[HamWAN PSDR] New Constitution for HamWAN at last

Sun May 19 22:50:25 PDT 2013

Someone just pointed out a point of potential confusion, so let me 
better explain the qualifications of Supporting Member status.  Ask 
yourself these 2 questions:

1) Have you been a Member for 6 months or more?
2) Have you donated the equivalent of 6 months or more of Basic level 
support?  (be it recurring or lump sum)

If you answered yes to both, then you qualify to become a Supporting 
Member.  The only situation I want to prevent is someone coming in and 
on day 1 attaining Supporting Member status by slapping down $120.  
Money alone should not buy you influence in this project.  Your personal 
proven commitment counts for a lot.  These are the principles I tried to 
embody in the new constitution.

--Bart

On 5/19/2013 10:32 PM, Bart Kus wrote:
> Hello,
>
> The time has come to update some aspects of our governance and wrap up 
> the loose ends not covered before.  As a refresher, we only have 1 
> approved document which governs our present behavior, and that is the 
> Constitution 
> <https://www.hamwan.org/t/tiki-index.php?page=Constitution&structure=HamWAN>. 
> There is a page claiming to be bylaws, but it's just a proposed draft 
> and was never voted on.  I'm in favor of not proceeding with the 
> proposed bylaws as they introduce too much needless complexity into 
> the organization, and leave many more loose ends.
>
> In this new proposed constitution (provided below) there are many 
> important changes.  Allow me to walk you through them in order.
>
> 1) Membership status is expanded to differentiate between Supporting 
> Members are regular Members.  Supporting Members are Members who 
> support the HamWAN mission financially by donating at the Basic level 
> on a recurring basis.  They need to do this for 6 months before 
> obtaining Supporting Member status.  Since these people put their 
> money where their mouth is, and have demonstrated a 6-month commitment 
> to the project, they are allowed to use their mouth in the election of 
> Directors and are eligible to become Directors themselves.  New 
> outside influences cannot simply buy their way in and take over 
> HamWAN, they must always fulfill a 6 month Membership period to become 
> Supporting Members.  If they've got the dedication to do all that, 
> then they deserve to take over if that's their intention.  :)
>
> 2) Gone are fixed elections in October!  Directors can be elected at 
> any time.  This, combined with the previous changes regarding 
> Supporting Members, will allow HamWAN to empower proven project 
> contributors sooner than just on a yearly basis.  I can tell you there 
> have been a small number of outstanding people who have really helped 
> out in the last few months, but still cannot be empowered to vote on 
> decisions until October.  This is a shame, and these new laws will fix 
> that.
>
> 3) Gone is the "public HamWAN voting list" concept.  In its place, 
> announcements regarding elections or decisions will be sent to ALL 
> public HamWAN lists.  This should keep everyone informed, and will not 
> require the setup of some special 3rd list that no one is on.
>
> 4) Amendments will be changed to be voted on by Supporting Members 
> only.  This includes Supporting Members holding Director positions.
>
> After these new laws are approved, the board will make a special 
> one-time review of the project's membership and contributions, and 
> make public a list of Members + Supporting Members available for the 
> first time.  These lists will be used in future voting situations as 
> identified in the proposed constitution.
>
> So, without further ado, here is the new proposed Constitution, 
> below.  Please vote with Yay or Nay.  It needs 66% Yay to be adopted.  
> If you have feedback, feel free and we can re-set the vote.  But for 
> the time being, the vote will close 168 hours (7 days) from the time 
> of this email.
>
>
>
>
>
> *Article 0 -- Mission*
>
>
> HamWAN is focused on creating, operating and coordinating free digital 
> networks. These digital networks are used for:
>
>  1. emergency communications when other systems go down
>  2. research and development in the realm of microwave networking
>  3. a means of free digital communication for anyone who is or becomes
>     a licensed radio amateur
>  4. an educational resource in spreading the knowledge of how to
>     create, operate and use such networks
>
>
> All knowledge generated and gathered by HamWAN in the realm of 
> microwave networking is made freely available to the public for 
> unrestricted consumption. Coordination services provided by HamWAN 
> ensure the interoperability of other similar networks not directly 
> under HamWAN's control.
>
>
> *Article I -- Members*
>
>
> HamWAN membership is open to everyone.There are three levels of 
> membership: (1) Member, (2) Supporting Member, and (3) Director.A 
> Member is accepted by default, after having gone through the 
> www.HamWAN.org enrollment process, unless the board votes to reject 
> membership to a potential member.
>
> A Member can also become a Supporting Member by donating to HamWAN at 
> a minimum of the Basic level for a period of 6 months.A lump donation 
> does not eliminate the 6 month Member status time requirement before 
> becoming a Supporting Member.A Supporting Member must continue a 
> minimum of Basic level donations to remain in Supporting Member 
> status.Donation financial levels are defined at www.HamWAN.org.
>
>
> *Article II -- Board of Directors*
>
>
> The board shall be composed of three or more Supporting Members 
> serving as Directors, one of whom is also acting as Chairman. 
> Directors shall have no predefined duties. The only special duty of 
> the Chairman is to resolve vote ties; the Chairman effectively gets 
> two votes in this case. Board positions shall be valid for one year, 
> and obtained by election of the Supporting Members.Only Supporting 
> Members are eligible to be elected to board positions.
>
>
> *Article III -- Elections*
>
>
> Any Supporting Member may announce his or her intention to be elected 
> as a Director at any time, and must set a 7-day voting period to end 
> no later than 21 days from the initial announcement of intention to 
> run.Supporting Members are entitled to one vote each.Election of a 
> board member shall be successful if the candidate receives more "Yay" 
> votes than "Nay" votes.
>
> Directors wishing to serve as Chairman can announce their intention to 
> be elected by notifying the acting Chairman.Votes for Chairman can 
> only be cast by Directors, and voting will conclude 24 hours after a 
> Director announces his or her intention to become Chairman.The new 
> Chairman shall be the candidate with the most "Yay" votes.The acting 
> chairman shall be a candidate in any Chairman election by default.Ties 
> shall be resolved by the acting Chairman.The new Chairman will assume 
> the acting Chairman duties on the day following the Chairman election.
>
> *Article IV -- Decisions*
>
>
> Director decisions or actions which:
>
>  1. impact HamWAN finances in excess of $100 USD
>  2. or contractually obligate HamWAN in any way
>  3. or are reasonably judged as significant
>
>
> shall be announced to all public HamWAN mailing lists. Voting will be 
> considered complete 24 hours after the mailing list announcement of 
> the issue at hand. Decisions shall be rendered approved by a majority 
> vote of the Directors who voted. Directors unfamiliar with the issue 
> at hand are encouraged to abstain from voting. Non-Directors cannot 
> cast votes, although they can communicate with Directors to influence 
> their votes on issues.
>
>
> *Article V -- Director Removal*
>
>
> Directors can be removed from the board by a "Yay" vote of 75% or more 
> board members.
>
>
> *Article VI -- Dissolution*
>
>
> Should the board vote to dissolve HamWAN, physical assets can be 
> liquidated. All resulting and remaining assets, liquid or physical, 
> will be distributed to like-minded charity organizations.
>
>
> *Article VII -- Amendments*
>
>
> Any documents of HamWAN governance, including this constitution, can 
> be amended by a 66% or more vote of the Supporting Members. Proposals 
> for amendments shall be published to all public HamWAN mailing lists, 
> and voting shall be considered complete 168 hours (7 days) after the 
> mailing list announcement.
>
>
>
> --Bart
> (my vote is Yay)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> PSDR at hamwan.org
> http://mail.hamwan.org/mailman/listinfo/psdr_hamwan.org

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