The Brights' Bulletin
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Issue #3
(Note that links in archived Bulletin issues may no longer be valid.)
The Brights' Bulletin
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Co-Directors: Mynga Futrell and Paul Geisert
Hello, Brights!
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For the Record
This is the third Email bulletin sent to the Brights. The first (6-4-2003) went to people who had to use paper and pencil to sign up. The second (6-27-2003) went out to those who signed up by Email before we had an automated database form. This Email Bulletin is the first to go out to all the Brights around the world. You can read prior Emails in the archive at www.the-brights.net/broadcast_archive.htm
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Announcements--General
In just the past month, the Brights' network has expanded geographically from 3 nations to 57 (that's 30% of the countries in the world). The Dennett article in the New York Times produced over 1,000 new Brights in a little over 19 hours.
Bouquets of thanks to:
----all the individual Brights who have Emailed their friends or mentioned the movement;
----Richard Dawkins for his June 21 Guardian essay, "The Future Looks Bright" [link at the bottom]
----Daniel Dennett for his July 12 New York Times op-ed "The Bright Stuff" [link at the bottom]
----James Randi, for his post on the JREF home page on July 4th [link at the bottom]
----Bob Carroll, for his inclusion of the word "bright" in the Skeptic's Dictionary [link at the bottom]
----all the bloggers and others who wrote a blurb about the Brights or put a link to the Brights' Net on their personal websites
----all the critics who, through their use of the word in varied communications, perhaps unknowingly have reinforced the meme potential of "bright" as an umbrella term for persons who have a naturalistic worldview
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Announcement--New Site Features
----a revamped signup form
----a sampling of comments of "new brights" when they signed up
[http://www.the-brights.net/hear_some_brights.htm
----additional artwork by brights
[http://www.the-brights.net/logo_suggestions.htm]
----key principles and vision for the movement (see Statement of Principles on Home Page)
Announcement--Email
----If your Email changes, be sure to notify the Brights' Net via Email [thebrightsnet@aol.com]. Otherwise, you will not hear from us ever again! Make sure your filtering software will not exclude our bulletins. And, once you have signed up a single time, then please use Email to correspond, not the sign-up form.
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Announcement--What You Can Do to Further the Brights Movement
-----Deliberately memorize the web site address so you can readily direct others to it without error (note hyphen, and ".net"): www.the-brights.net
-----Here is a simple statement to Email to your friends who might wish to be counted, if only they knew about the Brights.
-->There is a movement afoot that I thought might interest you. Take a look at www.the-brights.net
-----If you have a website, link to the Brights' web site. Here is a sample of simple wording you might use:
-->Check out the Brights! Go to www.the-brights.net
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Announcement--Symbols Submission by August 1
Brights interested in proposing their own original graphic for a symbol (icon) to be incorporated into logos, buttons, jewelry, etc. need to submit by August 1 to be considered in the final selection by a panel of Brights with expertise who are NOT submitting.
If you plan a submission, please check the process and criteria at: www.the-brights.net/symbol_icon_submit.htm
Artwork already received is being retained and need not be resubmitted if sent in a standard format. However, to remain in the pool for consideration, it needs to also have an official submission form to accompany it.
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Announcement--Volunteers needed for Task Teams for ACTION
We are instituting, as a "pilot project for our Internet constituency," a way that individuals in dispersed locations can participate in the movement. We call it "Task Teams," and it means taking on a task and completing it cooperatively with other Brights elsewhere. With regard to task teams, we emphasize the 2Cs: Cooperatively; Complete. This means a third C, Commitment. If these first task teams show the efficacy of this approach, then we will initiate more, refining process by their experience, as necessary.
This is a CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS to serve on the pilot task teams. We seek persons who would like to work with others and to be completely responsible (as a team) for a specific task. You will be in a list-serve with other Brights. You will have to identify yourself to your colleagues on the team (by first name and e-mail). If you are interested, use this link to get more information on any of the following three tasks. [http://www.the-brights.net/task_teams.htm]
Web Links Team--Task is to contact websites attracting visitors likely to be amenable to the Bright idea and to request a link to the Brights' site (this is to spread the term on the Internet)
Newsletter Announcements Team--Task is to contact editors of newsletters serving the "community of reason" and submit to them a brief announcement article to consider for publication (This is to inform persons likely to be Brights about the movement and direct them to the web site for information)
Brights' Forum and Discussions Team--Task of group is to work in conjunction with our webmaster to develop and put on-line a Brights' discussion forum, complete with necessary, yet minimal, policy and protocol (This is to enable Brights to talk about the movement while also encouraging rational and civil discourse that will "keep the shiny" on the Brights.)
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Links:
Dennett essay: "The Bright Stuff"
http://the-brights.net/dennett_nyt.htm (on Brights' site with permission)
Dawkins essay: "The Future Looks Bright"
Randi: http://www.randi.org (Commentary Archive for June 27 & July 4th)
Carroll's Skeptics Dictionary: http://www.skepdic.com/brights.html
Prior bulletins in the archive: www.the-brights.net/broadcast_archive.htm
Symbol submissions--Criteria and Process: http://www.the-brights.net/symbol_icon_submit.htm
Sampling of graphics received: http://www.the-brights.net/logo_suggestions.htm
Volunteering for any of the 3 Task Teams: http://www.the-brights.net/task_teams.htm
