[LinuxUsers] Creating a structure for SocalLinux.org - asking all members to read

[David Kaiser]

I wanted to point out to everyone that I have enhanced some of the
language in the charter.
Please note the following:
 - Re-worded section 1 of Article 4. 
 - Detailed requirements (last paragraph) of moderators.

Please reply with any feedback on the Charter, it's goals and purpose,
as well as the new additions.

http://www.socallinux.org/charter.html

Thanks Everyone!

David



David Kaiser wrote:
> Happy New Year Everyone!
>
>                                                   January 1, 2010
>
>
> For the first message of the new year, I wanted to take a moment to
> reflect on the great 5.5 years we have been here and say thanks for
> everyone for making SocalLinux.org such a great community.   I feel that
> we have a great and diverse group and I really appreciate everyone that
> participates and the contributions of each and every person in our group.
>
> I also wanted to take this opportunity to share some thoughts I have had
> about the design of the group.
>
> Since we started this group (originally called 909linux.org), we have
> tried to focus as much as possible on creating and maintaining an
> environment that is open, allows anyone to contribute and speak their
> opinion, but along with that comes the need to do things such as control
> the tone of the discussion at times so that members of the group are not
> offended by any particular individual.    It is a fine balancing act to
> encourage everyone to speak their mind – but still ask everyone to be
> respectful of others.  I want to keep that approach in the future.
> (Given the low number of conflicts we have, I think we have been
> successful in this.)
>
> When we started, we decided not to have a formalized structure, (where
> members at the time did not want to have cycles of elections and people
> being nominated as a president, etc.) so we have had a completely
> informal and unstructured group this entire time. Since I am the
> [genius/sucker: pick one] who registered the domain and maintains the
> computing infrastructure for the mailing list (and our 1 web page!) I
> want to bring this up and explain some of my thoughts, and also I think
> it would be useful for me to get feedback about this organization.
>
> While I don't mind being in the position of being the domain owner, I
> want to make sure that the workings of the group are actually the
> responsibility of the group.
>
> I am going to be looking for a way that there is a “moderator group” (or
> some title) that we have a number of people that are aware of and
> publicly making decisions that are for the benefit of the group.  While
> I have never actually unsubscribed or banned any person from
> participating (mailing list, irc channel, or in person), I have had to
> enable some brief periods of moderation to the mailing list while
> personal issues were resolved.  I feel that this and other duties should
> be the responsibility of a group of people, and that this group should
> somehow be enabled or voted on by the members.
>
> To start with, just having multiple people be the moderators of the
> mailing list, and also having a way for the group members to maintain
> the web site (a task which I completely FAIL at doing in case you have
> noticed). This will go a long ways to achieving the goal of not having
> myself be singularly responsible for this and ensure that things are
> done for the benefit of everyone.  These things are on my agenda for the
> coming months and I will be making more announcements about this soon.
>
> I am going to be enlisting everyone's feedback and working to establish
> the following:
>   - an official charter which details the group structure
>   - a group of moderators
>   - an additional administrator to help me maintain the site (likely to
> be easier to do once we install a proper web management system of some sort)
>
> For now, I am asking everyone to take a moment and read what I have
> proposed for a Charter.
>
> The proposed charter is located at http://socallinux.org/charter
>
> This will be something which is only a 'read and understand' option for
> now.  If conditions demand, then in the future we can make this be
> something which has to be agreed upon before approval of signing-up to
> the mailing list or other activities.
>
> While I have started this Charter, I did so by following the example set
> by many other successful Linux User Groups.  Ultimately, I expect the
> members of this group to add to this list with their own ideas because
> this isn't just something I manage alone.  We all need to share the
> responsibility of keeping things running smoothly, so I am asking this
> conversation in an open forum like this.
>
> Please reply to this thread with comments and suggested additions.  I
> know the charter as it is currently written needs some help, but I need
> your help in keeping the group self-moderated and running smoothly so I
> strongly believe this is something we need to do.  Specifically seeking
> comments on Articles 6, 7, & 8, as I have not yet developed a policy on
> how moderators and administrators are selected and how the voting
> process might work.
>
> Thanks again for making SocalLinux.org a great community, and thanks in
> advance for taking the time to read this and the charter document idea
> I've posted.
>
> Looking forward to 2010!
>
> Regards,
> David
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