A safe space to share experiences and ask questions

Did you know that the Oral History Society has a community of online discussion groups? All members of the OHS can join.

Thank you so very much for these explanations - it is incredibly helpful indeed, I appreciate the time you took to respond. These links are great too - thank you.
I would be grateful for advice on the ethical and legal measures required when interviewing a clinical practitioner working in the NHS.
I've been asked to work with a group on an oral history project around dementia. I haven't worked specifically in this field before…
Is there a useful source of information regarding the different ways that oral histories (or sound in general) have been incorporated into museum exhibitions?
Dear all, I would like to call upon the vast knowledge and experience present. I have a slight dilemma…
I’m very much hoping someone on here can offer me some technical help..

About our discussion groups

The Oral History Society’s community of online discussion groups is hosted on the resource-rich Groups.io platform.

When you become a member of the OHS, you can apply to join the Members Discussion Group ([email protected]). This is where all members can share information with each other. Once you have been admitted into the group, you just have to send an email to the group and all members will see it. In the same way, you will see all emails sent to the group.

Join our online community

Our vibrant online community is available to OHS Members only. If you have logged in as a member, you should see below  a means of subscribing to the OHS discussion groups. 

If you are not yet a member, go to our JOIN US page to subscribe. You can then log in and return to this page to subscribe to the discussion groups.

Each Special Interest Group of the OHS also has its own discussion group. If you would like to join a SIG subgroup, when you log into your Groups.io account, go to your [email protected] page, and click on “Subgroups” in the menu.

Every social media-based community has a “code of conduct” its members agree to abide by. Ours is based in the nature and practice of oral history. So if you imagine yourself in a typical oral history situation, you will immediately understand the ground rules.

The Code in a Nutshell

  • Know your equipment: Familiarise yourself with Groups.io and what it offers.
  • Introduce yourself to the members’ group. You can use the #Introductions hashtag in the subject header of your first email, and use your account profile to tell people who you are and what you’re interested in.
  • Listen and respond to others with mutual respect, tolerance and a genuine interest in what others have to say. Not that you would, but don’t even think of shouting, or abusing, or being offensive to others.
  • Exercise your duty of care and confidentiality.
  • Don’t publish someone’s words outside the group itself without their permission.
  • Inside and outside the discussion group, respect the other member’s moral rights to be named or not named as the author of what they have said, as they prefer; and for whatever they’ve said to be free from ‘derogatory treatment’ by, for example, editing, adapting or making alterations which create a false impression.
  • And, as with any oral history interview, come prepared to listen, to be surprised, to join in, to learn, to be delighted, and to join with others to help us understand and practice oral history better.

If something goes wrong

In the unlikely event that a member of the Oral History Society actively causes hurt or offense in the discussion lists, the moderators have the option of suspending them, or moderating their posts for a cooling off period. The moderators will talk privately with any such individual, to understand and resolve whatever issues the situation has raised, with the aim for the member to rejoin the conversations and enjoy everything the discussion groups have to offer.

If the situation can’t be resolved, or if there is a repetition of hurtful or offensive behaviour, a member can be removed entirely from the discussion group community. If the offense or behaviour is serious enough, they can even be removed by the Trustees from membership in the Oral History Society. In this case Section 8 of the Oral History Society constitution would come into play.

Members are the bedrock of the Oral History Society, and the constitution ensures that Trustees will not go about removing someone’s membership lightly. The constitution builds in a lengthy cooling period, and the opportunity to reflect and discuss with a member before the Trustee group as a whole takes a final decision. This is because oral history is about dialogue, cooperation, tolerance and resolution; and this should be reflected throughout the work and conversations that take place in this discussion group community.

We ask all applicants to read and agree to the Privacy Notice below:

Privacy Notice

I have read the Code of Conduct and the information about email discussion groups above. By giving my email address and by subscribing, I am agreeing to abide by the Code of Conduct. Also, by subscribing:

I hereby agree that the Oral History Society can store, process and retain my personal data in order to pursue its aims, objectives and activities and provide services to Members and other users.  I understand that full details of how the Oral History Society stores and processes my data are stated in the ‘Privacy and Data Storage Policy’.

I understand that I may ask to see my personal data at any time, and request that it is amended or updated.  To make such an enquiry I will contact the Secretary of the Oral History Society: Rob Perks, Oral History, British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB.  Email: [email protected].

 

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