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On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 1:03 PM, Rich Freeman <rich0@g.o> wrote: |
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On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 2:55 AM, William L. Thomson Jr. |
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<wlt@××××××××××××××××.com> wrote: |
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On Wed, 2011-03-23 at 23:34 -0400, Mike Frysinger wrote: |
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|
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<--snip--> |
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Gentlemen, |
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|
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I will not address much of the previous conversation here, there is |
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simply not enough time in the day. However, I will set the record |
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straight on a few of what I view as the more important points. |
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|
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1. The assertion that we have not filed with the State of New Mexico |
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is false. We are in good standing (until 11/15/2011) as evidenced by a |
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cursory search on the NM Secretary of State website. I link here for |
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completion and to the announcement we published to the front page of |
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www.gentoo.org: |
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http://www.gentoo.org/news/20080519-foundation-standing.xml |
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http://www.nmprc.state.nm.us/cgi-bin/prcdtl.cgi (You will have to type |
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in Gentoo Foundation yourself and click "Search".) |
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|
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2. We have no official status with the IRS, thus there is no |
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tax-exempt status at this time. I explained this earlier, perhaps |
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insufficiently. Further, the Foundation has not generated sufficient |
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revenue for to really generate any serious consequences. Now, I |
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recognize this must be remedied. I have been working on this for many |
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months now. You might think it is an easy process, but you would be |
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mistaken. The Gentoo Foundation cannot lose status it does not have. |
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This particular situation is under my direct care, as I see this as |
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the most important thing I can do for Gentoo at the moment. I stand |
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ready and willing to defend the progress that has been made and take |
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full responsibility for the current status. Due to the circumstances |
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(well past the 27 month deadline (which would have been in late 2006 |
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using the May 2004 date of incorporation)) it is a rather delicate |
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matter that must be handled with great care. |
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|
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3. I have my name on all the Foundation legal documents, therefore I |
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am a responsible party in this. Please make no mistake, I fully |
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understand what this means and am happy to do this for Gentoo. |
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Further, I have used my business relationships with attorneys and CPAs |
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that I have under retainer, thus there is no reason for me to request |
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reimbursement from the Foundation for work I have had done on its |
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behalf as I already pay these people and its simply a matter of the |
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fact that I am allocated a certain number of hours per month. I am not |
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interested in attempting to apportion small amounts for this or that. |
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It is a waste of my time and I am already paying these professionals |
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for their service to my businesses and family. |
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|
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4. William, your assertion that we could just fold up the current |
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organization and start up a new one under a new charter is completely |
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wrong, illegal, very dangerous, displays certain arrogance. The reason |
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this is not possible is directly due to the fact that there is money |
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involved. After consultation with one of my attorneys regarding this |
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matter (it was suggested by a former colleague of mine 2 years ago) I |
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was told that given the specific financial situation of the Gentoo |
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Foundation, this could be considered money laundering. This would be |
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penalized with potential jail time. I am not interested in that. |
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|
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5. William, you said "Look if things were published as they should be, |
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then I would believe |
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otherwise. If these things exist, why have they not been published? |
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Convince me with proof, make me a believer. Because anytime I look, I |
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am not seeing anything." |
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|
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You have clearly not looked or done any research, nor have you |
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attended any monthly meetings or participated in any meaningful way |
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with the Foundation since you quit or were suspended (whichever came |
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first is of little consequence). These things are detailed in every |
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monthly Trustees meeting. Read the logs and look at the announcements. |
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You have made many baseless accusations regarding the current board |
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that are completely unacceptable. Further your antagonistic tone and |
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general demeanor is reprehensible. This is something that, if you had |
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reasonable questions, could have been dealt with in a pleasant way, |
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directly with the Trustees. However, you blast away on a public |
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mailing list requiring time and effort form the Trustees and even the |
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election candidates which could be better spent. In my personal view, |
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and given many of the comments and statements you have made recently |
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and in the more remote past, it is no wonder to me that you were |
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stopped from doing whatever it was that you had in mind, unilaterally, |
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to do. You are dangerous to the Gentoo community in my view. |
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|
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6. I have effectively taken over the officer role of Treasurer (pro |
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tem) at this time, in addition to my existing officer role as |
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Secretary, and the role of board member. This is a ton of work, which |
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is why I have recommended to the board that we fund greater support |
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for the on-going work of tax-status, etc. |
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|
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7. My statements are accurate and fully reflect the current reality of |
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the Foundation. Any assertion that I am misinformed regarding the |
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Foundation is pure nonsense, I have attended every meeting, except one |
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or two, since I was made an officer over three years ago. I also |
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personally handle our attorney-client relationships. I am totally |
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comfortable in saying that I speak with authority on these issues. |
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William, you would know this if you had any level of participation in |
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the Foundation, which you clearly do not. Further, you would recognize |
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these things if you had done any research/homework before spewing vile |
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accusations on this list and in other places undoubtedly. |
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8. I am well appraised of the requirements and stipulations of both |
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state and federal non-profit organizations. I consult with experts |
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specialized in this field on a regular basis. I do not need someone to |
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paste links to irs.gov into emails and then insult my intelligence. |
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This behavior makes too many assumptions and is just plain ridiculous. |
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9. I am not posting official, signed documents to the public. These |
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documents have my signature on them, and I have been advised by my |
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attorney that this is not necessary and that it is potentially |
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dangerous to me personally. |
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10. Just a personal observation: You link to the distrowatch article |
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on Gentoo, I find this hilarious. That reflects not on the work of the |
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Gentoo Foundation, but does reflect the personal opinion of an |
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individual. There have been many attempts to reason with the |
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individual that runs distrowatch on the part of several developers, |
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users, and board members. All were met with no success, however hard |
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we tried. |
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11. Regarding William's comments on "stirring the pot": This is a |
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colloquialism meant to convey the concept that someone is "causing |
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trouble" in an unwarranted manner. The cooking reference is funny. Its |
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true that the gentoo-nfp list has been quiet for a long time. I |
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consider this a good thing as the people that want to participate in |
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the Foundation visit us during meetings or email us their |
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questions/observations directly. I tend to prefer the private and |
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personal attention we are able to give in this respect, especially |
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when dealing with sensitive items. A private conversation is what I |
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would have recommended for the issues you have, William, but you seem |
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to want to engage in what I would term "publicity stunts" that |
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highlight your perspective and give you more attention. This is |
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terribly arrogant and lacks any respect for other people or the |
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contributions people are making. There is no dignity in what you are |
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doing, seriously where is your sense of honor. |
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|
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12. Mike, thank you for jumping in here and adding some rationality to |
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the conversation. What you say is correct, as you well know, regarding |
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the bylaws as well as the perpetual corporate charter. William's |
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interpretation of what he thinks of as "the law" is suspect to me. I |
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will consult with an attorney to learn the real facts and report back |
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as necessary. The main concept here is that while no one is enforcing |
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the rules we make for ourselves, there are certain elements of the |
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legal responsibility of a corporation, regardless of tax status, that |
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must be observed. To the best of my knowledge, we are in compliance |
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with these various legal obligations. |
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13. Mike, you said "i think all it really comes down to is that people |
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simply arent [sic] interested." I am certainly interested, and have |
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been doing a lot of work in support of the Foundation. This is true of |
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the other board members as well. I do not have a publicist so I do |
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not go on public record outside of the board meeting very ofter |
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regarding what is going on and what I am doing. This is generally |
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reported on in detail at the monthly board meetings. I actually do |
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find this sort of work, which I would term "organizational |
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development" a lot of fun. Although it required huge amounts of time |
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(over long periods of time) and effort and communication with many |
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different groups of people it is highly rewarding. Regardless of the |
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outcome of the current election, it is my pleasure to continue to |
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serve the board in any reasonable capacity necessary. In terms of |
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addressing participation in Foundation matters by the more broad |
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developer community, I think that will come with time as the |
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Foundation is able to do more for the community it was created to |
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serve. |
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14. Richard: I really like what you have to say in general. I also can |
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respect that you have actual experience working with other non-profit |
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groups. This can be a substantial asset, but it can also be blinding. |
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I certainly agree with your narrative example of what can happen to a |
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volunteer-driven organization when the concept of funding people comes |
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into the picture. What the board is considering now is not like what |
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you imagine in your email, however. We are entertaining funding an |
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expert to assist us, working directly with me, in handling some of the |
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finer details of the 1023 application process. I simply feel that we |
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need more support than what we have received from the SFLC (who has |
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been great, but I think they are too busy right now) to continue the |
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process. |
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15. William, your distinct efforts to antagonize the current board |
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simply fall flat with me. All you do is waste my time because I feel |
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the distinct responsibility to defend the organization I am a part of |
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from your clear disinformation and misrepresentation of fact. That |
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said, ad hominem attacks on me, as a "new trustee" or whatever you |
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said, are of little concern and further indicate your obvious |
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intentions with these various diatribes. Please, in the case that you |
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want a well reasoned and thoughtful dialog with representatives of the |
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Foundation, please maintain a respectful, dispassionate, and |
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non-agressive demeanor and tone, and we are all more than happy to |
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entertain any significant contribution to the conversation or work |
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that you may have! |
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16. Regarding transparency, we, the board, all know that transparency |
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is a requirement. We are doing the best we can with the limited time |
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we all can spare, for we are volunteers too. Its true that we are |
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missing some of 2011's financial statements. I have not had the time |
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to do them since our previous Treasurer has resigned. Sorry. I believe |
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this can be set aright soon, in any event. |
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I want to state plainly that I know that I have not done every single |
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thing I could have possibly done for the Foundation. However, I know |
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that I, and my colleagues on the board, are doing the best that we can |
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given the situation that we inherited. I am fully confident that we |
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will see a brighter day for the Gentoo Foundation, Inc. in the near |
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future. That is what I am working for, that is one of the things that |
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makes this work worthwhile. If it be the will of the Foundation board |
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and membership, that I be allowed the distinct honor of serving my |
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colleagues in this capacity, I will see this process to its inevitable |
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and successful conclusion without faltering or falling prey to |
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demotivational forces in the world. |
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Kind Regards, |
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Matthew |
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-- |
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Matthew W. Summers |