Let's Talk About the AI Forum

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

Originally posted by midwesterngirl
it should be up to the candidate who is wants to pursue AI,to take some initiative and contact the organization of her choice not a stranger on a message board.

HOWEVER................

If that stranger on a message board is 1) in your area and 2) a member of the group you would like then I see no reason not to contact that person.

And there may be planty of other reasons to contact an individual ona GLO about AI and it's up to that member to decide how she is going to respond.

[AOIIalum]

Okay, let's talk about the AI forum! It's about time we determined what we, the users, want in this particular subforum. A lot of the prior ideas have merit, but we all (we meaning anyone who reads this forum--AIs and non-AIs equally) need to remember that AI is unique to every NPC group and for each PNAM. Yes, the process may be similar for all AOII AIs or all Gamma Phi AIs (purposely choosing two NPCs who have AI programs in place). What happened between Annie Alumna and ABC isn't going to be the same for Nancy New-Alum and DEF, and so on.

However, we need to remember that for some NPC groups directly contacting is a big no-no. I believe (and please correct me if I am wrong) these groups do special or honor initiations on their invitation and usually do not accept direct inquiries into AI-ing into their groups.

Just another example that any general statement would need to be worded VERY carefully. If we are going to share information, we would want it to be as accurate as possible without veering into anything even remotely related to MS procedures.

[midwesterngirl]

Originally posted by AOIIalum


However, we need to remember that for some NPC groups directly contacting is a big no-no. I believe (and please correct me if I am wrong) these groups do special or honor initiations on their invitation and usually do not accept direct inquiries into AI-ing into their groups.

Unfortunately ,I wonder if this isn't part of the answer as well. Since many groups have removed the information from public view on their websites to a more private area,I wonder if more and more organizations aren't going back to an invitation only method.

[WCUgirl]

Originally posted by AOIIalum
However, we need to remember that for some NPC groups directly contacting is a big no-no. I believe (and please correct me if I am wrong) these groups do special or honor initiations on their invitation and usually do not accept direct inquiries into AI-ing into their groups.

Good point. What if, in the list of GLOs that do AI (and I'm assuming it's okay to have that listing b/c nobody has objected to that point) we put an asterik or a note next to the group indicating they DO NOT accept direct inquiries?

Or what if those groups were left off the list completely?

As to your first point, what if we added something like this statement to the list of "bullet points" we already have (assuming everybody agrees with all of them):

*Please remember that AI is unique to every GLO and for each PNAM. What happened between Annie Alumna and ABC isn't going to be the same for Nancy New-Alum and DEF, and so on.

[navane]

Right, well the question posed is what we could do to better stream line this sub-forum.

I'm not into having arguments with people; I'm all about creating real and reasonable solutions.

I recently updated the AI Roll Call List as a compromise between the people who wanted to keep it and the people who wanted it down. There is now a disclaimer above the list. I posted the added material for discussion and it was largely ignored.

I'm going to post it again below in hopes that this revision will at least go some of the way towards addressing the concerns that some people have regarding this sub-forum. Any thoughts?

.....Kelly


~~~ Please keep in mind the following points: ~~~

1) This informational list is presented as a means of celebrating those who have achieved alumni initiation. Out of the hundreds of thousands of fraternity and sorority members in existance, only a small handful are initiated as alumni. Please do not see this long list of names and be fooled into thinking that it is easy to become an AI. The reason that there are many people on this list is because GreekChat has a very large membership base. There are over 47,000 people on GC and 39 AIs listed....that's only .08%.

2) Just because one may see certain sororities represented more frequently on the list, this does NOT imply that they are "easier" to get into. I highly encourage you to evaluate all of your options and seek out an organization you identify with in your heart. Do not go for one because "it looks like they alum initiate more people".

3) Please be advised that this list is for information purposes only - this is NOT a list of people who are willing to sponsor potential AIs. Please refrain from contacting strangers on the internet and asking them if they can help sponsor you. There are several threads in this forum which offer lots of helpful advice on how to approach this process.

[WCUgirl]

Originally posted by navane
There is now a disclaimer above the list. I posted the added material for discussion and it was largely ignored.

I'm sorry you got ignored. I think that's a prime example of people not taking the time to read (yes, it's one of my biggest pet peeves and I'm guilty of it myself ).

Originally posted by navane
Please refrain from contacting strangers on the internet and asking them if they can help sponsor you. There are several threads in this forum which offer lots of helpful advice on how to approach this process.

I think, at the very least, this statement should be added to the bulleted list we've developed above. I also think adding something like, "Feel free to contact a GC member if you notice she lives in your area and is a member of one of the groups with whom you are already in contact. However, do not be offended if you do not get a response -- AI can be a sensitive subject that many members are not willing to discuss." That addresses the point SmartBlondeGPhB brought up a few posts ago.

It seems the rest would be appropriate to remain in your original thread -- unless, of course, other posters feel it bears repeating in another thread.

[iastategal]

I've tried to put a summary together of everyones' (AXiD670, SmartBlonde, AriesRising, Midwesterngal, AOIIalum, Navane, Sistermadly and others) AI Forum advice that as AXiD670 suggested could put in a FAQ thread, stickied to the top:

AI Forum Advice for PNAIs

*Alumni Initiation is not done by every GLO. (List of women's/men's GLOs that have an AI process goes here and put an asterik or a note next to the group indicating they DO NOT accept direct inquiries)

*Any questions regarding the AI process or AI sponsorship need to first be taken directly to the said GLO of your pursuit. Period. If you want to know how to AI into ABC then you should contact the national organization. Finding the contact information is easy -- do a search online using a search engine such as Google.

*Remember that mutual selection occurs at the local level first. If fraternity/sorority members wish to help PNAIs connect with a local alumni/ae chapter, it should be done via PM -- NOT in an open forum.

* Realize that finding your home through AI is not an easy option and the success stories you read here are NOT the standard -- AI is a long and difficult process, and may take many months or years, and you may or may not be successfull, and IN All CASES, Membership is by Invitation Only

* Ask yourself these 2 question before you start your seach:

1. Why do I want to be an AI?

2. What can I contribute to an NPC org?

If you can not answer those two questions, stop dead in your tracks until you can.

*There are hundreds of AI threads here that have so much information in them -- there is no need to ask anyone here what to do to start your journey. Please utilize the SEARCH function located at the top of the screen.

*Remember that AI is unique to every NPC group and for each PNAM. What happened between Annie Alumna and ABC isn't going to be the same for Nancy New-Alum and DEF

*Please realize that if you use GreekChat to contact a member of the GLO you are pursuing, you are doing so at your own risk. People on message boards are (relatively) anonymous, and unless you're willing to do some super sleuthing, there's no way to know for certain if the person who's sharing information is actually a member of the organization they claim to represent.

* Feel free to contact a GC member via PM if you notice she lives in your area and is a member of one of the groups with whom you are already in contact. However, do not be offended if you do not get a response -- AI can be a sensitive subject that many members are not willing to discuss.

*Do NOT expect anyone on GreekChat to hold your hand throughout the AI process, unless you already know each other in real life (and, chances are, they still won't hold your hand).

I also like Navane's inputs for the top of the AI Roll Call Thread.

1) This informational list is presented as a means of celebrating those who have achieved alumni initiation. Out of the hundreds of thousands of fraternity and sorority members in existance, only a small handful are initiated as alumni. Please do not see this long list of names and be fooled into thinking that it is easy to become an AI. The reason that there are many people on this list is because GreekChat has a very large membership base. There are over 47,000 people on GC and 39 AIs listed....that's only .08%.

2) Just because one may see certain sororities represented more frequently on the list, this does NOT imply that they are "easier" to get into. I highly encourage you to evaluate all of your options and seek out an organization you identify with in your heart. Do not go for one because "it looks like they alum initiate more people".

3) Please be advised that this list is for information purposes only - this is NOT a list of people who are willing to sponsor potential AIs. Please refrain from contacting strangers on the internet and asking them if they can help sponsor you. There are several threads in this forum which offer lots of helpful advice on how to approach this process.

Any comments, additions, deletions or corrections?

[Tom Earp]

If everyone is happy with iastategal,s post above I would like to repost it as a Sticky at the top with some editing.

[astroAPhi]

This might be nitpicky, but you should probably write out Potential New Alumnae Initiate in the thread title because I'm wondering if some of these people don't know our lingo. You have to admit that sometimes it looks like we're writing in code.

[pinkyphimu]

what about a link to each of the org's websites...or a link to the npc's website page that posts all of the links to the org's sites?

i think it is fair to state the orgs which do not do ai at all under any circumstances.

I think there should be something in the FAQ about it being up to sorority members to contact a potential AI via GC if they want to assist them on their journey; and a potential AI should not PM anyone regarding help on their journey unless a GC member has expressed they are open to being contacted like this.

agree

maybe there should be something too that states that although we are members of our orgs, we will not be able to answer certain questions (such as how long before you get a response from a letter, etc.) because we are not all inter/national officers who ultimately make these decisions. sometimes i think that new pnais think we have all of the answers when we really have no clue. i couldn't tell you how long it takes mail to be read in my org's eo. i am sure that is the same for most of us!

[blueangel]

All of the suggestions here seem to be a good compromise. I would only add something that was suggested by someone else before...

...and that would be a list of AIs who are happy to be available in PMs to anyone who has any questions about the AI process. This would not be to write recs...but who would be willing to answer general questions about the process.

[Sistermadly]

I love iastategal's summary. I wonder if it would be easier to read if we broke these suggestions into three thematic areas? Such as:

Alumni/Alumnae Initiation: List of Organizations
Alumni/Alumnae Initiation and GC: Frequently Asked Questions
AI: Etiquette and Procedure (for lack of a better term)

If that's too much overhead, then I totally understand.

[iastategal]

A revised summary as suggested by Sistermadly -

Alumni/Alumae Initiation: List of Organizations
a link or a list of women's/men's GLOs that have an AI process and put an asterik or a note next to the group indicating they DO NOT accept direct inquiries

I would also add this note to this section
*Alumni Initiation is not done by every GLO.

Alumni/Alumnae Initiation and GC: Frequently Asked Questions

*Alumni Initiation is not done by every GLO. See list above for those GLOs that have an AI process

* Ask yourself these 2 question before you start your seach:

1. Why do I want to be an AI?

2. What can I contribute to an NPC org?

If you can not answer those two questions, stop dead in your tracks until you can.

*Any questions regarding the AI process or AI sponsorship need to first be taken directly to the said GLO of your pursuit. Period. If you want to know how to AI into ABC then you should contact the national organization. Finding the contact information is easy -- do a search online using a search engine such as Google

* Realize that finding your home through AI is not an easy option and the success stories you read here are NOT the standard -- AI is a long and difficult process, and may take many months or years, and you may or may not be successfull, and IN ALL CASES Membership is by Invitation Only

*Remember that AI is unique to every NPC group and for each PNAM. What happened between Annie Alumna and ABC isn't going to be the same for Nancy New-Alum and DEF

*There are hundreds of AI threads here that have so much information in them -- there is no need to ask anyone here what to do to start your journey. Please utilize the SEARCH function located at the top of the screen.

AI: Etiquette and Procedure

*Remember that mutual selection occurs at the local level first. If fraternity/sorority members wish to help PNAIs connect with a local alumni/ae chapter, it should be done via PM -- NOT in an open forum.

*Please realize that if you use GreekChat to contact a member of the GLO you are pursuing, you are doing so at your own risk. People on message boards are (relatively) anonymous, and unless you're willing to do some super sleuthing, there's no way to know for certain if the person who's sharing information is actually a member of the organization they claim to represent.

* Feel free to contact a GC member via PM if you notice she lives in your area and is a member of one of the groups with whom you are already in contact. However, do not be offended if you do not get a response -- AI can be a sensitive subject that many members are not willing to discuss, and some may prefer if they are the ones contacting the potential AI if they want to be contacted at all.

*Do NOT expect anyone on GreekChat to hold your hand throughout the AI process, unless you already know each other in real life (and, chances are, they still won't hold your hand).

And finally, I still like Navane's words for the top of the AI Roll Call

1) This informational list is presented as a means of celebrating those who have achieved alumni initiation. Out of the hundreds of thousands of fraternity and sorority members in existance, only a small handful are initiated as alumni. Please do not see this long list of names and be fooled into thinking that it is easy to become an AI. The reason that there are many people on this list is because GreekChat has a very large membership base. There are over 47,000 people on GC and 39 AIs listed....that's only .08%.

2) Just because one may see certain sororities represented more frequently on the list, this does NOT imply that they are "easier" to get into. I highly encourage you to evaluate all of your options and seek out an organization you identify with in your heart. Do not go for one because "it looks like they alum initiate more people".

3) Please be advised that this list is for information purposes only - this is NOT a list of people who are willing to sponsor potential AIs. Please refrain from contacting strangers on the internet and asking them if they can help sponsor you. There are several threads in this forum which offer lots of helpful advice on how to approach this process.

any more comments, additions, or deletions?

[WCUgirl]

* Feel free to contact a GC member via PM if you notice she lives in your area and is a member of one of the groups with whom you are already in contact. However...

I think we should bold that part, to sort of emphasize that PNAMs shouldn't just come on here contacting anybody and everybody, as others have mentioned.

[adpiucf]

I've edited this post because I am in favor of deleting the forum. I don't think that a message board is the appropriate forum for an "official" representative of a sorority's AI to promote the program-- but I do think it is important to talk about AI.

I think the best use for this forum is to help connect PNAM's to local alumnae. The local members are the ones who would impact your day-to-day sorority experience... so start at the local level.