[opensuse-project] Motion: Making a petition as a non-board member
The openSUSE rules do not currently say under what conditions a member, but non-board member can make a motion to the board. Nor under what conditions the board would in turn call on the whole membership to vote on the motion. Associations with formal rules have been in existence long before now. I have adopted the below rule (or bylaw in our case) from a legally recognized association I am a member of. I have changed the wording from the previous motion. I have also updated the support info below to a large extent. === I make a motion that the openSUSE rules be updated to allow for formal member petitioning. A formal petition openly supported by 10 members may be submitted to the board asking for an issue to be voted on by the membership at large. The petition must include the language of the vote to be submitted to the membership. Once submitted to the board, the board must call for a all members vote on the matter addressed in the petition. The vote must be initiated within 10 days of the petition and the vote must close within 30 days. If the matter being voted on concerns an improper sanction or appeal of a sanction, then the sanctioned person must be one of the petitioners. === details I serve on a board. There are times when board / member relationships are very tense. In my experience it is only a small handful of the membership that feels abused. Having the ability to petition for community votes is a way to both provide oversight to the board and to eliminate baseless claims that the board is not responsive to member concerns. Obviously this can make an issue semi-public as all members have to be informed of the issues at hand. If the matter is private or covered by NDA, the board will need to make its case in asking the members to support its decisions (or lack thereof) without violating privacy or NDA. In the case of a specific member's claimed mis-conduct it will likely be unavoidable that potentially private issues will have to be exposed to the membership, thus the portion of the proposed new rule that the specific member must be part of the group of members asking for a all members vote. It is my hope that this rule would rarely be invoked. Further although not addressed by this proposed rule, it is my belief that associations like openSUSE typically have annual meetings and at those annual meetings any member may make a motion and, if seconded, at that time all members present at the meeting vote. The association I am most familiar with uses "Robert's Rules of Order" to conduct these annual meetings. Admittedly we are often less formal about using Robert's Rules, but when things are extremely contentious we have hired a "Parliamentarian" to run the meeting precisely via the rules. ==== Greg -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org
On Sat, Jan 15, 2011 at 9:26 PM, Greg Freemyer
The openSUSE rules do not currently say under what conditions a member, but non-board member can make a motion to the board. Nor under what conditions the board would in turn call on the whole membership to vote on the motion.
Associations with formal rules have been in existence long before now. I have adopted the below rule (or bylaw in our case) from a legally recognized association I am a member of. I have changed the wording from the previous motion. I have also updated the support info below to a large extent.
=== I make a motion that the openSUSE rules be updated to allow for formal member petitioning.
A formal petition openly supported by 10 members may be submitted to the board asking for an issue to be voted on by the membership at large. The petition must include the language of the vote to be submitted to the membership.
Once submitted to the board, the board must call for a all members vote on the matter addressed in the petition. The vote must be initiated within 10 days of the petition and the vote must close within 30 days.
If the matter being voted on concerns an improper sanction or appeal of a sanction, then the sanctioned person must be one of the petitioners.
=== details
I serve on a board. There are times when board / member relationships are very tense. In my experience it is only a small handful of the membership that feels abused. Having the ability to petition for community votes is a way to both provide oversight to the board and to eliminate baseless claims that the board is not responsive to member concerns.
Obviously this can make an issue semi-public as all members have to be informed of the issues at hand.
If the matter is private or covered by NDA, the board will need to make its case in asking the members to support its decisions (or lack thereof) without violating privacy or NDA.
In the case of a specific member's claimed mis-conduct it will likely be unavoidable that potentially private issues will have to be exposed to the membership, thus the portion of the proposed new rule that the specific member must be part of the group of members asking for a all members vote.
It is my hope that this rule would rarely be invoked.
Further although not addressed by this proposed rule, it is my belief that associations like openSUSE typically have annual meetings and at those annual meetings any member may make a motion and, if seconded, at that time all members present at the meeting vote.
The association I am most familiar with uses "Robert's Rules of Order" to conduct these annual meetings. Admittedly we are often less formal about using Robert's Rules, but when things are extremely contentious we have hired a "Parliamentarian" to run the meeting precisely via the rules. ====
I like this proposal. However, I have two questions. 1) How do we find out the critical mass needed to make a voting proposal ? 10 may serve as a good number for your project. But do we have a better scientific way followed in any other communities for such a thing, based on community size etc. ? It is okay to have 10 as a magic number (just like 42 = meaning of life (1) ;)) but we should try to find out if there is a better way to calculate this. 2) After a voting is done, should there be a "2/3 majority for/against" or just maximum votes is enough ? We may not have answers rightaway, and there may be further nitty-gritties that we need to identify and formalize. Probably could be a good task for someone good at Organizational Psyhcology (read Jos ;-) ) to take this as an AI, if approved by the current board. Greg, May be you can bring this up in our next board meeting ? Thanks. -- Sankar P http://psankar.blogspot.com (1) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/42_(number) -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org
Hey Greg, On 15.01.2011 16:56, Greg Freemyer wrote:
The openSUSE rules do not currently say under what conditions
Because we have no well defined "conditions". We currently only have 1. A "code of conduct" document, the guiding principles 1.1 An entity which is tasked to resolve conflicts, the board 1.1.1 Rules that state how this entity is elected, the board election rules 2. A way to tag people as contributors (Membership) All of those are only loosely connected, yet reference each other and over time grew together in various way. However they are not remotely anything like bylaws and the current openSUSE project is not remotely anything like a foundation. As you seem to have experience with building a foundation I would like to ask you to concentrate on this task and join the projects efforts to build one over at opensuse-foundation@opensuse.org :) Henne -- Henne Vogelsang, openSUSE. Everybody has a plan, until they get hit. - Mike Tyson -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org
Le 17/01/2011 11:59, Henne Vogelsang a écrit : anything like a foundation.
As you seem to have experience with building a foundation I would like to ask you to concentrate on this task and join the projects efforts to build one over at opensuse-foundation@opensuse.org :)
and to do so send a blank mail to: opensuse-foundation+subscribe@opensuse.org building a foundation is the very first thing we have to do... jdd -- http://www.dodin.net http://pizzanetti.fr -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org
On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 5:59 AM, Henne Vogelsang
Hey Greg,
On 15.01.2011 16:56, Greg Freemyer wrote:
The openSUSE rules do not currently say under what conditions
Because we have no well defined "conditions". We currently only have
1. A "code of conduct" document, the guiding principles 1.1 An entity which is tasked to resolve conflicts, the board 1.1.1 Rules that state how this entity is elected, the board election rules
2. A way to tag people as contributors (Membership)
All of those are only loosely connected, yet reference each other and over time grew together in various way. However they are not remotely anything like bylaws and the current openSUSE project is not remotely anything like a foundation.
As you seem to have experience with building a foundation I would like to ask you to concentrate on this task and join the projects efforts to build one over at opensuse-foundation@opensuse.org :)
Henne
I just subscribed. If creation of the bylaws and original set of rules is to be done there, I think a brief article in the newsletter to that effect would be good. Obviously it is logical for that to take place there, but I had assumed they would take place on -project. fyi: for those that don't know: bylaws - formal documents that are enforceable by the legal system. Typically changeable, but only by a vote of the super-majority. Must be filed with the State. rules - still formal, but typically changeable by a simple majority. Maintained in the internal records. ie. Not filed with the State. Greg -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org
Hey Greg, On 17.01.2011 15:24, Greg Freemyer wrote:
I just subscribed.
Cool, I'm looking forward to your contributions!
If creation of the bylaws and original set of rules is to be done there, I think a brief article in the newsletter to that effect would be good.
Of course this is already in the making :) Henne -- Henne Vogelsang, openSUSE. Everybody has a plan, until they get hit. - Mike Tyson -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org
Le 17/01/2011 18:13, Henne Vogelsang a écrit :
Cool, I'm looking forward to your contributions!
looks like nobody used this list sio far :-) http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-foundation/ jdd -- http://www.dodin.net http://pizzanetti.fr -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org
On 18/01/2011 01:24, Greg Freemyer wrote:
On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 5:59 AM, Henne Vogelsang
wrote: Hey Greg,
On 15.01.2011 16:56, Greg Freemyer wrote:
The openSUSE rules do not currently say under what conditions Because we have no well defined "conditions". We currently only have
1. A "code of conduct" document, the guiding principles 1.1 An entity which is tasked to resolve conflicts, the board 1.1.1 Rules that state how this entity is elected, the board election rules
2. A way to tag people as contributors (Membership)
All of those are only loosely connected, yet reference each other and over time grew together in various way. However they are not remotely anything like bylaws and the current openSUSE project is not remotely anything like a foundation.
As you seem to have experience with building a foundation I would like to ask you to concentrate on this task and join the projects efforts to build one over at opensuse-foundation@opensuse.org :)
Henne I just subscribed. If creation of the bylaws and original set of rules is to be done there, I think a brief article in the newsletter to that effect would be good. Obviously it is logical for that to take place there, but I had assumed they would take place on -project.
fyi: for those that don't know:
bylaws - formal documents that are enforceable by the legal system. Typically changeable, but only by a vote of the super-majority. Must be filed with the State.
rules - still formal, but typically changeable by a simple majority. Maintained in the internal records. ie. Not filed with the State.
Greg
I think that the first step is to determine under which jurisdiction this Foundation will be formed after which one can talk about By-Laws and Rules and Constitutions et al. For example, here in Australia there is a set of Model Rules which are prescribed by the government in an Act of Parliament which each association must use; the association of course can come up with its own constitution/rules/by-laws but these cannot contradict what is stated in the Model Rules, and this paperwork has to be lodged with the relevant government department. What if the Foundation is registered on the Isle of Man......? BC -- "To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge." Confucius -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org
On Tue, Jan 18, 2011 at 12:36 AM, Basil Chupin
On 18/01/2011 01:24, Greg Freemyer wrote:
On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 5:59 AM, Henne Vogelsang
wrote: Hey Greg,
On 15.01.2011 16:56, Greg Freemyer wrote:
The openSUSE rules do not currently say under what conditions
Because we have no well defined "conditions". We currently only have
1. A "code of conduct" document, the guiding principles 1.1 An entity which is tasked to resolve conflicts, the board 1.1.1 Rules that state how this entity is elected, the board election rules
2. A way to tag people as contributors (Membership)
All of those are only loosely connected, yet reference each other and over time grew together in various way. However they are not remotely anything like bylaws and the current openSUSE project is not remotely anything like a foundation.
As you seem to have experience with building a foundation I would like to ask you to concentrate on this task and join the projects efforts to build one over at opensuse-foundation@opensuse.org :)
Henne
I just subscribed. If creation of the bylaws and original set of rules is to be done there, I think a brief article in the newsletter to that effect would be good. Obviously it is logical for that to take place there, but I had assumed they would take place on -project.
fyi: for those that don't know:
bylaws - formal documents that are enforceable by the legal system. Typically changeable, but only by a vote of the super-majority. Must be filed with the State.
rules - still formal, but typically changeable by a simple majority. Maintained in the internal records. ie. Not filed with the State.
Greg
I think that the first step is to determine under which jurisdiction this Foundation will be formed after which one can talk about By-Laws and Rules and Constitutions et al.
For example, here in Australia there is a set of Model Rules which are prescribed by the government in an Act of Parliament which each association must use; the association of course can come up with its own constitution/rules/by-laws but these cannot contradict what is stated in the Model Rules, and this paperwork has to be lodged with the relevant government department.
What if the Foundation is registered on the Isle of Man......?
BC
Clearly, openSUSE the foundation needs to know which jurisdiction it is in before laying out its documents. But openSUSE the community can do so now. Just because there is not a legal entity called openSUSE does not mean we can't have rules. I leave my motion in place (despite the fact openSUSE the community has no concept of motions.) I hope the community will in some way incorporate a rule similar to my motion. How that happens remains unclear. ie. There appears to be no rules to direct the creation of rules. Thus the rule I proposed currently has no structure by which to be acted on. That only highlights the importance of enacting it in my mind. Greg -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org
On 19/01/2011 00:35, Greg Freemyer wrote:
On Tue, Jan 18, 2011 at 12:36 AM, Basil Chupin
wrote: On 18/01/2011 01:24, Greg Freemyer wrote:
On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 5:59 AM, Henne Vogelsang
wrote: Hey Greg,
On 15.01.2011 16:56, Greg Freemyer wrote:
The openSUSE rules do not currently say under what conditions Because we have no well defined "conditions". We currently only have
1. A "code of conduct" document, the guiding principles 1.1 An entity which is tasked to resolve conflicts, the board 1.1.1 Rules that state how this entity is elected, the board election rules
2. A way to tag people as contributors (Membership)
All of those are only loosely connected, yet reference each other and over time grew together in various way. However they are not remotely anything like bylaws and the current openSUSE project is not remotely anything like a foundation.
As you seem to have experience with building a foundation I would like to ask you to concentrate on this task and join the projects efforts to build one over at opensuse-foundation@opensuse.org :)
Henne I just subscribed. If creation of the bylaws and original set of rules is to be done there, I think a brief article in the newsletter to that effect would be good. Obviously it is logical for that to take place there, but I had assumed they would take place on -project.
fyi: for those that don't know:
bylaws - formal documents that are enforceable by the legal system. Typically changeable, but only by a vote of the super-majority. Must be filed with the State.
rules - still formal, but typically changeable by a simple majority. Maintained in the internal records. ie. Not filed with the State.
Greg I think that the first step is to determine under which jurisdiction this Foundation will be formed after which one can talk about By-Laws and Rules and Constitutions et al.
For example, here in Australia there is a set of Model Rules which are prescribed by the government in an Act of Parliament which each association must use; the association of course can come up with its own constitution/rules/by-laws but these cannot contradict what is stated in the Model Rules, and this paperwork has to be lodged with the relevant government department.
What if the Foundation is registered on the Isle of Man......?
BC Clearly, openSUSE the foundation needs to know which jurisdiction it is in before laying out its documents.
But openSUSE the community can do so now. Just because there is not a legal entity called openSUSE does not mean we can't have rules.
I leave my motion in place (despite the fact openSUSE the community has no concept of motions.)
I hope the community will in some way incorporate a rule similar to my motion. How that happens remains unclear. ie. There appears to be no rules to direct the creation of rules. Thus the rule I proposed currently has no structure by which to be acted on. That only highlights the importance of enacting it in my mind.
Sort of "chicken and egg" situatuon. :-) BC -- "To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge." Confucius -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org
participants (5)
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Basil Chupin
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Greg Freemyer
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Henne Vogelsang
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jdd
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Sankar P