[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] ***SPAM*** Re: Draft rules of governance for Evergreen Software Foundation - for discussion

[Ben Shum]

 Hi Dan,

Under Section 2.2 (Eligibility),

Part (b) states: "An individual library may become a Member even though
it is part of a consortium that is a Member if the library demonstrates
that it contributes to Evergreen in a significant and sustained way,
other than being a member of the consortium that is running Evergreen."

Part (c) states: "An individual person may become a Member even though
he/she represents or is affiliated with a business or organization that
is a Member if the individual demonstrates that he/she contributes to
Evergreen in a significant and sustained way, other than the way the
business or organization is contributing to Evergreen."

Part (d) states: "Membership eligibility is an individual determination.
While contributions made in the course of employment will be considered,
they will generally be ascribed to the individuals involved, rather than
accruing to all employees of a “contributing” corporation. The
Nomination and Membership Development Committee will oversee membership
applications."

--

Based on part (b) and part (c), with an example scenario: let's say Ms.
Jane Smith works as a system administrator for the Magical Library,
which runs Evergreen ILS. Part (b) would seem to support that the
Magical Library could pursue membership on grounds of being a library
operating Evergreen. But part (c) would seem to support that Jane Smith
could become a member through her own activities in the Evergreen
community. Then, with part (d) it seems to say that it's preferred for
individual attribution, rather than organizational? Or is part (d)
applied primarily towards employees of support companies for Evergreen?
Or does the wording allow for all these things to be "true" given
certain circumstances and with approval by the membership committee?

Just curious for some clarification on how to classify memberships
according to the draft.

Thanks,

Ben


On 10/01/2010 11:29 PM, Dan Scott wrote:
> After a great deal of effort through the summer, the Governance
> Committee that was struck at the 2010 Evergreen Conference is pleased to
> provide for your review and feedback the proposed rules of governance for
> the Evergreen Software Foundation. These rules can be found at the top
> of the "governance structure" space of the Evergreen wiki at
> http://evergreen-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=governance:structure in
> wiki format, OpenDocument format, and Word format.
>
> The proposed rules of governance describe the purpose of the Evergreen
> Software Foundation as having the mission to:
>
> (i) promote, support, and advance the Evergreen software;
> (ii) support and facilitate the growth of the international community of
> Evergreen users;
> (ii) foster and protect the Evergreen assets;
> (iii) serve as a resource and communication device for Evergreen users;
> and
> (iv) serve as a funding and grant seeking source for cooperative
> development projects.
>
> Hopefully these goals are self-explanatory, but some explanation of (ii)
> (the second ii - heh - some editing still required): the "Evergreen
> assets" are the trademarks, logos, domain names, and some hardware
> currently held by GPLS PINES and Equinox, as well as copyright over
> portions of the code, should institutions or individuals for some reason
> opt to contribute their copyright to the foundation. The assets would
> also include funds that result from donations to the project, revenues
> from conferences, etc.
>
> The Governance Committee has chosen to submit a membership application
> to the Software Freedom Conservancy (http://sfconservancy.org) as the
> most expedient route to functioning within a 501(c)(3) non-profit
> structure that offers tax benefits for donations made by residents of
> the United States. The membership application is also visible at the top
> of the "governance structure" space of the Evergreen wiki at 
> http://evergreen-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=governance:structure
>
> These are significant steps for the Evergreen community, and your
> feedback on the proposed rules of governance for the foundation is
> genuinely desired. For the foundation to be successful, we need to be
> sure that we have the confidence and trust of the community to move
> forward with the proposal. If, after reading the documents, there are
> aspects of the plans or documents that you find confusing, or that you
> find worrisome, please raise your concern on this mailing list - you
> probably won't be alone! If you have suggestions for amendments, please
> post those suggestions to this mailing list as well.
>

-- 
Benjamin Shum
Open Source Software Coordinator
Bibliomation, Inc.
32 Crest Road
Middlebury, CT 06762
203-577-4070, ext. 113