So **I THINK** this is at the condo complex on Carlton St. and I'll probably go downtown to check it out, but that's the best I can do right now.
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FMTA tenant school Sat May 30
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FMTA tenant school Sat May 30
Subject says all. Today's events seem to be rather poorly organized. I put my name down an I have a screenshot, but no LOCATION. Calling the various numbers just took me around in circles.
So **I THINK** this is at the condo complex on Carlton St. and I'll probably go downtown to check it out, but that's the best I can do right now.
...
So **I THINK** this is at the condo complex on Carlton St. and I'll probably go downtown to check it out, but that's the best I can do right now.
...
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Re: FMTA tenant school Sat May 30
They are doing it again tomorrow evening, this time via Zoom. Send a private message or e-mail if you need more info.
Some thoughts about the FMTA's "Nationbuilder" rig: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NationBuilder
Google's "Gemini" A.I. module says “NationBuilder is an incredibly powerful piece of software, but it is notorious for having a steep, rigid learning curve. It doesn't function like a standard website builder or a simple email tool; it is a "Community Organizing System" built specifically to treat every single visitor, donor, and subscriber as a data point in a grand advocacy ecosystem. When a local grassroots group or resident association tries to configure it without dedicated IT staff, it frequently feels like trying to fly a commercial airliner when you just needed a minivan.”
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Some thoughts about the FMTA's "Nationbuilder" rig: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NationBuilder
Google's "Gemini" A.I. module says “NationBuilder is an incredibly powerful piece of software, but it is notorious for having a steep, rigid learning curve. It doesn't function like a standard website builder or a simple email tool; it is a "Community Organizing System" built specifically to treat every single visitor, donor, and subscriber as a data point in a grand advocacy ecosystem. When a local grassroots group or resident association tries to configure it without dedicated IT staff, it frequently feels like trying to fly a commercial airliner when you just needed a minivan.”
...
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FMTA tenant school session over Zoom, June 3
This past Wednesday's session about working with government was very good. The presenter was from "Progress Toronto" if you want to look them up.
"Progress Toronto" is apparently not all that keen on sharing their slides, but I recorded the whole thing and I can certainly share my notes with vetted tenants at an in-person meeting, or at the FMTA's general meeting this coming Saturday (June 13th).
Note that I am not on a power trip, re: sharing or not sharing stuff... but some people retain "compilation rights" to some of the information that they have gathered up, and separate from that there are also privacy considerations - like (I am guessing) we would probably not want to open our digital doors to "Federation of Rental Providers of Ontario" personnel, or Ministry of Housing staff without some sort of guidelines. Ergo rules that doesn't exist yet and outreach that has yet to be done.
At least I try to make information products that I have a hand in *accessible*, ergo I have a Zoom account (it's an American company; their services are not free) and I subscribe to Youtube (ditto) and I have a web server and multiple phpBB and other programs like WordPress (think "East York Tenants Group" dot com although they don't seem to know what they are doing!) that I can test and re-test, off line.
How much is the FMTA paying their new "communications" guy to not communicate?
I was at an... arguably clandestine meeting this week where an F.R.P.O. person, a manager in my landlord's company, said they had "grandfathered", or they needed to "grandfather", in, rules around the AODA into their operation.
I burst out laughing at that one! My bad.
By the way the hour-long "meeting" did not seem to accomplish much. And I have no idea what the local city councillor was doing there, other than the fact that he is a former junior police officer: maybe this was mis-management's way of "keeping the peace" in a situation where they were clearly in the wrong about so many issues?
And two days later management introduced some sort of... "tenant insurance" policy in which the privacy rights of tenants are non-existent and apparently non-negotiable. Their memo goes like "Hey this is great, sign here!" This is doubly weird (for starters it is short notice, it was not mentioned at the meeting, and of recent they have drifted towards trans-border data sharing and they have historically had no privacy policy of their own, and they have NOT held regular meetings that I'm aware of) because their "insurance company of choice" is in Vancouver. So what is going on???
According to Google Gemini, “standard insurace brokers historically baked massive administrative overhead, physical office costs, and agent commissions into annual premiums, making a standalone tenant policy cost $300 to $500 a year upfront.” But of recent, “Digital outfits like Apollo Insurance - seen here - strip out the human element entirely. They use automated algorithms to slash the initial barrier to entry down to a cheap monthly subscription ($15 to $30/month), which they know looks much more appealing on a flyer to a tenant who just wants to stay compliant.”
Something to take note of, maybe. Like if you encounter anything like this ― or even if you're looking for something to talk about in your newsletter ― ask your building manager what their policy is around A.I.
...
"Progress Toronto" is apparently not all that keen on sharing their slides, but I recorded the whole thing and I can certainly share my notes with vetted tenants at an in-person meeting, or at the FMTA's general meeting this coming Saturday (June 13th).
Note that I am not on a power trip, re: sharing or not sharing stuff... but some people retain "compilation rights" to some of the information that they have gathered up, and separate from that there are also privacy considerations - like (I am guessing) we would probably not want to open our digital doors to "Federation of Rental Providers of Ontario" personnel, or Ministry of Housing staff without some sort of guidelines. Ergo rules that doesn't exist yet and outreach that has yet to be done.
At least I try to make information products that I have a hand in *accessible*, ergo I have a Zoom account (it's an American company; their services are not free) and I subscribe to Youtube (ditto) and I have a web server and multiple phpBB and other programs like WordPress (think "East York Tenants Group" dot com although they don't seem to know what they are doing!) that I can test and re-test, off line.
How much is the FMTA paying their new "communications" guy to not communicate?
I was at an... arguably clandestine meeting this week where an F.R.P.O. person, a manager in my landlord's company, said they had "grandfathered", or they needed to "grandfather", in, rules around the AODA into their operation.
I burst out laughing at that one! My bad.
By the way the hour-long "meeting" did not seem to accomplish much. And I have no idea what the local city councillor was doing there, other than the fact that he is a former junior police officer: maybe this was mis-management's way of "keeping the peace" in a situation where they were clearly in the wrong about so many issues?
And two days later management introduced some sort of... "tenant insurance" policy in which the privacy rights of tenants are non-existent and apparently non-negotiable. Their memo goes like "Hey this is great, sign here!" This is doubly weird (for starters it is short notice, it was not mentioned at the meeting, and of recent they have drifted towards trans-border data sharing and they have historically had no privacy policy of their own, and they have NOT held regular meetings that I'm aware of) because their "insurance company of choice" is in Vancouver. So what is going on???
According to Google Gemini, “standard insurace brokers historically baked massive administrative overhead, physical office costs, and agent commissions into annual premiums, making a standalone tenant policy cost $300 to $500 a year upfront.” But of recent, “Digital outfits like Apollo Insurance - seen here - strip out the human element entirely. They use automated algorithms to slash the initial barrier to entry down to a cheap monthly subscription ($15 to $30/month), which they know looks much more appealing on a flyer to a tenant who just wants to stay compliant.”
Something to take note of, maybe. Like if you encounter anything like this ― or even if you're looking for something to talk about in your newsletter ― ask your building manager what their policy is around A.I.
...