Hi Charles, *
Charles-H. Schulz schrieb:
Hello everyone,
Here is the latest version of the bylaws:
http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/CommunityBylaws
BoD elections are not clear to me:
"... the BoD gets renewed by half each year ..."
"... the nine candidates having won the highest number of votes are deemed to have been elected ..."
If all nine Directors are elected at once, how should the "renewal by half each year" work?
In my eyes present BoD members are more likely to be re-elected for a second term (if they did a good job) as anybody else not being that prominent and well-known in the Community.
If the BoD members want to go on with their work for more than two years, they have to take a "sabbatical" and come back one year later - provided the TDF members votes for them.
What I'd like to see is a request to some of the BoD members not to candidate for a second term after the first year but to try to become re-elected the next year and stay then for two years.
This would allow continuity over a longer timeframe, as it avoids the problem of all the BoD members having to resign two years after the first election.
But I don't think that this thoughts (or similar ones) should be mentioned in the Bylaws.
One year term with possible extension for one more year (then one year pause before re-election is allowed) is clear enough.
How we achieve continuity will rather be discussed directly than implemented in the Bylaws.
Another point is the position of the line about "Disputes between Contributors". The content is about the BoD and the Chairperson, but it is positioned at the end of the paragraph about the "Executive Director" (without "the" in the title, while "The Chairperson" contains it).
Confidentiality: Did you think about the preparation of a marketing strategy with a result: "We're going to do this or that during the next months and will go public in half a year.."?
Such work can't be done if the outcome has to be published one month after the decision.
What do you think about
- publish results one month after the cause for confidentiality is gone.
- internal review on a monthly basis if the cause is still valid.
Membership:
Could you replace "artwork" by "design"?
This covers not only all the branding design and visual identity, but also UX and UI design: These contributors are not necessarily researchers or code contributors, but experts in areas IMHO not covered in the other criteria.
Membership application: Here is the only place the Steering Committee is mentioned (as replacement of the BoD "during a interim period").
Why don't you state this fact already at the paragraph about the BoD?
"Until the first BoD election the tasks of the BoD are handled by the Steering Committee" or some better wording.
This would not only cover the appointment of the Membership Committee, but all other activities too.
Best regards
Bernhard