Jeffery Nichols wrote:
> Our bylaws are pretty complete anyway, they just need a bunch of proofing against the new law. Does the new law have an online step-by-step guide to bylaw creation like the one we used for the old law? If we found something that straightforward, we could get these finished enough to present them to the WMF within a couple months.
>
The guide doesn't exist yet, though I'm sure there will be one when the
law is proclaimed.
Most of the major points in the by-laws are indeed well advanced, though
it would have been better if more than the two of us had made
significant contributions. Some points still need a bit of work, but
under the new law these are not necessary prior to incorporation. Since
the by-laws can be submitted after incorporation when they are submitted
to WMF becomes less critical.
> The main thing we have to figure out is our statement of purpose. We can't be a lobby group (though it would be useful to ALSO have a lobby group) and there is no category for online encyclopedias. If I remember right, we tried to make our current statement of purpose match that of museums, which sort of works. Once that is done, we have time to work on the nuances of everything else.
>
Yes, purposes are the most important and most difficult thing left to
work on. I don't know that your idea of using museums as a model would
be the best approach. As I stated on the talk page, what was done by
the Vancouver Regional FreeNet Association might serve as a better
example. Unlike the by-laws, the purposes must be included in the
articles of incorporation submitted with the application.
> I think once we get the boring bylaw stuff done and are recognized by the WMF, we'll see lots of new people volunteering their time to help us with more interesting projects.
>
>
What's so boring about by-laws? :-)
I agree that incorporation will help us in finding more volunteers for
special projects, and will make it easier to develop the funding for
those projects.