State Chairmanship Responsibilities

As the Chairman of a Chapter of the ABBSA you are taking on a heavy
responsibility with no compensation other than the satisfaction of
contributing to your Local and the National BBS community and perhaps
an occasional "Thank You" from member Sysops.

You are responsible for building a State Chapter from scratch. Telling
other BBS Sysops about ABBSA and recruiting members. The more members
in a State Chapter, the more "clout" you have when publically representing
the BBS community.

As far as specifics the Chairman has to:

1. Maintain a list of members of the State ABBSA.
2. Keep the National ABBSA Office informed of changes in membership.
3. Inform the National ABBSA of significant events or accomplishments in
   your state which relate to the BBS community.
4. Actively pursue the goals of the ABBSA in support of the BBS community.
5. Be willing to put yourself in the public eye as a spokesman for the
   BBS community in your state.
6. Accept that while "representing" the BBS community, you have NO authority
   over the member BBS of your Chapter of the ABBSA.
7. Revoke the Membership of any BBS which grossly violates the Ethical
   Standards of the ABBSA after consulting other Member BBS and inform
   the National ABBSA Office of such revocation.
7. Juggle all of the above while still maintaining everything else in your
   life and operating your BBS.

The key to a successful organization is to ensure that all Sysops understand
that the ABBSA is an "Advocacy" organization rather than a "Controlling"
organization. As a State Chairman you have ALL the Responsibility for
representing the BBS in your state and NO Authority over them. Likewise we
can not put the ABBSA in a position where Sysops feel that they are being
required to fund the ABBSA. The ABBSA must be self supported by those of
us who carry out the responsibilities. That does not preclude Member Sysops
from voluntarily providing support and assistance for ABBSA activities.

As well, membership in the ABBSA does not demand absolute, black or white
adherance to the Ethical Standards. There are too many gray areas that
must be evaluated on a case by case basis and a Chairman is expected to
consult with and seek a concensus of Members Sysops before making major
decisions which may impact the local BBS Community.

Keep in mind that as a Chairman you represent the BBS in your State. If the
ABBSA Member Sysops are not satisfied with your actions they can replace
you with a simple majority vote and by informing the National ABBSA
Office.

The National ABBSA Office will provide advice and support within the limits
of our resouces. This will consist primarily of information, contacts, our
and others' experiences in dealing with possibly similar situations, and any
information resources we discover. We will maintain a publically available
Conference on The Dayton BOARDWALK BBS for echoing and will add new 
conferences as required.

Of course anyone masochistic enough to run a BBS in the first place is a
good candidate for this position. If you think you have the time, energy,
and resources to take on this kind of responsibility then please give us
a call or contact us through Fido, the ABBSA-Net, or on the Dayton BOARDWALK
BBS via the channels listed below.

* NATIONAL ABBSA CONTACTS:

ABBSA National Office
                     (Voice)         (513) 225-3087; (513) 545-1093
                     (Fido)          1:110/750
                     (ABBSA-Net)     117:1000/0

Mailing address:         American BBS Association
                         % Westlake Information Systems
                         2603 N. Main Street
                         Dayton, OH 45405

The ABBSA National Support Conference is accessible for messages or echoing
on the Dayton BOARDWALK BBS in Dayton, Ohio at:

                      2400-14400       (513) 228-1020
                      

     (American BBS Association and ABBSA are Service Marks of)
     (          the American BBS Association 1993            )