Mason-2014-Winter-Rnd1

Webmaster
Who owns your Lodge building Who has keys This can be
difficult to manage with real property, and neglected for virtual
matters. The Secretary handles MORI but who manages other
communications Who is in charge of the website
Do you even know if you have one In other
words, who owns your online presence
It often falls to a Brother who simply knows
computers. A lot of work and effort may be put
into it. But he isn’t given information to keep it
current or he becomes too busy. Or he moves out of
state. Or he goes to the Celestial Lodge. Maybe someone
made an unofficial site, with an approved site built later,
and the first is still visible with out-of-date information. How
many orphan sites are out there
The domain name (dot-com) might be in the name of
someone you cannot reach (or who will not cooperate), and
getting a new name leaves an old one out there. Or maybe you
need to take control of the site itself. Who pays for hosting
Will it lapse Who has a username and password to make
changes In other words, who has the keys
The solution is to treat a website, email account, online
documents, etc., as a Lodge’s digital assets. The Webmaster
doesn’t own the website. Or does he
What is a “webmaster,” anyway A person who builds and
maintains a website That doesn’t have to be the same person.
Today’s sites can be managed by anyone with word-processing
skills. A company or technical person can build it, while almost
anyone can take responsibility for content and use. Think of a
Webmaster as a “digital Trustee”—someone who has the keys,
responsibility for control of the site, online files and accounts.
KENNETH JP STUCZYNSKI,
Webmaster
NYMasons.org
(716) 868-1329
master@kentropolis.com
And as with regular trustees, you should have more
than one. Even if only one Brother has the skills
and desire, there should be planned access by
another in case the first becomes unavailable.
In Masonry, nobody owns an office. When
a Brother leaves a chair, the work continues. But the
Webmaster is neither elected nor appointed. He just sort of
happens. And when he comes and goes, we often start from
scratch and can’t clean up what already exists.
Let’s look at this role differently. It is important to the
efficiency and survival of the Craft today. Our digital Trustees
need to be empowered and accountable. They deserve
recognition and must accept direction. It is one of my goals as
a member of the Communications Committee to bring this
grey area into the light.
Under the direction of the DGM, RW Williamson, and with
help from many Brothers throughout the state, we are actively
working to catalog District sites and webmasters. The plan is to
guide and give resources where welcome. Ideally, we will develop
standards and best practices together. All
we need are craftsmen willing to establish,
digitally, the beauty and strength the Craft
requires. If you are interested in being in the
roll call, contact me at ken@kentropolis.
com or 716/868-1329. s
Awards Committee
2015 Dedicated Service Award
deadline passes
RW GEORGE R. WACOB,
Chairman
grwacob1@optonline.net
As the new Masonic year heads into the holiday season,
the cutoff date (November 12) for Dedicated Service Award
recommendations has passed. The committee is now in the
process of determining which recommendations will be
approved and which rejected. All DSA recipients, the DDGMs
and their Lodges will be notified in January 2015.
The Community Service Awards (DeWitt Clinton,
Jacob Morton and Grand Lodge Certificate of Excellence in
Service to the Community) have no cutoff date and will be
processed as they are received. The Lodge and DDGM will be
notified within a short period of time if the nominee has been
granted one of the awards.
Please take notice of the Awards Committee’s web page
on the Grand Lodge website: http://nymasons.org/awardscommittee/.
This page will give you information, requirements
and forms for the various awards.
I would like to publicly thank the Awards Committee
team for the time and efforts they have put into examining
all of the recommendations and fairly determining who
will receive the awards. Their service to the Craft should be
acknowledged. s
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THE EMPIRE STATE MASON MAGAZINE T–E–A–M: Together Everybody Achieves More WINTER 2014