On Sun, May 13, 2001, Jonathan Ben-Avraham wrote about "Re: linux domain - summary":
> On Sun, 13 May 2001, Chen Shapira wrote:
> > When / if there will be a Linux Amuta, we can ask to move the domain to the
> > Amuta.
>
> Yes, I will give you this on signed paper if you like.
Didn't we go through this about a hundred times?
Jonathan, there is not going to be an amuta anytime soon, for various reasons,
mainly that the people on this list are computer geeks, not legal sharks, and
none of us really knows how to create an Amuta, let alone cheaply (I'm sure
it is possible without paying thousands of shekels to some fancy accountant
and/or lawyer).
But why, for god's sake, do you insist on an Amuta? You can, for example,
draft contract that Chen (or whomever else you prefer) will sign, letting
her control (as a technical contact) the domain unless she breaks rules A, B
or C. The whole purpose of this Amuta thing was to make sure that the
community, not simply another person which is not yourself, controls this
domain - and it is possible to contractually guarantee that even without
an Amuta, with some special-purpose contract you draft yourself (you don't
even need a lawyer. Remember, you'll still own the domain as far as ISOC-IL
is concerned, and Chen will only be a technical contact allowed to make
changes until you decide to pull the plug on her because she broke the
rules of the contract).
> Ha!
> The problem is that you have to pay an accountant. To pay an accountant
> you need to get money from the amuta members on a consistent basis. I told
> you that I am ready to contribute either as a corporate or personal
> member, but others must be ready to do the same too so that there
> will be enough money to pay year after year. You will have to
> write the bylaws such that corporate membership is allowed but that policy
> is voted on by individuals like yourself, Doron Shikmoni, Ira Abramov, and
> others who care enough to find the money to pay dues. So the problem is
> not just money, it's money + writing the bylaws such that companies will
> contribute but cannot control.
Writing up some pseudo-contract or human-language (as opposed to legal
mumbo-jumbo) bylaws is something that I, and many other people on this list,
can do in an afternoon. Also, since the Amuta, at least initially, will
have almost no expenses or incomes, accountant time will probably be limited
to, say, 2 hours a year. How much can that cost? 500 shekels? 1000 shekels?
If we can collect 25 shekels a year from only 40 people (that's probably
less than 1/10 of the people on this list), this will be covered....
But again, the issue is probably that none of us really knows how to go
about creating an Amuta, so nobody went ahead and done it... Remember,
when there was a problem with the domain Ira went ahead and bought iglu.org.il,
which cost him $60 (that's 250 shekels). I also bought ivrix.org.il, for
the use of the community - not my personal profit - for 250 shekels (and in
a couple of months I'm going to pay more money to renew it). Not to mention
how much getting and running these computers actually cost for all the
parties involved! So I really doubt the money is the real issue here.
--
Nadav Har'El | Sunday, May 13 2001, 20 Iyyar 5761
[EMAIL PROTECTED] |-----------------------------------------
Phone: +972-53-245868, ICQ 13349191 |As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a
http://nadav.harel.org.il |cat.
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