GDPR and stupidity

[Dave2002]

How many members? 10? 100+? How many really need/want regular snail mail? If everyone does, put up the charges to cover postage and admin costs.

I've not heard too many stories about allotments - sounds like a plot for murder mystery evenings.

Perhaps rely on the "fact" that the GDPR doesn't really apply I suspect to your organisation, and in any case is unlikely to be applied strictly to small organisations if they are already behaving reasonably

[french frank]

The constitution says I have to inform them by 'letter or email'.

Indicate to them that notification will be by email: if they wish to be notified by post, ask them to supply (a) stamped addressed envelope(s).

[ardcarp]

Indicate to them that notification will be by email

...by carrier pigeon if necessary!

[oddoneout]

...by carrier pigeon if necessary!

But not snailmail!

I was a committee member then chair of an allotment and garden society for many years - not a job for the faint-hearted or easily discouraged. Anno Domini has mostly dealt with those who don't participate in the electronic world; the very few remaining without email are covered by hand or postal delivery. The treasurer who manages the membership list has duly contacted us all with the relevant details of what, where and how. Whether the seed companies from whom we get our seasonal goodies(and who have our names and addresses even though the orders are dealt with through the society) will do likewise remains to be seen. The society doesn't manage the allotments and membership is optional, and as I no longer have an allotment I don't know whether whether the Town Council has done its bit.

[jean]

Indicate to them that notification will be by email: if they wish to be notified by post, ask them to supply (a) stamped addressed envelope(s).

Yes, but the constitution gives them the option, that's the trouble.

It's possible that now people are alerted to the dangers of their email addresses being harvested, they could refuse to let me have them, and insist on being informed by post. The constitution allows for that, though the intention was to cover the decreasiing number of plotholders who haven't got email.

It's the AGM tomorrow. I'm not going to raise the GDPR question. If someone else does, I'll have to deal with it.

[jean]

I've not heard too many stories about allotments - sounds like a plot for murder mystery evenings.

I was a committee member then chair of an allotment and garden society for many years - not a job for the faint-hearted or easily discouraged...

If you haven't seen it, I recommend this rather wonderful film.

[french frank]

Yes, but the constitution gives them the option, that's the trouble.

It's possible that now people are alerted to the dangers of their email addresses being harvested, they could refuse to let me have them, and insist on being informed by post. The constitution allows for that, though the intention was to cover the decreasiing number of plotholders who haven't got email.

It's the AGM tomorrow. I'm not going to raise the GDPR question. If someone else does, I'll have to deal with it.

I suppose you always have the option of - resignation. Or change the constitution. But as I mentioned earlier, it might be the moment to ask postal members to supply stamped addressed envelopes. Believe me, I know what a pain 'postal onlies' are - we had about 20 or so in FoR3 and each time I wrote a newsletter, I had to print off 20 letters, buy 20 envelopes and address them, take them to the post &c. Hundreds of others got their newletters with the press of a button.

Like most people, I'm being bombarded and even the big companies have different ways of dealing with it. Some seem to content themselves with saying that they've updated the Privacy Policy and referring people to where they can read it. Everyone registering to join the forum from now on will be opting in.

Interestingly, I was wished happy birthday by the forum Wild About Britain which I joined years ago to upload a picture of a caterpillar and ask what it was . I'd forgotten all about it. But they've made no mention of GDPR, privacy or anything else.

[jean]

I suppose you always have the option of - resignation...

What, and finally give in to my enemies?

Never!

[french frank]

What, and finally give in to my enemies?

Never!

[Nick Armstrong]

[french frank]

And just to complicate matters

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/21/gdpr-emails-mostly-unnecessary-and-in-some-cases-illegal-say-experts

[Lat-Literal]

Now we are all going to get bombarded with emails about the GDPR. We are supposed to positively agree to have a digital relationship with organisations we want to continue with.

It’s easy for the ones we want to lose - just ignore them. What about the ones which we might want to keep? The emails reminding us about this frequently come with a link to click on - yet clicking on unsolicited links could be hazardous, and we are generally recommended not to do it.

This hasn’t been thought through well.

This just indicates to me the extent to which the world and I are on different paths. I don't understand it. I might well understand it if I wanted to make the effort but I don't have that inclination. The same is true of the workplace pension. However, it does seem to be in the opposite direction to the way they want to go with leaving our body parts to medical science.

[french frank]

The constitution says I have to inform them by 'letter or email'. I put up posters on site too, of course, but we don't have a website.

Coming back to this point: there appears to be a (common) legal view that where an organisation/company already has a 'continuing relationship' with 'customers' (broadly defined), having a compliant Privacy Policy and adhering to it is all that's needed. If you are currently contacting members by email, and they are responding to it in whatever way (including replying by post, attending a meeting), there is an implicit agreement to the way you are using their address. GDPR doesn't change that (my bank, for instance, hasn't asked me to confirm that I want to go on hearing from them). The Privacy Policy should say what data you hold and what you use it for. You could give notice at the AGM that the policy had been updated to comply.

Did they voluntarily give you their email address for the purpose of communication, or was it in some way 'demanded' without giving them an option? If the constitution simply says you have to inform them 'by letter or email', you are complying if you inform them by email - does the constitution specifically say the member may choose which method? If it doesn't, the enemy would need to change it. How you handle the membership of new members who claim not to be willing to be contacted by email could be decided as Other Business at the AGM.

But, of course, I don't know the capabilities of your troublemakers They may demand, and pack, an Extraordinary Meeting to decide what to do if 'customers' demand notification by post …

As we are an online forum, we can be fairly sure that prospective members do use email, but they are now invited to 'opt in' by joining us: if they are unwilling, they don't register to have membership permissions - though they can still read the forum as many people do.

[oddoneout]

I don't think our allotment society constitution specified the means by which notice of the AGM was given, only the number of days notice(I think a minimum of 7 days, but in practice much longer was usual)). Each of the sites had a notice attached prominently at the entrance, but the information was also sent out(more than once) by newsletter and reminders - originally paper, hand or post delivered, now email. As it was also the opportunity to pick up the seed catalogues and pay subs having a good response reduced the work later.

[MrGongGong]

"He's making a list
Checking it twice
Gonna find out who's naughty or nice"


Santa Claus is in contravention of the Data Protection Act (1998)