This thread is for discussion on the group name, and to debate different potential names for the upcoming revote. While the revote has not yet been scheduled, it will most likely correspond with votes on slogan, etc. The group names which tied in the original vote include: United Left Alliance International Freelance Writers Collective International Committee for Freedom and Solidarity Other group names recieving votes included: International coalition for a Free Society Free Society International Writers Union New names suggested: Workers Media Association (WMA) International Workers Media Association (IWMA) Worker Affairs Publication Team (WAPT) International Worker Affairs Publication Team (IWAPT) Committee for correspondence on Freedom and Democracy Any of the above options is can be voted for, and new name ideas can be suggested in this thread. Lets try to keep this like the other "proposition" threads where we identify the option we support and why.
Also some important things to consider. -We are trying not to appear sectarian so overtly leftist names might not be the best idea. -This group is going to cover more than just writers so group names which are exclusive to writers might not be the best idea either (I voted for one such name originally but am reconsidering now.)
I still like the United Left Alliance. I also mentioned PADS (Progressive Alliance of Democrats and Socialists, democrats as in "believers in democracy", not "members of the Democratic Party") at the beginning of all the discussion but I never recommended it get thrown in with the other voting suggestions. Not sure how anyone feels about it, cause it sounds awfully similar to the PASD social democratic group in the European Parliament.
United Left Alliance is so sectarian. As A Revolutionary Tool noted, liberals are not necessarily more receptive to communist ideas than conservatives, so our best bet is to approach the working class from a working class perspective. We don't want to shut out any conservative workers by nominally associating yourself with the left.
I must say that the International Coalition for a free society is what I like most still. I dislike International Freelance Writers Collective, It ignores any form of activity we engage in outside of Writing. What do you think positivist?
Really? I thought United Left Alliance sounded less sectarian than the others. I like the name of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism. Is there a way would could play around and build something like that?
United Left Alliance. There's no point in hiding what we stand for.
I must say that the International Coalition for a free society is what I like most still. I dislike International Freelance Writers Collective, It ignores any form of activity we engage in outside of Writing. What do you think positivist? I voted for that one in the first vote, but reject it now for the reason you mentioned. I've been trying to think of a name that encompasses all of our activities. The few I've got are Workers Media Association (WPA) and Worker Affairs Publication Team (WAPT.) I have also thought of adding "international" to eitheir of these which would make them International Workers Media Association (IWMA) and International Worker Affairs Publication Team (IWAPT.)
United Left Alliance. There's no point in hiding what we stand for. Its not about hiding what we stand for its about not isolating parts of our potential audience which oppose "the left" on an ideological level or which have been conditioned to fear socialism.
I added the new suggestions.
I feel as if having the name International Something Something puts us at risk of sounding like yet another sectarian international tendency group, you know? Would it be cliché if we added the word "labour" to the name?
Well this isn't really a party so I don't think that's a problem, and international is good because it alludes to that we have a staff of international writers and, correspondingly, an ensemble of international perspectives.
Also some important things to consider. -We are trying not to appear sectarian so overtly leftist names might not be the best idea. -This group is going to cover more than just writers so group names which are exclusive to writers might not be the best idea either (I voted for one such name originally but am reconsidering now.) These are very important things to consider. I want to emphasis this as we prepare to hold a second round of votes for this group/org name. Excellent post Positivist!!!
I must say that the International Coalition for a free society is what I like most still. I dislike International Freelance Writers Collective, It ignores any form of activity we engage in outside of Writing. What do you think positivist? I agree with you here. It is important to consider the scope of our activities for the group that is separate from the periodical. We have plans and the potential to do much more than form a periodical. We need to turn our attention to other things like Coming Up For Air's media project and activism too.
United Left Alliance is so sectarian. As A Revolutionary Tool noted, liberals are not necessarily more receptive to communist ideas than conservatives, so our best bet is to approach the working class from a working class perspective. We don't want to shut out any conservative workers by nominally associating yourself with the left. This is another important thing to consider as well. Many workers have not established a class consciousness that allows them to understand the reformist and reactionary nature of mainstream politics and will not be receptive to our message immediately. We have to draw them in and chip away at them. We will need to consider this when writing and working in the communities. If not we will spin our wheels and limit our potential and progress. We must be tactful while holding strong to our beliefs.
I agree with you here. It is important to consider the scope of our activities for the group that is separate from the periodical. We have plans and the potential to do much more than form a periodical. We need to turn our attention to other things like Coming Up For Air's media project and activism too. Yes Comrade!, Right now in the Committee's infancy we must do things in a step by step process and must put all our efforts to the periodical. After the periodical is up and running we can pursue other activities such as advertisement,Videos,Activism and overall agitation etc etc. Note to all member: Please put forward all your ideas! We are an open minded group, we won't be getting to work on your ideas yet for fairly obvious reasons but we can get to them after we sort four the periodical. Might I add that I am overtly happy to see our group get this far, I had confidence from the start and am happy things are going for the best.
I feel as if having the name International Something Something puts us at risk of sounding like yet another sectarian international tendency group, you know? Would it be cliché if we added the word "labour" to the name? We are international by our very makeup and I consider this to be important in so many ways that I feel this is not to be denied in any way. I don't feel international is sectarian or that it has any negative connotation. Though I say this I am only stating an opinion here and would like to hear what the members of our group have to say in regard to this. I don't see labour or labor as being anything that we need to worry about. It is an important aspect and has a certain appeal to our community ideal while having limited to no stigma within the US. In the UK it may have one though due to the Labour Party but we will need more feedback from the group. On this I am ambivalent if anything.
Note to all member: Please put forward all your ideas! We are an open minded group, we won't be getting to work on your ideas yet for fairly obvious reasons but we can get to them after we sort four the periodical. This cannot be emphasized enough here!!!! We need ALL of the ideas that we can muster so that we can arrive at a name. No suggestion should be withheld. There is no such thing as a bad suggestion. We will discuss them all and just as Comrades Unite stated we need your input everyone.
Since voting restarts tomorrow I figure I'll put out my ideas. I support the International Workers Media Association (IWMA) as it reflects that we are a working class media organization which covers the perspectives of workers from around the globe. Also it isn't sectarian or alienating to any potential readers who are wary of socialism or "the left" and it includes a broad range of activities outside of writing, since well not everything we do in this group is writing and not everybody are writers.
I think a good name would be "The Internationalist" or "The International" It is short and sweet.
i did originally vote for the IFWC but do see now how that may convey us doing nothing more than writing. Im not too fond of throwing in the word democracy and do like something simple, yet bold, as "The Internationalist"
also i thought up a name that could be used or changed, just throwing out ideas anyways... (UPI) "United Peoples Insurrection" i realize the insurrection may sound a bit extreme but i think it conveys our means without hiding them too much. thanks!
Well The International or The Internationalist are pretty non-descriptive plus one of them is already taken though they could have been cool periodical names.
we shouldn't be going for something extremely descriptive. Like The peoples/workers this or that. I think if our target audience is people who would otherwise avoid leftist papers we need to avoid sounding too cliche communist or too specific.
we shouldn't be going for something extremely descriptive. Like The peoples/workers this or that. I think if our target audience is people who would otherwise avoid leftist papers we need to avoid sounding too cliche communist or too specific. Agreed, It should just be something simple, catchy and original. When you think back to how revolutionaries of the past spread their messages the most effective and well known newspapers had really simple and vague names like "the spark" and whatnot. However if all else fails we could just call ourselves "how to get sexy abs in 6 weeks or less" and hope people get hooked...
alright man, just throwing ideas out there
Comextern, it has a nice ring to it.
Well "the international" is a specific reference to communism and the internationalist isn't much different. How about International Free Media Association? It's not sectarian but still alludes to our mission to cover perspectives forgotten in Maine stream media.
The vote has been posted and will be concluded on Tuesday when Comrades Unite closes it out and makes the tally. If a name that has been proposed is not on the first post please contact Comrades Unite to have him add it.
