The GFA was founded in the previous century, in the 1950's, when societal attitudes, norms and communication options were vastly different than they are today. Since the GFA's founding, there have been occasional amendments to the bylaws under which the GFA was founded. I cannot determine the precise extent to which the bylaws have been amended, inasmuch as the GFA has repeatedly declined my offers to build (without any cost to the GFA whatsoever) a proper website which, among other things, would serve as a very useful repository of information, documenting both the present operations of and the past history of the GFA. For nearly three years I have been told by the GFA "...we are looking into it..." Almost three years later, to the best of my knowledge, the GFA apparently continues to "look into it", but has done nothing in this regard (despite my repeated offers to undertake this work for free and my written assurances that nothing would be published without the prior consent of the GFA).
I believe it is the GFA's ongoing and as of yet unexplained obsession with "control" which is stalemating this process. This hints back at yesterday's blog entry regarding why transparency is so important -- What could the GFA possibly be doing that is of such incredible importance that it must be done in virtual secrecy? In addition to repeatedly opposing my efforts to build a proper website for the GFA for free (which would obviously vastly increase the transparency of the GFA), the GFA also continues to obstruct my efforts to make ALL the GFA meetings available to ALL interested GFA Members via livestreaming, which I have also offered to undertake at no cost to the GFA whatsoever. This obstructive thinking is clearly reflective of an underlying mindset from the previous century, and is therefore not serving the best interests of the GFA Membership by-and-large as it exists in the 21st century. To legitimately put forth the notion that bulletin boards and newspapers are preferred methods of communication in today's world very clearly exposes a deeply out-of-touch and reactionary mindset which is incapable of serving the modern needs of the modern GFA Membership. Whilst I vehemently agree with and support the efforts of the GFA to continue to communicate with more traditional Members via last century's preferred means of communication, I equally vehemently believe the GFA needs to accept the fact that the world actually has moved on since the 1950's, and desperately needs to operate in a manner much more consistent with the realities of modern life in the 21st century. To the best of my knowledge, the GFA has never been entrusted with any nuclear launch codes, so precisely what information the GFA is attempting to control access to, I cannot possibly imagine. But I believe that every bit of information regarding the GFA should be made available to every GFA Member in good standing, and the best way to do this is through the use of modern technology, such as a strong social media presence and a legitimate website.
It has been my personal less-than-happy life experience that when an organization struggles so diligently to control its own Member's access to information regarding the operations of that organization, there is usually something untoward going on which the organization is attempting to keep under wraps. I have absolutely NO evidence that anything improper is happening within the GFA, but the GFA's steadfast insistence on "control" and refusing to employ modern methods of information dissemination give me pause to wonder what information the GFA apparently feels it so desperately needs to "control". When you honor me by electing me to the Board of Directors of the GFA, working toward modernizing the operations of the GFA will absolutely be one of my top priorities. Thank you very much for your DEEPLY appreciated support!! :-)