Updated by Proximity on 05/05/2007.
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<b>What it is</b>
The ombudsmen or member advocates are bus members who've been nominated and chosen to represent the general board membership in dealings with the staff. That does not mean that you can't come to staff -- we are always willing to talk to people, and only a few of us bite (and they've had their shots).
Sometimes, though, you may think that a staff member is biased against you or has broken the rules, or you may have some other problem with a staff member. In those situations, the advocates will listen to what you have to say and represent your views to the staff. They'll keep you updated about what's happening, and may arrange for you and the staff member to work things out between you.
In an ideal world, we wouldn't need advocates, but in this world misunderstandings happen and people aren't perfect. That's why they are there for you and are accountable to you -- we can't fire them except in extreme cases (eg, an advocate is violating a member's privacy).
The member advocates have a separate board with no features at all and only two forums -- one for talking to the staff, and one that only they can see. The second forum is where they talk about problems and how best to resolve them before bringing things to the staff.
<b>Who they are</b>
- amerylis Aug 2006
- Coritiacus Aug 2006
- glass angel May 2006
- Lady_P Aug 2006
- Not_what_you_see May 2006
- Stellaria Aug 2006
- Whypie May 2006
- xGirl_Anachronismx May 2006
First, you contact an ombudsman (through private messages or at ombudsmen@busmail.org). Explain the problem and what you'd like to have happen.
The person you contacted will post to the private omboard. If you request, your identity can be kept secret; at some point, though, the person working with you may ask that you agree to disclosure.
The advocates will discuss the situation until they arrive at a proposed solution. They'll talk this over with staff, then work with both sides to arrive at a solution.
At the beginning of every month the advocates post a update of what they've been up to. These updates won't include specific details about users or issues, but are more about the role of the member advocates and general issues they have been discussing. Links to current and past updates are in <a href="http://buslist.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=104149">this post</a>.
<b>How they're chosen</b>:
- Advocates serve six-month terms
- When nominations are open, a sticky post will be made in the main forum. You can nominate anyone but staff or yourself. Any board member may submit a nomination.
- When the nomination period closes, we'll post a list of nominations, instructions for voting and a link to the poll. If you're nominated but do not want to serve, let a staff member know.
- After the election, the four people with the most votes will become ombudsmen, replacing those who have finished their six-month terms.
An ombudsman is someone who handles complaints and attempts to find mutually satisfactory solutions. Ombudsmen can be found in government, corporations, hospitals, universities and other institutions. The first ombudsman was appointed in 1809 in Sweden to handle citizens' complaints about the government. The word is pronounced "om-BUDS-man" and is Scandinavian in origin. (From newsombudsmen.org)
An ombudsman is an official, usually but not always appointed by the government, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens. The term arose from its use in Sweden, with the Parliamentary ombudsman instituted in 1809 to safeguard the rights of citizens by establishing a supervisory agency independent of the executive branch. The word ombudsman and its specific meaning has since been adopted in to English as well as other languages, and ombudsmen has been instituted by other governments and organizations such as the European Union.
The origin of the word is found in Old Norse and the word umbuds man, meaning representative. The first preserved use in Swedish is from 1552. It is also used in the other Scandinavian languages such as the Icelandic "umboðsmaður", the Norwegian "ombudsmann" and the Danish "ombudsmand".
An ombudsman doesn't have to be appointed by government; they may work for a corporation, a newspaper, an NGO, or even for the general public. Such an ombudsman obviously does not carry any governmental powers or sanction. (From wikipedia.org)