From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: from lists.gentoo.org (pigeon.gentoo.org [208.92.234.80]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by finch.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id E544F1382C5 for ; Thu, 8 Feb 2018 04:50:57 +0000 (UTC) Received: from pigeon.gentoo.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 77C06E09FE; Thu, 8 Feb 2018 04:50:51 +0000 (UTC) Received: from smtp.gentoo.org (smtp.gentoo.org [140.211.166.183]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 (128/128 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 379A9E09FE; Thu, 8 Feb 2018 04:50:51 +0000 (UTC) Received: from clocktown (anon-39-223.vpn.ipredator.se [46.246.39.223]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 (128/128 bits)) (No client certificate requested) (Authenticated sender: zlg) by smtp.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id B88B2335C30; Thu, 8 Feb 2018 04:50:47 +0000 (UTC) Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2018 20:50:41 -0800 From: zlg To: gentoo-project@lists.gentoo.org, trustees@gentoo.org, gentoo-nfp@lists.gentoo.org Subject: [gentoo-project] RFC: Expanding Foundation Bylaws, section 4.9 Termination from Membership Message-ID: <20180208045041.GA6197@clocktown> Precedence: bulk List-Post: List-Help: List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: List-Id: Gentoo Project discussion list X-BeenThere: gentoo-project@lists.gentoo.org Reply-To: gentoo-project@lists.gentoo.org MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/signed; micalg=pgp-sha256; protocol="application/pgp-signature"; boundary="/04w6evG8XlLl3ft" Content-Disposition: inline User-Agent: Mutt/1.9.2 (2017-12-15) X-Archives-Salt: 65bd7eb9-3fad-4e28-8f5f-6dc9f64c800f X-Archives-Hash: d1f230756a1925e0bdb12a4f1670df7b --/04w6evG8XlLl3ft Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Disposition: inline The Bylaws text[1] currently indicates this: ~~~ Section 4.9. Termination from Membership. Membership may be terminated by a majority vote of the board of trustees in the event that any member acts contrary to the purpose(s) of the Gentoo Foundation. ~~~ I propose a bylaw specifically outlining certain behaviors that will not be tolerated by the Foundation under any circumstances. Namely, the use of legal threats to short-circuit established conflict resolution processes laid out by the Gentoo Foundation (and Comrel), including threats against Officers. Here's a rough draft of what I have in mind: ~~~ Section 4.9.1: Aggressive Legal Behavior Foundation members who engage in aggressive legal behavior shall surrender their Foundation membership immediately, and may re-apply for membership no sooner than the end of the current Trustee term, at the sole discretion of the sitting Trustees. Aggressive legal behavior includes, but is not limited to: * Insinuating or implying that legal action may follow if demands are not met; * Threatening legal action against a Foundation member or Officer personally; * Contacting the employer of a Foundation member or Officer in an attempt to cut off their source of personal income. ~~~ (Trustees may want to replace "surrender ... immediately" with "per a vote of Trustees", if a more democratic process is desired) Rationale --------- The Gentoo Foundation and its officers have been on the receiving end of such threats in the past. It is not in the spirit of Gentoo or its Code of Conduct to legally coerce others into compliance with one's will. By acting directly against another Foundation member or a Foundation Officer, the person communicating legal threats is an existential threat to the Foundation itself and "raises the temperature" [2] of the community. This reduces positive community participation and destroys morale, whether this occurs in public or in private. It is not healthy for the continued operation of the Foundation, or the community that supports it, to tolerate aggressive legal behavior. Thus, I ask the Trustees to consider adding explicit notes about such destructive conduct to the bylaws. I believe that the addition and enforcement of such a bylaw will result in more civil and direct communication among Foundation members, and encourage us to solve problems on our own instead of threatening to use law as a weapon against each other. Additionally, such behavior is counter to the purposes of the Foundation. Legitimate legal concerns can be communicated in good faith without threatening others, using weasel words, or attempting to silence other members by force. Such behavior concerns me due to the growing prevalence of things like SWATting[3], which has resulted in the deaths of innocent people. [3's references, 4] I do not think Gentoo is immune to this; a proactive approach is needed to curb this type of behavior before it has time to build. Thank you for reading. ~zlg [1]: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Foundation:Bylaws#Section_4.9._Termination_from_Membership. [2]: http://freenode.net/changuide [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatting [4]: WARNING: CONTAINS POLICE BODY CAM FOOTAGE. NOT SAFE FOR WORK http://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article192111974.html --/04w6evG8XlLl3ft Content-Type: application/pgp-signature; name="signature.asc" Content-Description: Digital signature -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- iQIzBAEBCAAdFiEEgIn+0tMDW9PQWDLnASQOlFA54XAFAlp71yEACgkQASQOlFA5 4XD8CRAAixq1LluIhsUQORBg6pVvQIKHr8aK7MLkjoQcHqkjJ/0Zv+ygW4BQktCq aBYxZXgxGVPsLVRwAw14NqvzhPDjesL4rMYZD1k9jC8iMiLqWjZD9fS0/47fOK2U 2aI5wKKYSfEwKS/+8LBWlakdM1JURi94UhKQGbbFz6ou74PWNdwZ7jfamkNSr+HG TjrYWfabt5Lx2j93d4tGmAraaVx4WzEWSy8t0XNE5F1vAiHMDEoWZnPwt3+KyVpN 3NWZOrR6w+c8I4ZjsyG3hV9tyaP5jOxpn14XyyZO6Ip4FMwxKKTD3ujt5eS2B67u on3agXBCFcaakrlO0NiDQYTr78bFTiaK1iw3JbqwGCFe7x66EbG1ix8xkuyC7Anr /zEIhSxPufGWN6mxPR5RShhCZ3slQkpF9Y6xF8Ue/G1YnW4qnJ8vARyLDFIRqNVG DDnOtv6nQQreAF+wYbU02jyNTxpVIF0SiekPW5InpLRjf8E9/uo5Ti1cAja1PXjy ZS04aqng3nnL8++EjVRA5xWaYVbRVZXcf5RQJ8wp1sEZo/y+0TY9P801Cag2M6+Z bBckKYKqb6qrxLv5vYYxbkUFYzQ5ejG1Unw3XGZKq9T1dP3w0y8DpqMG5UBuuPd2 vfk5v6IujCsHUtwJU8Ec5M+qjJEGZbugK4Qwvi3EntOfgyXu0rE= =ziCv -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --/04w6evG8XlLl3ft--