Resolution 2004-10-16.dbg.1: Committee Framework

[John Goerzen]

On Sat, Oct 16, 2004 at 11:21:19PM +0100, Ian Jackson wrote:
> David Graham - SPI Secretary writes ("Resolution 2004-10-16.dbg.1: Committee Framework"):
> > Resolution 2004-10-16.dbg.1: Committee Framework
> 
> I think this is a very fine resolution.

I agree completely.  I believe we should adopt it regardless of
whether or not we add committees.

We have several problems right now:

1. We don't presently know exactly what the members and chair are of
   every committee; [*]

2. Committees can be left in limbo if members disappear or wish to
   resign.  For instance, I want to resign from the Bylaws committee,
   but can't really, since my name is written into the charter and
   no mechanism for selecting the next chair is named (so it would
   require Board action to keep the committee afloat)  Charters for
   different committees have handled this in different ways, creating
   a confusing and complex situation for both the board and
   committees.

3. We -- the board and membership of SPI -- don't really know what
   some committees have done. [*]

[*] The best information I have on these matters was in the 2004
annual report I prepared in August, which can be found at
http://www.spi-inc.org/~jgoerzen/ar2004/.  I have membership lists for
only the membership and bylaws committees.  I had no membership lists
for the project, open source, trademark, or administration committees
available.

> Do we have good suggestions for committees to form ?  Are we intending
> to form a committee for, broadly speaking, every area of the board's
> responsibility ?

While we're on the topic, the administration committee has no charter
that I could find, which technically means we're in violation of
Article 10 of our own bylaws and have been since the current bylaws
were adopted 5 years ago.  I think that, after we pass this
resolution, we ought to examine the charters for all our committees
and update them as necessary to be as consistent and uniform as
possible.  And we need to properly charter the administration
committee to start with.

Also, per Article 10, all charters are to be put before the membership
for review and discussion prior to a board vote.  So I am pleased we
are doing that with this discussion.

-- John