On 21/05/2009, at 1:10 PM, Darrell May wrote: > shall we drop the need for a corporate sponsor and/or SME Server, Inc?
Constitutionally speaking, any part of it can be changed. Currently, the process described in the Constitution, see Amendment Procedure http://wiki.contribs.org/SME_Server:Constitution#Amendment_Procedure requires: 1). an election to be called by a simple majority of the Leadership committee, or by a formal representation to that committee of a signed petition (min. 25 registered users) 2). the exact wording of proposed amendment(s) be made publicly available location for a minimum of 2 weeks and that the wording remains unchanged or the process must be restarted. The document existence will be advertised via the community website and shall include the start date for the ratification election 3). the ratification election will run for a minimum of 10 days (including 2 weekends worldwide) 4. the board is bound by the community decision to adopt or reject the amendment. Wow. That's a concise process. ;) Seems simple enough. But there are problems. The Corporate Steward is essentially the owner of SME Server Inc. since it is they that provide the legal means for its existence. Messy. And constitutionally we have the right to take it away from them and give it to another - messier. Then the constitution assigns responsibility for ensuring tax and legal compliance to the business manager, who is also the chair. BTW. Can we please make this document gender neutral, I mean "chairman", "chair will do fine and doesn't exclude women. This constitution requires a rewrite. Seriously. I am well aware that this is no simple task. George I have worked on and written the odd non-profit constitution in Australia consulting through and with a law firm in Melbourne. I am happy to help out with this process. _______________________________________________ Discussion about project organisation and overall direction To unsubscribe, e-mail [email protected] Searchable archive at http://lists.contribs.org/mailman/public/discussion/
