Given that Delphine is chair of the Chapters Committee, and she has been
present in these discussions, I'm sure that she will be pleased to raise
any concerns that the Foundation. In view of her recent comments on
another list I'm sure that she would prefer this to having a lot of
comments come out after everything has been written.
I'm not sure what the formal process is; but since we would like the Foundation's
support, it would make sense to seek that. If Delphine's presence here is enough,
I'd be happy to cut out that part of the process.
If you think that you want legal advice before the comment period feel
free to do so, but it should be made clear that any expense for that
advice is entirely yours.
Well, I don't think it makes much sense to craft up an entire package of bylaws, have
a public review and then find out they have no basis in law. It only seems prudent to
have some legal advice -- it might even save us time in debate later.
As for expenses, I've indicated before that we need to come up with a budget. Once
the chapter is formed, there will be some expenses just as a matter of existing. Before
that, there will be some legal expenses for getting set up. Once we determine what these
are (or at least have an estimate), then we can see how/where they would be funded.
At this point I would much rather see interested persons taking an
active interest, and making constructive comments for writing these
by-laws. We will need an initial Board of Directors, and a willingness
to actively participate in the process should be a positive indicator
for choosing who will be on that board. When someone says, "I will be
on the board if you can't find anyone else," I am inspired to look for
someone else. Remember, that being on the board means accepting legal
responsibility for Wikimedia Canada.
While I agree that active participation is necessary, I think that most people are better equipped
to participate in things other then legal details like the bylaws. I've worked in a number of community
organizations and really haven't dealt much with cause to be involved with the bylaw aspect of things.
As I've commented before, this has been "in planning" for quite some time. I'd like to put together a plan
that has some kind of timetable, to ensure we're moving forward. I'm open to suggestions as to how to do
this, as I think we are all after a common goal.
Thanks,
Gerald.