POL versus Royal Bank Of Scotland

[Dadaist]

I'm very late to this whole decision to plaster our pages with corporate logos in exchange for lucre.

What has happened thus far is that Bob PM'd me when I expressed utter contempt for the Bankers and their blood money and I indicated :

a) my own opinion is to burn the cheque as it is dirty money and we are prostituting ourselves to cynical moneylenders

b) the decision to take on sponsorship like this should be collective - ie all forum members

c) I recognise that I've not done anything to promote POL, whereas Bob has sweated over the site

d) there are other ways to fundraise - member donations and fundraisers being but two

I'm happy to be wrong on this one. Whaddyall think?

[Porty]

RBOS are a conglomerate,a corporation and offer services that are offered by at least 6 local, long established businesse. Most if not all of whom have paid to join the business directory.

Speaking for myself and PoP, we are no different from Findlay's or John Williamson.

Would the PCATS campaign, councillors, Bob or any other Moderator have sanctioned Tesco as the site sponsor?

[ali]

[wangi]

[Dadaist]

[Dakota]

[Dadaist]

[wangi]

Are those taking part in a vote going to chip in some cash too?

(by the way, just thought I'd play Devil's Advocate)

[Dadaist]

[foxy]

[Dadaist]

[Porty]

[Maria]

[Porty]

[foxy]

[Dadaist]

[Maria]

[Porty]

[bellybabe]

In terms of ethics, how do you satisfy everyone on POL? Should we ethically scrutinise the people who have agreed to pay money to the business directory for advertising? I haven't checked the LBD recently, but thinking of local businesses, that could rule out all pubs and restaurants (do we think it's ethical to encourage alcohol abuse? What if you have religious sensitivities which state alcohol is evil? It could be an ethically sensitive issue since, for example, Islam bans intoxicants). MPeople might be considered unethical by people who believe in the right to own property at a price one can afford, rather than paying huge loans for the privelege. The very category of "butcher" might be unethical for some people... Are all the clothes in the local boutiques fairly traded? Is it ethical to buy fish when there's a crisis in terms of over-fishing? Do the local greengrocers sell Chiquita bananas?

Where would we draw the line?

FYI, I was uneasy with the RBS deal. I would never dream of opening an account with them. And I am not part of the fundraising team; I was offered the opportunity to join, as was every one of us here, and to have my say; I chose not to. But I think using RBS' unethical policies as a reason not to trade with them, when we don't apply the same standards to the rest of Portobello, is a bit hypocritical. We'll take some unethical money but not others? We don't mind people using computers/connections/software/energy from unethical companies to use POL but we can't take sponsorship?



I would rather not take RBS' money. But then I would rather live in a peaceful, ethical, sustainable world where everyone is equal and respected. Unfortunately I don't.

[Bob Jefferson]

Those members who are concerned by the unethical trading practices of RBS may be comforted to know that by the time they read this thread they may well decide to tear up the cheque.

For those of us who have worked hard to secure this sponsorship deal, that would be a great shame because no other local company we have approached has shown an interest. Nevertheless, RBS does not have exclusivity and we are happy to talk to other would-be sponsors. If any member is aware of local, ethically-sound companies who might be interested please let us know.

Why do we need money? We don't. We could continue as we have done in the past in a low-key kind of way, but we would like to promote the site and continue to improve it in every way we can. The local business directory has already raised over £1000 and that money has already bought the Town Hall banner, the digital voice recorder, the window stickers, more reliable hosting and a huge POL display board which will be unveiled at the Festival of Learning. We didn't hold a poll over how we spent that money. The people who had a say in how it was spent were the people who helped to raise the money and open accounts are published on a forum to which these people have access.

Corporate sponsorship gives us the opportunity to do more. Next on the shopping list is a 3G card and a data projector so that we can demo Portobello Online to target audiences.

If that means we have sold our soul to Mammon then so be it, but let's try to keep things in perspective. Our business cards were printed for free by Standard Life through their community fund. Is that right-on enough for everyone? Where do you want to stop? The fact is that we are going to put their money to good use.

If a wealthy benefactor would like to match what RBS are offering, on an annual basis, then we will tell them to forget it but don't expect any say in how the money is spent, because RBS don't have any. Neither will they have any veto on the content of the website, as this discussion amply demonstrates.

[Porty]

[Poppy]

[Porty]

[Bob Jefferson]

[Porty]

[Dadaist]

[Bob Jefferson]

[Porty]

[Dadaist]

Cripes. Amazing what you can find on the internet. We are indeed among the rich and famous now. Our £500 actually *is* blood money. Guess who had an account at Coutts when it was owned by RBS?

Augusto Pinochet

Here is a voluminous page which monitors the grubby monster that is RBS :

http://www.innercitypress.org/rbs.html

Oh well. We're in bed with Fred "The Shred" Goodwin (RBS chief exec).

Sad, bad day.

[Porty]

[wangi]

[Porty]

[Dadaist]

[Dakota]

[Porty]