On Apr 25, 2006, at 4:15 PM, Tim.Churches wrote:
- - - - < a bunch of really well written stuff, followed by > - - - -
> ...Note that members do
> NOT have to agree with every last word of the constitution, but they
> must agree to abide by it. That is analogous with national or state
> law
> - I don't agree with many of the laws of Australia, but I accept
> that as
> a citizen and resident of Australia I must abide by them (often
> grudgingly, but I still do so). I also accept that I can try to change
> those laws with which I don't agree through a range of activities,
> from
> lobbying political representatives through to direct participation in
> the political process.
>
> The proposed OSHCA constitutions says:
>
> "5.1 Membership
> shall be open to persons interested in furthering the objects of
> OSHCA and shall consist of anyone who has accepted the premise of
> OSHCA’s Vision, Mission Statements and Principles by indicating such
> acceptance via OSHCA’s Internet Registration process."
>
> Also implicit in Section 7.4 are the provisions that members must
> *abide* by the constitution and not bring the organisation into
> disrepute.
>
> Nowhere does it say that members must agree with every last
> provision or
> letter of the constitution, just that they must abide by it. Members
> must, however, accept the OSHCA vision, mission statement and
> principles.
tim,
i appreciate your clear restatement of the situation. and i share
your perspective on tolerance for imperfect constitutions and a
willingness to abide by them flaws-and-all in order to accomplish a
greater common good (e.g., consider the country i live in, with its
bullying foreign policies and simply dreadful leaders, but i
digress). i am trying to reconcile the section of the constitution
which you have so usefully pointed out with the following post by
molly to the list at the start of the meeting:
- - - - < Begin forwarded message excerpt > - - - -
> From: Molly Cheah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: April 24, 2006 9:00:17 PM PDT
> To: Will Ross <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Cc: Joseph Dal Molin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> openhealth@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [openhealth] Re: oshca inaugural meeting - constitution
> Reply-To: openhealth@yahoogroups.com
>
> Hi Will,
> What you have done is incorrect. As you disagree with the
> constitution,
> we will not be able to include your name in the list of founding
> members
> to the ROS simply because the ROS will not register OSHCA. Therefore
> there will be no OSHCA for you to be a member of.
- - - - < End forwarded message excerpt > - - - -
to paraphrase molly's post: "if you fail to agree unanimously with
all ten (or eleven depending on how you count them) resolutions in
the on-line meeting document, then you are not allowed to be a
founding member of oshca."
this external comment of molly's is of course much more clear and
direct than the more fuzzy instruction on the meeting document which
obliquely refers to the same sort of rule (i.e., rule #2 "Each
person then adopts the resolutions by agreeing to accept the
resolutions.").
so what we have in the fast track oshca v2.0 process is narrow
restrictions on who can be a founding member. i objected to this
because i want the oshca founder's list to be inclusive rather than
exclusive.
i am not asking for the process to be perfect, just inclusive.
- - - - < more stuff from tim > - - - -
> I think that this collective mistake can be easily remedied by
> inviting
> a second round of founding membership applications using a form which
> makes the conditions for membership crystal clear. I think this can be
> done in the next day or so, since the planned date for submission of
> documents to the Malaysian authorities is not until 2nd May. If not,
> then people can still apply for membership prior to the first
> post-registration meeting. There are no special privileges or rights
> conferred by being a "founding" member, so joining as part of the
> inaugural meeting or joining after it but before the next meeting are
> functionally equivalent.
- - - - < back to my comments > - - - -
this sounds useful and creative and focuses directly on the objection
i have raised. good job.
- - - - < back to tim > - - - -
> So, there is no compulsion to vote "yes" to all the resolutions.
> Obviously if you vote "no" to the resolution that OSHCA form as a
> formally registered society, then you are unlikely to want to become a
> member of such as society.
- - - - < back to my comments > - - - -
nonsense. as a member of the community i want to make what i think
is a useful suggestion. that does not mean i will refuse to be a
member of an imperfect society, or that anyone else will think my
suggestion is at all useful.
- - - - < back to tim > - - - -
> With respect to the constitution, please note
> that the resolution on which you are asked to vote says:
>
> "Constitution
> A draft constitution, based on the 'Model Society Constitution'
> supplied
> by the Office of the Registrar of Societies, was tabled by the Protem
> Committee for discussion and adoption.
> 1.6 It was resolved that:- The Constitution, as discussed, amended and
> to be attached to the minutes of this Inaugural Meeting, be
> presented in
> full for signing by two Office Bearers of OSHCA for submission to the
> Registrar of Societies."
>
> Thus you are not asked to indicate that you agree with the every last
> aspect of the constitution, merely that it is good enough for
> submission
> to the Registrar of Societies in Malaysia. It is a subtle but
> important
> distinction.
- - - - < back to my comments > - - - -
agreed on the distinction. too subtle. obscure seems a more
accurate descriptor. and even after an exhausting bout of
clarification by serial email i still do not see the rush that
precipitated all of this.
with best regards,
[wr]
"not a founding member of oshca"
- - - - - - - -
will ross
project manager
mendocino informatics
216 west perkins street, suite 206
ukiah, california 95482 usa
707.462.6369 [office]
707.462.5015 [fax]
www.minformatics.com
- - - - - - - -
"Getting people to adopt common standards is impeded by patents."
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, BCS, 2006
- - - - - - - -
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