Re: [IAEP] Motion to Change The Sugar Labs Rules of Governance

[Samuel Greenfeld]

If the election cycle is starting tomorrow, then I agree there's no real
need for a recall vote, provided the person(s) in question are up for
re-election this year {positions are staggered}.

Personally I don't know what's going on here.

If someone truly believes a recall vote is in order, then they should be
trying to gathering members to propose the recall vote unless that goal is
essentially unattainable.  Admittedly, how this is supposed to be done is
vague.  At first glance recalls may fall under "Sugar Labs Referenda",
needing 10% of the membership to agree before the Membership and Elections
Committee formally takes it in.

That said I'd like to see Membership & Board quorums {and majority votes
within} formally defined -- while board meetings mention them in chat logs
and base yes/no decisions on a majority within, I don't think Sugar Labs'
Rules of Governance ever uses the word.





On Mon, Aug 14, 2017 at 10:37 PM, James Cameron  wrote:

> On Tue, Aug 15, 2017 at 02:07:04AM +, Caryl Bigenho wrote:
> > [...] Motion to be voted on by the SLOB members:
> >
> > These lines in the Sugar Labs Rules of Governance shall be changed
> > wherever they occur from:
> >
> > "The members of the Oversight Board may be removed from the position
> > at any time by a majority vote of the Community Members" to
> >
> > "The members of the Oversight Board may be removed from the position
> > at any time by a majority vote of the Sugar Labs Oversight Board."
>
> Why should members give up this right?
>
> Instead, you might seek to add the right to the board.
>
> Your next step is to achieve a seconding of the motion, and organise a
> formal vote of the membership.  May I suggest the Membership and
> Elections Committee.
>
> > Recently the SLOB has become extremely dysfunctional. [...]
>
> I'm not so sure.  What I see is lack of time, very brief responses,
> failure of communication, unshared expectations, ... which in time
> will result in more robust and public debate of the issues.  Also,
> some of the board are being quite busy and enthusiastic, which is a
> wonderful thing to see.
>
> Members of Sugar Labs elected the oversight board members, and another
> election is coming up; the timetable is published.  Election
> would be the perfect time for members to choose who to remove; by
> electing the people it wants.
>
> https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_Labs/Governance/Elections_2017
>
> @Samuel, do you think this timetable adequate?  ;-)
>
> --
> James Cameron
> http://quozl.netrek.org/
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Re: [IAEP] Motion to Change The Sugar Labs Rules of Governance

[James Cameron]

On Tue, Aug 15, 2017 at 02:07:04AM +, Caryl Bigenho wrote:
> [...] Motion to be voted on by the SLOB members:
> 
> These lines in the Sugar Labs Rules of Governance shall be changed
> wherever they occur from:
> 
> "The members of the Oversight Board may be removed from the position
> at any time by a majority vote of the Community Members" to
> 
> "The members of the Oversight Board may be removed from the position
> at any time by a majority vote of the Sugar Labs Oversight Board."

Why should members give up this right?

Instead, you might seek to add the right to the board.

Your next step is to achieve a seconding of the motion, and organise a
formal vote of the membership.  May I suggest the Membership and
Elections Committee.

> Recently the SLOB has become extremely dysfunctional. [...]

I'm not so sure.  What I see is lack of time, very brief responses,
failure of communication, unshared expectations, ... which in time
will result in more robust and public debate of the issues.  Also,
some of the board are being quite busy and enthusiastic, which is a
wonderful thing to see.

Members of Sugar Labs elected the oversight board members, and another
election is coming up; the timetable is published.  Election
would be the perfect time for members to choose who to remove; by
electing the people it wants.

https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_Labs/Governance/Elections_2017

@Samuel, do you think this timetable adequate?  ;-)

-- 
James Cameron
http://quozl.netrek.org/
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Re: [IAEP] Motion to Change The Sugar Labs Rules of Governance

[Samuel Greenfeld]

I disagree with this.  While I have been on boards with an annoying member
or two, letting a few board members vote the others off leads to coups and
other odd politics.  I have never personally seen such language in
governing documents before.

That said, what is considered a quorum of the Community Members for a
recall vote (the majority of those present having to vote in favor of it)?


On Mon, Aug 14, 2017 at 10:07 PM, Caryl Bigenho  wrote:

> Dear Fellow Sugar Labs Members
>
> Recently the SLOB has become extremely dysfunctional. When this happens to
> this degree, it may be time to look for a remedy. Sometimes this will best
> be accomplished by a change in personnel. Here are what some websites have
> to say about this issue:
>
>
>
>- “Occasionally, a board member needs to be removed from the board. In
>some cases, a conflict of interest or unethical behavior may be grounds to
>remove an individual from the board. In other cases, the behavior of a
>board member may become so obstructive that the board is prevented from
>functioning effectively.”
>
> *http://www.blueavocado.org/content/four-ways-remove-board-member
> *
>
>
>
>- “Opposing viewpoints are to be expected, but they should never cross
>the line into becoming obstructive to the organization’s mission. When
>board members breach into destructive or demoralizing behavior, the rest of
>the board needs to make a decision about removing one board member for the
>good of the whole.”
>
> *http://www.boardeffect.com/blog/how-to-remove-a-board-member/
> *
>
>
>
>- “Your operating bylaws should have a procedure outlined on how to
>remove a board member. Make sure the steps are in there now, and before you
>run into any problems down the road. The board should keep documentation on
>why the board member is being removed and the steps they take.”
>
>
> *http://nonprofithub.org/board-of-directors/how-to-remove-a-nonprofit-board-member/
> 
> *
>
> The Sugar Labs Rules of Governance provide for removal by a majority vote
> of the Community Members. However this is a very cumbersome business. Most
> organizations provide for a majority vote of the *board members*. Our
> current Rules of Governance say:
>
> “The members of the Oversight Board may be removed from the position at
> any time by a majority vote of the Community Members.”
>
> * https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_Labs/Governance
> *
>
> To simplify this process, I  therefore wish to propose *the following
> change to the Sugar Labs Rules of Governance:*
>
> Motion to be voted on by the SLOB members:
>
> These lines in the Sugar Labs Rules of Governance shall be changed
> wherever they occur
> from:
>
> "The members of the Oversight Board may be removed from the position at
> any time by a majority vote of the Community Members"  to
>
> "The members of the Oversight Board may be removed from the position at
> any time by a majority vote of the Sugar Labs Oversight Board."
>
> You folks may wish to tweak the language a bit, but I have tried to keep
> it as simple as possible.
>
> Abrazos,
>
> Caryl Bigenho
>
>
>
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> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
>
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[IAEP] Motion to Change The Sugar Labs Rules of Governance

[Caryl Bigenho]

Dear Fellow Sugar Labs Members

Recently the SLOB has become extremely dysfunctional. When this happens to this 
degree, it may be time to look for a remedy. Sometimes this will best be 
accomplished by a change in personnel. Here are what some websites have to say 
about this issue:



  *   “Occasionally, a board member needs to be removed from the board. In some 
cases, a conflict of interest or unethical behavior may be grounds to remove an 
individual from the board. In other cases, the behavior of a board member may 
become so obstructive that the board is prevented from functioning effectively.”

http://www.blueavocado.org/content/four-ways-remove-board-member



  *   “Opposing viewpoints are to be expected, but they should never cross the 
line into becoming obstructive to the organization’s mission. When board 
members breach into destructive or demoralizing behavior, the rest of the board 
needs to make a decision about removing one board member for the good of the 
whole.”

http://www.boardeffect.com/blog/how-to-remove-a-board-member/



  *   “Your operating bylaws should have a procedure outlined on how to remove 
a board member. Make sure the steps are in there now, and before you run into 
any problems down the road. The board should keep documentation on why the 
board member is being removed and the steps they take.”

http://nonprofithub.org/board-of-directors/how-to-remove-a-nonprofit-board-member/


The Sugar Labs Rules of Governance provide for removal by a majority vote of 
the Community Members. However this is a very cumbersome business. Most 
organizations provide for a majority vote of the board members. Our current 
Rules of Governance say:

“The members of the Oversight Board may be removed from the position at any 
time by a majority vote of the Community Members.”

https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_Labs/Governance

To simplify this process, I  therefore wish to propose the following change to 
the Sugar Labs Rules of Governance:

Motion to be voted on by the SLOB members:

These lines in the Sugar Labs Rules of Governance shall be changed wherever 
they occur
from:

"The members of the Oversight Board may be removed from the position at any 
time by a majority vote of the Community Members"  to

"The members of the Oversight Board may be removed from the position at any 
time by a majority vote of the Sugar Labs Oversight Board."

You folks may wish to tweak the language a bit, but I have tried to keep it as 
simple as possible.

Abrazos,

Caryl Bigenho


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