A community working group had been brought up a few months back, and a
general feeling of approval was in the air. A variety of events took place
and it got bumped aside. I would like to renew the discussion on this topic
and bring forth the following proposal. I request that all responses remain
constructive to the creation of a community working group and above all: Be
Excellent to Each Other.
====Begin Proposal ====
In order to assure SynHak is a low stress, friendly, environment
The Community Working Group has been established to resolve interpersonal
disputes. The first step in any interpersonal dispute is confronting the
offending party. It is always preferable for the parties to mediate their
own disputes. On occasion it may become necessary for an additional party
to intervene and facilitate calm discourse. This role is filled by the
Community Working Group(CWG). In addition to facilitating communications,
the CWG will ensure the SynHak, Inc. Bylaws and Code of Conduct, and
Mission are upheld.
Initiation of involvement:
The CWG cannot get involved in interpersonal affairs except through: the
direct petition from one or more of the parties involved, direct request
from a quorum of the Board of Directors, or as a result of a proposal by
the membership. Here after reffered to as "concerned parties"
To request involvement by the CWG one of the concerned parties must submit
a written request to the CWG mailing list. This written request MUST
include information regarding:
- the parties involved,
- Concise explanation of the dispute
- actions already taken to resolve the dispute
- if no action has been taken, justification for inaction
- desired method of resolution
- preferred method of contact
- schedule of availability
Duties:
After being petitioned the CWG will contact all parties involved within 14
business days via e-mail. This email will contain a summary of the
complaint as well as suggested courses of action. For complex issues
mediation will be arranged using a medium agreeable by both parties.
Resolution:
Depending on the nature of the issue the following actions may be taken to
return to an inviting atmosphere.
1) The parties involved discuss their differences on their own.
2) The parties involved request a CWG representative to serve as moderator
to ensure civil discourse and document resolution.
3) The parties involved request one or more CWG representatives to serve as
mediators and provide active guidance and actively aid in resolution
4) The parties involved agree to non-binding arbitration wherein each party
is given a chance to voice their concerns and the arbiter(s) suggest a
course of action to the parties involved
5) The membership requests intervention on the behalf of one or more
parties. CWG representatives establish context for the conflict and make
suggestions to the Board of Directors and/or membership whom make a final
binding ruling on the conflict.
The CWG will make reccommendations for courses of action to the parties
involved, the Board of directors, or the Membership of SynHak, as the
situation merits.
- The CWG cannot be used to exercise punative measures. This power lies
with the Board of Directors and the Membership.
- It is not the role of the CWG to initiate contact with law enforcement
officials based on petitions brought to the CWG.
- CWG volunteers reserve the right to decline their services on the
grounds of conflict of interest or if they believe their involvement would
expose them to risk.
- Proxies may not be established for any of the parties involved. If the
dispute is to the point where the parties are not comfortable being in the
same room. The dispute is likely outside the scope of the CWG's abilities.
Staffing:
Any resident of the Greater Akron Area is eligable to participate in the
Community Working Group. A minimum of three volunteers will be approved,
there is no maximum. Positions will be filled at the time of annual
elections, additional volunteers may be approved on an as-needed basis.
Approval is achieved by a Quorum of the Board of Directors, consensus by
the Membership, or consensus by the disputing parties.
Records & Privacy:
The CWG will make every effort to keep details of disagreements private.
Records will be furnished to law enforcement at the behest of one or both
parties, in the event no consent has been given records will only be
furnished by court order.
After resolution a brief summary composed of: the parties involved, vague
nature of the conflict as well as suggested actions will be filed at the
principle office of SynHak, viewable on request by members in good
standing. If SynHak Code of Conduct or Bylaws have been breached, those
breached shall be noted.
====End proposal====
Inspiration and additional resources:
https://drupal.org/governance/community-working-group/incident-report
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Community_working_group
http://ev.kde.org/workinggroups/cwg.php
https://www.acrnet.org/
I have not had time to provide an example of the resolution summary but it
should be intentionally vague so as to protect sensitive topics.
Please give constructive feedback. It is painfully obvious that we need
some agreeable way to help people communicate their concerns to each other.
in excellence,
Andrew L
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