Simon Lees wrote:
On 20/06/2019 00:54, Per Jessen wrote:
Simon Lees wrote:
- The makeup and election / removal of the openSUSE Foundation board will remain the same as the current openSUSE board as documented in https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Board_election_rules
Maybe we ought to consider electing a chairman. For us to seek a greater degree of independence seems to clash with SUSE appointing a chairman.
This foundation proposal is not really about being more independent from SUSE, we will continue to be just as dependent on SUSE and in some ways we will be more dependent at least initially,
Looking at your initial post, under "Motivations", it seems quite clear it is primarily about becoming more independent.
As for the chairman position the board feels that while SUSE is the primary sponsor and is managing / maintaining all of SUSE's infrastructure etc having the chairman position as someone who can work between openSUSE and the community / board is a very valuable role, in addition to the current things that SUSE provides it is likely a foundation would need 1 to 2 people to deal with the admin / paperwork of running the foundation, rather then the foundation employing these people directly it would be far easier if SUSE were to employ such people on behalf of the foundation as they already have HR / payroll people etc which is another reason why keeping a strong link between SUSE and the board makes sense.
Certainly - I only suggested we elect such a person, instead of having her or him appointed. Not having a chairman at all is also an option - not uncommon in Foundations (I believe).
- The rules for membership of the openSUSE Foundation will remain the same as the rules for existing openSUSE members with the exception that members are required to be over 16 as per legal requirements. Existing openSUSE Members will be invited to become members of the new openSUSE Foundation
Hmm, normally a Foundation (Stiftung) does not have members, except the founders. An assocation (Verein) has members though.
This is true, however The Document Foundation (libre office) have paved the way here and have a Stiftung where the board is elected by members which means that it is possible.
It probably depends on how we define "member". At TDF, they use the Board of Trustees (Stiftungsrat/Verwaltungsrat/Aufsichtsrat) as the "container" for membership. That is really a bit twisted, imo. For one thing, the bodies of a foundation may be held legally liable for their actions (or lack thereof). Also - I don't know the German law sufficiently well, but in Switzerland, changes to the Stiftungsrat must be announced (SHAB) and recorded publicly (HRA). I'm not saying this is absolutely the wrong way to go, but turning all of the openSUSE members into an oversized Aufsichstrat seems a little unnecessary. -- Per Jessen, Zürich (19.1°C) http://www.hostsuisse.com/ - dedicated server rental in Switzerland. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, email: opensuse-project+owner@opensuse.org