / 8 pm CT / 9 pm ET — to set your own price for the webcast by pledging. After that, you can only gain access to the webcast by paying $50 to purchase it. You can find out more about the webcast and about pledging, as well as listen to Dr. Daniels’ teaser for it on the main page for the webcast: Eric Daniels Webcast on the Foundations of Free Speech. Please remember that you need not attend live to pledge, as pledgers will have access to streaming video and recorded audio after the webcast.

If you wish to pledge, you can do so using this form:

Thank again, pledgers! I’m so excited for this webcast to happen!

 Posted by on 6 January 2011 at 12:00 pm  No Responses »

Eric Daniels Webcast Preview on YouTube

 Free Speech, OList, Pledge Project
Jan 052011
 

After battling with iMovie for far too many hours yesterday afternoon, I emerged victorious! I created two YouTube videos with Part One and Part Two of Eric Daniels’ preview of his upcoming webcast on the foundations of free speech.

Even though I didn’t have video for that preview, I wanted to create YouTube versions because they’re much easier to share and recommend via social media than podcasts. Of course, if you just want to listen to what Eric has to say, you can go to the podcast.

So… without further ado, here are the two videos. Please don’t let my work go to waste… hit those “like” and “share” buttons on the pages for these videos YouTube!

Eric Daniels Free Speech Webcast Preview, Part 1

Eric Daniels Free Speech Webcast Preview, Part 2

Oh, and if you want to pledge, go to the page for the webcast: Eric Daniels Webcast on the Foundations of Free Speech.

 Posted by on 5 January 2011 at 2:00 pm  No Responses »

Final Thoughts on the "Personhood" Pledge

 Coalition for Secular Government, Pledge Project
Jan 052011
 

A few days ago, I closed the books on the pledge project for Ari Armstrong’s and my policy paper, The ‘Personhood’ Movement Is Anti-Life. I’m so grateful to all the people who contributed to Ari’s and my work by their pledges. The paper would not have been updated without those contributions — many of them very generous and all of them appreciated. Given that the measure didn’t even break 30%, I’m so glad that we put in those grueling hours. Plus, I’m really proud that we offered the most substantive defense of abortion rights from an Objectivist perspective written to date.

I can’t properly explain how motivating the pledges are. It’s not just that I’m paid for my work. It’s that I’m paid directly by individuals, many of whom I know personally. And in the process of pledging, those people tell me what my work means to them. Given that activism can seem like a grind sometimes, that’s hugely important to me.

Amy Mossoff was one of the pledgers on this project, and I really appreciated her take on the pledge model as a way of raising money for such projects. Here’s what she said, shortly after the paper was released:

I haven’t read the whole paper yet (just the intro), but I already know that am pleased with my (oh so small) investment. Thanks for your great work, and the brilliant pledge idea, which allows me to support things like this without sacrificing or else feeling like my scarce money was just a meaningless drop in the bucket.

Exactly!

Unfortunately — and for the very first time — a few people failed to make good on their pledges. I’ve sent multiple invoices over many months, but I’ve not heard back from these few people. I wouldn’t mind quite so much if they would just write me to explain. As I’ve said with every pledge project, I’ll gladly void the pledge (or offer a refund) to anyone not satisfied with the product delivered, provided that he explains his reasons. Of course, if a person lost his job and needed every penny to put food on the table, I’d be happy to void his pledge too. I’d just like to hear back, so that I’m not left hanging. So… if you’re one of those people who pledged but never paid, please do me the courtesy of e-mailing me some kind of explanation.

For now, while I have so many other projects in the works, I’ve decided to put the Coalition for Secular Government on hold. I might blog for Politics without God on occasion, but likely nothing more. However, never fear… Ari and I will surely fight Colorado’s next “personhood” measure in 2012. We’ve already put in far too much work on the issue to let those theocratic bastards take the moral high ground… ever!

 Posted by on 5 January 2011 at 8:00 am  No Responses »

NoodleCast #51: Eric Daniels Webcast Preview

 Free Speech, NoodleCast, Objectivism, OList, Pledge Project, Politics
Jan 042011
 

Last night, historian Eric Daniels gave the preview for his upcoming webcast on the foundations of free speech. Unfortunately, we had problems with the video feed, so he was limited to just audio. (Not to worry… we’ll get that fixed for the webcast.) However, the preview was fabulous nonetheless, and I’m now even more excited to hear Dr. Daniels’ discussion of the bad, the good, and the ugly in recent developments in free speech law on Monday evening.

This podcast contains the audio from the 17-minute preview given by Eric Daniels, after a five-minute introduction by me about pledging for Monday’s webcast.

You can pledge for the webcast using the form below, and if you have any questions about the webcast or pledging, please see the main page for this event: Eric Daniels Webcast on the Foundations of Free Speech.

Podcast Segments

These segments are marked as chapters in the M4A version of this podcast.

  • Diana Hsieh’s Introduction (0:00)
  • Eric Daniels’ Preview (5:18)
  • Diana Hsieh’s Introduction (22:37)

Podcast: Listen Now


23:24 minutes

Podcast: Download

Podcast: Subscribe

Pledge Now

If you want this webcast by Eric Daniels on the foundations of free speech to take place, if you want to support Dr. Daniels’ work, and if you want to support this new webcast series, please pledge!

As always, you’re welcome to pledge any amount. However, please remember that whether the webcast happens or not depends on the total amount of money pledged. The webcast will be green-lit or cancelled, depending on the pledges received by noon on January 6th. (That’s just two days away!) Also, if the webcast takes place, I’ll post it for sale after the fact for $50.

Your pledge is a contract to pay for the webcast, if delivered, and you should consider yourself honor-bound to pay that pledge when you receive your invoice.

If you have any problems with that embedded form, try this form.

Optional Resources

For some additional commentary on free speech law by Dr. Daniels, check out The Looming Crisis over Free Speech (a lecture given by Dr. Daniels last January to LOGIC) and Citizens United and the Future of Campaign Finance Law (a panel discussion from last March that included Dr. Daniels).

For anyone wishing to read a bit before the webcast, Dr. Daniels recommends Steve Simpson’s article in The Objective Standard (Spring 2010): “Citizens United and the Battle for Free Speech in America.”

The videos and article are totally optional: you need not watch/read them before the webcast.

 Posted by on 4 January 2011 at 1:00 pm  No Responses »

Tonight: Eric Daniels Webcast Teaser

 Announcements, OList, Pledge Project
Jan 032011
 

Please join Objectivist historian Eric Daniels for a live 10 minute “teaser” for his upcoming webcast on the foundations of free speech! It will be tonight, January 3rd, starting at 6 pm PT / 7 pm MT / 8 pm CT / 9 pm ET. It’s completely free, and everyone is invited to watch the video and join in the chat. You can do that here:

Eric Daniels Webcast on the Foundations of Free Speech
http://www.olist.com/webcasts/2011-01-ed.html

The full webcast — scheduled for next Monday, January 10th, also at 6 pm PT / 7 pm MT / 8 pm CT / 9 pm ET — will only be available to those who pledge in advance. You can pledge on the same page where the teaser will be held.

See you tonight!

 Posted by on 3 January 2011 at 10:00 am  No Responses »
Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4 Older Entries
Home | Live Webcast | Archives | Blog | Question Queue | Connect | Support Us | About Us
Copyright 2012 Diana Hsieh | Email | Twitter | Facebook | Blog
Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha