RE: Summary of the Fusebox Democracy - an attempt

[BORKMAN Lee]

Hi Nev, I think you may have read too much into my words, ancient as they are...   By "conference rooms", I was simply referring to the venue for the Fusebox conference, would you believe? ;-)   The various Committees and the Council are still getting themselves organised, still figuring out who they are, what they do, how they do it, where they do it, why they do it, etc.  In general, it's safe to say that our meetings will be virtual, although we will certainly try to meet face-to-face a couple of times a year.  I believe that the Fusebox Council, all being located in the USA, do get to see each other pretty regularly.  The Steering Committee is, as you will have noticed, much more widely distributed.   I can tell you, for example, that there is only *one* person on the Fusebox list that I have ever met in person, although that is a situation I look forward to fixing as soon as possible.  I would not, for example, recognise Hal if I ran over him, although I am pretty sure that he has a weird accent.   I can also tell you that there are certainly no plans to have the Fusebox community pay for international junkets for Committee members.  Of course, if any Fusebox philanthropist wants to help me out with some 1st Class Qantas tickets, I could probably be persuaded. ;-)   But yes, you are certainly correct when you say that "behind the scenes stuff happens".  There is certainly a lot of "stuff" happening, much of it simply organisational for now, but "stuff" that has to be done, nevertheless.   Expect to see signs of movement real soon now.   Thanks for the kind words Lee Borkman Chairperson, Fusebox Steering Committee -----Original Message----- From: Nev [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Greetings all,   I notice with some interest Lee's remark about conference rooms.   <<<"mailing lists) and other costs incurred (conference rooms, etc).">>>   Does this infer that you guys actually meet head to head (ie. travel around the world to a central location, lock horns, and actually overcome the difficulties of the NON-face to face communication?   Does this travel occur at both Council and Steering committee levels?   How do you fit this into your lives?   If this is so, is this travel cost self-funded or subsidised by the community? If not subsidised, why not?   THIS IS NOT A CRITICISM but a "I'm really impressed that this behind the scenes stuff happens" comment.   It infers a huge amount of commitment on the behalf of our dearly beloved Council members and Steering committee members that we poor plebs are unaware of.   Best Regards Nev >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 05/02/02 08:14am >>> There seems to be some confusion, and a little resentment, regarding the current Fusebox Steering Committee elections.  The resentment, such as it is, seems to arise from the fact the only Fusebox "members" are eligible to stand for election, and to vote.   I am not, and have never been, a member of any Fusebox council or committee, so let me see if I can summarise without any appearance of bias: The Fusebox code and the Fusebox specification will always be absolutely free of charge to everyone. The Fusebox mailing lists will always be available free of charge to everyone. Support from your highly-knowledgable peers will always be available free of charge. Everyone is, and will be, permitted and encouraged to participate, free of charge, in the usual robust discussions about Fusebox and its future directions. The various Fusebox councils and committees will be responsible for making completely non-binding decisions about the future of Fusebox. If you wish to have a direct vote regarding who makes these non-binding decisions about Fusebox's freely available, free-of-charge resources, then you are required to demonstrate some minimal level of committment by becoming a "member". You become a member by making a donation to the cost of communal infrastructure. Your donation may be as much or as little as you choose.  $1 is permissible, as is $1,000,000, but if you want to actually help fund infrastructure, you do at least need to donate enough to counter PayPal's transaction fees. If you are unable to make such a donation, for financial or political reasons, then you can demonstrate your committment by asking someone else to donate on your behalf. Donations will not be used to pay councillors or developers for their work, but will be used to pay for community infrastructure (hosting, mailing lists) and other costs incurred (conference rooms, etc). There are several aspects of the current and proposed administrative structure that could be criticised.  Requiring participants to demonstrate some minimal committment before they can vote should surely be the least controversial.   ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bUrFMa.bV0Kx9 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail and any attachment to it is intended only to be read or used by the named addressee. It is confidential and may contain legally privileged information. No confidentiality or privilege is waived or lost by any mistaken transmission to you. If you receive this e-mail in error, please immediately delete it from your system and notify the sender. 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