Hi, I want to discuss our notions of "activity". According to the current bylaws,
>If a TU becomes inactive without declaring it, "disappears", someone must >motion for their removal for reason of unwarranted and undeclared inactivity, >and the normal procedure for the motion is followed. The problem is that there is no definition of "active" here. The text may be interpreted to mean that a motion should be made if a TU has any AUR packages flagged out-of-date, which is presumably not the intention. The only metric we currently have for determining inactivity is > active TUs that keep quorum from being established on a voting procedure for > three consecutive voting procedures (they need not be on the same motion) are > automatically brought up for removal procedure, by reason of unwarranted > inactivity. That is also a useless metric, as 3 votes could easily be called simultaneously the same day that a TU was hit by a car. As I see it, these clauses are trying to achieve two different things: 1) provide a way to remove TUs who clearly have no intention of fulfilling their duties 2) ensure that vote results are representative of the group I think there is a better way to achieve that which avoids the ambiguities and other problems of the current text. I propose, **as a starting point for the discussion**, that we remove the aforementioned clauses (and dependent context). To deal with removing inactive users, the following can be added to the end of the "Removal of a TU" section, replacing the current clause of special removals: > An exception to the standard removal procedure is made if a TU has not done > ANY of the following for a period of at least 2 months: > > 1. added, removed or updated a package in +[community]+ or the AUR > > 2. performed any action that required TU privileges on the AUR > > 3. posted a message to aur-general > > In this special case, SVP is followed by a discussion period of three days, > a quorum of 66%, and a voting period of 5 days. The first point is verifiable for all cases except AUR package removal. The second point is verifiable in the case of votes but not for moderation actions such as merges and deletions of other packages. This could possibly be changed in the AUR backend. The third is obviously verifiable. This clause does not preclude the removal of TUs for other reasons and the bylaws currently allow for removal motions at any time. If a TU only posts inconsequential messages to the mailing list once every two months to avoid activating the clause then he or she can still be brought up for removal. The clause is essentially a "housekeeping clause for automatic cleanup of completely inactive TUs. With Lukas' new patch set, the AUR will now have an activity field. I also propose that the meaning of this field be limited strictly to quorum, and thus be completely independent of the definition of activity above. A TU should mark him-/herself as inactive only when he/she will be unable to participate in votes for a period of time. The TU will then be excluded from the quorum calculation (and also prevented from voting, and possibly other activities). Again, there is no need to include a clause in the bylaws for automatic motions if a TU prevents quorum from being reached. The motion can be raised without such a clause. This is natural. If three votes on the same day fail to meet quorum then it is clearly a different case then three votes over the course of 1-2 months. The field should perhaps be made a checkbox named "present" rather than "active". With these changes, other parts of the section of the bylaws entitles "Active vs. Inactive" will need to be changed, as declaring inactivity to aur-general will have no significance.* This avoids problems with truly unforeseeable absences such as connection problems and medical emergencies. Users may still make optional announcements at their own discretion with the usual requests for others to manage their packages for a period of time, if necessary. I have attached a first draft (new.txt) of these proposals along with a patch. Note that this is not a formal proposal. I plan to make one but I hope to get some feedback first. Please read through the attached version and compare it to the current version. The attachments also include the old version, the patch, a brief changelog, and the resulting HTML document for easier reading and comparison to https://aur.archlinux.org/trusted-user/TUbylaws.html The bylaws Git repo can be found here: https://projects.archlinux.org/tu-bylaws.git/ Note that I have made some stylistic changes that preserve the original meaning. I can separate these from the proposal if necessary. Regards, Xyne * Incidentally, I have always been uncomfortable with the way inactivity announcements are expected to be made on a public mailing list. Inactivity is almost always due to being away from home for a period of a week or more. Announcing that in public is an open invitation to burglars and other griefers who know who the announcer is and where he/she lives.
Trusted User Bylaws =================== Trusted Users <[email protected]> 1.3, 2013-08-07 Summary ------- This document describes the bylaws of the Trusted User group, its mission, and duties. Mission ------- The Trusted Users (TUs) serve the following purposes: 1. Maintain +[community]+ as an intermediary between Archlinux's official repositories and the +unsupported+ package collection in the AUR. 2. Maintain, manage, and watch over the operation of the AUR. Bylaws ------ The bylaws are written to be consistent with the mission of the TUs, and to ensure that TUs continue to be *Trusted* in the future. They are also written with the intent to keep the TU organization a thriving one, fulfilling its purpose. Standard Voting Procedure ------------------------- Standard Voting Procedure (SVP) describes the formal procedure used by TUs to accept or reject proposals regarding TU affairs. SVP begins with a proposal, for example the addition of a TU or an amendment to the bylaws. The proposal should be clear and concise and it must be posted on the https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general mailing list] (aur-general). The proposal must also be worded unambiguously, and such that a YES or NO answer may be given. The discussion period begins when the proposal is posted on https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general]. The duration of the discussion period shall be 5 full days UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. Official discussion shall take place on https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general]. During the discussion period, votes shall not be cast. The voting period begins when the discussion period ends. The duration of the voting period shall be 7 full days UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. During the voting period, TUs may vote YES, NO or ABSTAIN. Votes shall be cast under the Trusted User section of the https://aur.archlinux.org/[AUR website]. At the end of the voting period, all votes shall be tallied. The proposal is accepted if EITHER 1. the number of YES votes is greater than half the number of TUs OR 2. quorum has been established and the number of YES votes is greater than the number of NO votes UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. The proposal is rejected if EITHER 1. the number of NO votes is greater than or equal to half the number of TUs OR 2. quorum was established and the number of NO votes is greater than or equal to the number of YES votes UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. A rejected proposal may not be presented again before a waiting period has passed. The duration of the waiting period shall be 3 full months UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. The waiting period begins at the end of the voting period. If quorum is not established by the end of the voting period then the proposal is neither accepted nor rejected. A second SVP shall begin to establish the status of the proposal. If the proposal is not accepted at the end of the second SVP then it shall be rejected. [[Q]] Quorum ------ Quorums were established to ensure that all matters decided by vote are representative of the TU group. All TUs are expected to participate in all votes and the preceding discussions whenever possible. Quorum shall be 66% of all active TUs and participation shall be measured by the sum of YES, NO and ABSTAIN votes, UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. In the context of quorum, TUs are considered active if they are marked as active on the AUR at any time during the voting period. A TU who knows in advance that he or she will be unable to participate in votes must mark himself or herself as inactive on the AUR. Addition of a TU ---------------- The addition of a TU may occur at any time. In order to become a TU, one must first find a sponsoring TU, and arrange privately with them to announce their candidacy on the https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general] mailing list. Following the announcement, standard voting procedure commences with a discussion period of 5 days, a quorum of 66%, and a voting period of 7 days. ---- SVP( addition_of_TU, 5, 0.66, 7 ); ---- If a candidate is rejected by SVP, they may not reapply to become a Trusted User for a period of three months. Removal of a TU --------------- The removal of a TU may also occur at any time. A motion must be made by at least two TUs for the removal of a TU. The motion must be sent to https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general], and contain a detailed and valid reason that the TU in question should be removed. Following the motion, standard voting procedure commences with a discussion period of 7 days, a quorum of 75%, and a voting period of 7 days. ---- SVP( general_removal_of_TU, 7, 0.75, 7); ---- The TU brought up for removal may defend themselves during the discussion period, but may not vote during the voting period, nor may they vote on any other matters while SVP for their removal is in progress. An exception to the standard removal procedure is made if a TU has not done ANY of the following for a period of at least 2 months: 1. added, removed or updated a package in +[community]+ or the AUR 2. performed any action that required TU privileges on the AUR 3. posted a message to https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general] In this special case, SVP is followed by a discussion period of three days, a quorum of 66%, and a voting period of 5 days. ---- SVP( removal_of_inactive_TU, 3, 0.66, 5 ); ---- Amendment of Bylaws ------------------- These bylaws may be amended at any time. A TU must motion for an amendment by sending an announcement to https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general]. The message must either contain, or have attached, a patch against this document which accomplishes the suggested change. SVP is commenced at the time of the motion, with a discussion period of 5 days, a quorum of 75%, and a voting period of 7 days. ---- SVP( amend_bylaws, 5, 0.75, 7); ---- If the amendment fails, the same amendment may not be motioned for a period of three weeks.
Trusted User Bylaws =================== Trusted Users <[email protected]> 1.2, 18 January 2011 Summary ------- This document describes the bylaws of the Trusted User group, its mission, and duties. Mission ------- The Trusted Users serve the following purposes: 1. Maintain +[community]+ as an intermediary between Archlinux's official repositories and the +unsupported+ package collection in the AUR. 2. Maintain, manage, and watch over the operation of the AUR. Bylaws ------ The bylaws are written to be consistent with the mission of the Trusted Users, and to ensure that Trusted Users continue to be *Trusted* in the future. They are also written with the intent to keep the Trusted User organization a thriving one, fulfilling their purpose. Standard Voting Procedure ------------------------- Standard Voting Procedure (SVP) describes the formal procedure used by TUs to accept or reject proposals regarding TU affairs. SVP begins with a proposal, for example the addition of a TU or an amendment to the bylaws. The proposal should be clear and concise and it must be posted on the aur-general mailing list (aur-general). The proposal must also be worded unambiguously, and such that a YES or NO answer may be given. The discussion period begins when the proposal is posted on aur-general. The duration of the discussion period shall be 5 full days UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. Official discussion shall take place on aur-general. During the discussion period, votes shall not be cast. The voting period begins when the discussion period ends. The duration of the voting period shall be 7 full days UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. During the voting period, TUs may vote YES, NO or ABSTAIN. Votes shall be cast under the Trusted User section of the AUR homepage. At the end of the voting period, all votes shall be tallied. In the context of SVP, TUs are considered active if they are marked as active when the voting period ends. Quorum shall be 66% of all active TUs and participation shall be measured by the sum of YES, NO and ABSTAIN votes, UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. The proposal is accepted if EITHER 1. the number of YES votes is greater than half the number of active TUs OR 2. quorum has been established and the number of YES votes is greater than the number of NO votes UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. The proposal is rejected if EITHER 1. the number of NO votes is greater than or equal to half the number of active TUs OR 2. quorum was established and the number of NO votes is greater than or equal to the number of YES votes UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. A rejected proposal may not be presented again before a waiting period has passed. The duration of the waiting period shall be 3 full months UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. The waiting period begins at the end of the voting period. If quorum is not established by the end of the voting period then the proposal is neither accepted nor rejected. A second SVP shall begin to establish the status of the proposal. If the proposal is not accepted at the end of the second SVP then it shall be rejected. [[Q]] Quorum ------ This section deals with quorums, and the consequences for those that repeatedly keep the group from meeting them. Quorums were established to make sure that all TUs are having a say in the matters that they vote on, and to ensure that TUs remain active in the job that they have taken on. All active TUs should be participating in discussions and voting procedures in order to continue meeting the quorums. For this reason, active TUs that keep quorum from being established on a voting procedure for three consecutive voting procedures (they need not be on the same motion) are automatically brought up for removal procedure, by reason of unwarranted inactivity. Active vs. Inactive ------------------- A Trusted User will have an activity status at all times. Only two statuses exist, +active+, and +inactive+. A TU should remain active whenever possible, and avoid being inactive, especially without declaring it. An active TU participates in all TU tasks and activities normally. A TU may declare themselves inactive, for instance if they are going on vacation, by sending a message to https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general]. TUs are expected to step down altogether if they plan on becoming inactive for a period longer than 2 months. It is expected that while inactive, a TU is unable to maintain packages and partake in normal TU activities. They are exempt from quorums and in fact cannot vote. A TU becomes active again at the stated date on their original inactivity declaration, or when they declare themselves such. If a TU becomes inactive without declaring it, "disappears", someone must motion for their removal for reason of unwarranted and undeclared inactivity, and the normal procedure for the motion is followed. Addition of a TU ---------------- The addition of a Trusted User may occur at any time. In order to become a Trusted User, one must first find a sponsoring active TU, and arrange privately with them to announce their candidacy on the https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general] mailing list. Following the announcement, standard voting procedure commences with a discussion period of 5 days, a quorum of 66%, and a voting period of 7 days. ---- SVP( addition_of_TU, 5, 0.66, 7 ); ---- If a candidate is rejected by SVP, they may not reapply to become a Trusted User for a period of three months. Removal of a TU --------------- The removal of a Trusted User may also occur at any time. A motion must be made by at least two active Trusted Users for the removal of a Trusted User. The motion must be sent to https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general], and contain a detailed and valid reason that the TU in question should be removed. Following the motion, standard voting procedure commences with a discussion period of 7 days, a quorum of 75%, and a voting period of 7 days. ---- SVP( general_removal_of_TU, 7, 0.75, 7); ---- The Trusted User brought up for removal may defend themselves during the discussion period, but may not vote during the voting period, nor may they vote on any other matters while SVP for their removal is in progress. There is one special case for removal, removal due to unwarranted and undeclared inactivity, for which standard voting procedure deviates from the above. This motion is also automatically triggered by repeated quorum offenses, as described in the <<Q,Quorum>> subsection of this document. For this special case, SVP is followed with a discussion period of three days, a quorum of 66%, and a voting period of 5 days. ---- SVP( inactivity_removal_of_TU, 3, 0.66, 5 ); ---- Amendment of Bylaws ------------------- These bylaws may be amended at any time. An active Trusted User must motion for an amendment by sending an announcement to https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general]. The message must either contain, or have attached, a patch against this document which accomplishes the suggested change. SVP is commenced at the time of the motion, with a discussion period of 5 days, a quorum of 75%, and a voting period of 7 days. ---- SVP( amend_bylaws, 5, 0.75, 7); ---- If the amendment fails, the same amendment may not be motioned for for a period of three weeks.
* removed aforementioned clauses and dependent context * added clause to quorum section concerning the new activity field from Lukas' patch set) * added clause for special removal to the end of the TU removal section * moved clauses defining quorum in the SVP section to the quorum section * added clause for removing inactive TUs to the end of the removal section * some stylistic changes to improve the English in various places * consistent usage of abbreviations (e.g. TU) * links to AUR and aur-general * ISO date format
