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The Bylaws text[1] currently indicates this: |
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|
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~~~ |
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Section 4.9. Termination from Membership. |
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|
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Membership may be terminated by a majority vote of the board of trustees |
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in the event that any member acts contrary to the purpose(s) of the |
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Gentoo Foundation. |
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~~~ |
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|
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I propose a bylaw specifically outlining certain behaviors that will not |
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be tolerated by the Foundation under any circumstances. Namely, the use |
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of legal threats to short-circuit established conflict resolution |
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processes laid out by the Gentoo Foundation (and Comrel), including |
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threats against Officers. |
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|
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Here's a rough draft of what I have in mind: |
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|
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~~~ |
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Section 4.9.1: Aggressive Legal Behavior |
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|
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Foundation members who engage in aggressive legal behavior shall |
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surrender their Foundation membership immediately, and may re-apply for |
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membership no sooner than the end of the current Trustee term, at the |
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sole discretion of the sitting Trustees. |
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|
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Aggressive legal behavior includes, but is not limited to: |
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|
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* Insinuating or implying that legal action may follow if demands are |
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not met; |
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* Threatening legal action against a Foundation member or Officer |
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personally; |
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* Contacting the employer of a Foundation member or Officer in an |
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attempt to cut off their source of personal income. |
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~~~ |
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|
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(Trustees may want to replace "surrender ... immediately" with "per a |
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vote of Trustees", if a more democratic process is desired) |
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|
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Rationale |
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--------- |
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|
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The Gentoo Foundation and its officers have been on the receiving end of |
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such threats in the past. It is not in the spirit of Gentoo or its Code |
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of Conduct to legally coerce others into compliance with one's will. By |
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acting directly against another Foundation member or a Foundation |
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Officer, the person communicating legal threats is an existential threat |
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to the Foundation itself and "raises the temperature" [2] of the |
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community. This reduces positive community participation and destroys |
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morale, whether this occurs in public or in private. It is not healthy |
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for the continued operation of the Foundation, or the community that |
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supports it, to tolerate aggressive legal behavior. Thus, I ask the |
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Trustees to consider adding explicit notes about such destructive |
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conduct to the bylaws. |
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|
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I believe that the addition and enforcement of such a bylaw will result |
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in more civil and direct communication among Foundation members, and |
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encourage us to solve problems on our own instead of threatening to use |
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law as a weapon against each other. Additionally, such behavior is |
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counter to the purposes of the Foundation. Legitimate legal concerns can |
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be communicated in good faith without threatening others, using weasel |
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words, or attempting to silence other members by force. |
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|
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Such behavior concerns me due to the growing prevalence of things like |
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SWATting[3], which has resulted in the deaths of innocent people. [3's |
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references, 4] I do not think Gentoo is immune to this; a proactive |
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approach is needed to curb this type of behavior before it has time to |
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build. |
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|
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Thank you for reading. |
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|
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~zlg |
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|
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[1]: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Foundation:Bylaws#Section_4.9._Termination_from_Membership. |
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[2]: http://freenode.net/changuide |
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[3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatting |
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[4]: WARNING: CONTAINS POLICE BODY CAM FOOTAGE. NOT SAFE FOR WORK |
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http://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article192111974.html |