GCD Board Votes - 2009

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January 2009

Reservations

The following motion has passed with 7 members voting in favor and 2 abstaining:

  • In favor: Will Allred, Henry Andrews, Ray Bottorff, Jr., Mike Nielsen, Tony Rose, Lou Mazzella
  • Abstain: Matt Gore, Ralf Haring

MOTION: Indexers who hold reservations are required to index the reserved books within four months of placing the reservation, or four months of the release of the book, whichever is longer. Indexers may appeal to the reservations coordinator for a longer initial deadline if there are mitigating circumstances, such as an unusually complicated or lengthy book; the reservations coordinator may approve or deny such requests as he or she sees fit. The reservations coordinator shall also make every effort to notify reservation holders who are within a month of their reservation expiring that their reservation is about to expire.

If the book in question is not indexed within the given time frame, the indexer may request a single extension of two months. This extension will not be automatic; it must be requested by the reservation holder. If the book is not indexed within that additional time frame, the book will be opened up for reservation by other indexers. The indexer who held the original reservation may not re-reserve the book for at least two months after it has been opened to other indexers, in order to insure other interested indexers have had ample opportunity to reserve the title themselves.

Motion by Lionel, seconded by Henry, voting period: 2009-01-03 - 2009-01-10

February 2009

March 2009

Data License and proper credit in derived works

The following motion has passed with all members voting in favor:

  • In favor: Will Allred, Henry Andrews, Ray Bottorff, Jr., Lionel English, Ralf Haring, Matt Gore, Lou Mazzella, Mike Nielsen, Tony Rose

Motion: The GCD should adopt a Creative Commons Attribution (a.k.a. cc-by) license, specifically version 3.0 Unported as documented at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ (the "Unported" is a rather inelegant way of saying that it's not specific to any national jurisdiction- the other alternatives, are having various national licenses, or rooting our overall license in one particular jurisdiction).

For our purposes, "Attribution" requires:

  • Naming the Grand Comics Database (spelled out) with a link to the main site and the license at least once on each page containing our data. Example:

Data courtesy of the Grand Comics Database under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

where "Grand Comics Database" and "Creative Commons Attribution license" are links. Guidelines and boilerplate for marking usage of cc-by licensed data are available at http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Marking

  • When individual records are listed, a link to the relevant GCD page should be included.
  • The Board may waive either or both of the above requirements at its discretion, on a case-by-case basis.

Motion put forward by Henry Andrews, seconded by Will Allred, voting period: 2009-04-09 - 2009-04-16

[Note: Text has been edited to reflect the name change from Grand Comic-Book Database to Grand Comics Database]

Ownership of and right to contributions

The following motion has passed with all members voting in favor:

  • In favor: Will Allred, Henry Andrews, Ray Bottorff, Jr., Lionel English, Ralf Haring, Matt Gore, Lou Mazzella, Mike Nielsen, Tony Rose

MOTION: Ownership of and right to contributions

The Grand Comic-Book Database is a collaborative effort built on contributions from indexers and editors (collectively referred to as "contributors"). All contributed research is jointly owned by the GCD and the contributor, with the following rights and restrictions:

  • Contributors retain the right to use their contriburtions without having to credit the GCD.
  • The GCD must credit contributors to the best of its ability, subject only to the constraints of available technology and data. Credits should be as clear and specific as possible.
  • When the GCD licenses the data as a whole, it need only require credit to the GCD and a link back to the GCD, which will credit the individual contributors
  • Contributors using GCD data contributed by others should follow the same rules for crediting the GCD as third parties.

Motion put forward by Henry Andrews, seconded by Lou Mazzella. There was discussion on the crediting of individual indexers and the wording of the third point was changed via a motion to amend by Lionel. Voting period: 2009-04-09 - 2009-04-16

Voted on in April. Announced on October 6, 2009 (delay due to concerns about the Creative Commons license as applied to databases, which were resolved).

April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

[NOT VOTED ON] Definition of a comic for indexing purposes

Motion: That we define items that are allowed for indexing in the GCD to be those in which a plurality of the non-advertisement pages are comics. The comic pages can consist of single panel comics. Series that are eligible for inclusion will, from time to time, include issues that do not fit the definition. These issues are to be included.

The following is a non-exclusive list of items that are NOT eligible for indexing:

  • Big Little Books (separation of illustration and text)
  • handbooks (profile page publications)
  • indexes

Exceptions to the above rules may be added to the database if approved by a majority vote of the senior editors.

Motion put forward by Tony Rose, seconded by Ralf Haring. Never voted on due to the server crisis derailing the amendment process.

July 2009

Membership on the ICS Board

The following motion has passed with all members voting in favor:

  • In favor: Will Allred, Henry Andrews, Ray Bottorff, Jr., Lionel English, Ralf Haring, Matt Gore, Lou Mazzella, Mike Nielsen, Tony Rose

Motion: I move that the GCD accept the invitation from the ICS to have one of the GCD board members serve on the ICS advisory board.

I further move that said member keep the GCD Board up to date on their activities with the ICS, so that the GCD remains aware of any opportunities to advance its own interests as a result of said association, and aware of any opportunities the GCD may take part in to advance the cause of the ICS and comics in general.

I further move that since the ICS board will convene an annual meeting at the Comic-Con International: San Diego, and that since GCD board member Lionel English currently resides in San Diego, that he is at present the most logical candidate for said position.

Moved by Lionel English, seconded by Will Allred, voting period 2009-07-18 - 2009-07-21

August 2009

AMENDMENT to Motion to define a comic book for indexing purposes

The following amendment passed with 7 board members voting in favor and 2 agains:

  • In favor: Will Allred, Ray Bottorff, Jr., Lionel English, Matt Gore, Ralf Haring, Lou Mazzella, Mike Nielsen
  • Against: Henry Andrews, Tony Rose

That we strike the phrase "and editorial material (letters pages, editorials, etc)" from the motion currently before us, so that it reads as follows:

That we define items that are allowed for indexing in the GCD to be those in which a plurality of the pages are comics. The comic pages can consist of single panel comics. Series that are eligible for inclusion will, from time to time, include issues that do not fit the definition. These issues are to be included.

The following is a non-exclusive list of items that are NOT eligible for indexing:

  • Big Little Books (separation of illustration and text)
  • handbooks (profile page publications)
  • indexes

Moved by Lionel English, seconded by Lou Mazzella, voting period 2009-08-06 - 2009-08-10

Note: There was never a vote on the main motion (see June above) after this amendment, as the server crisis occurred almost immediately after this vote as can be seen by the next motion.

Transfer of Domain Name

The following motion passed with all available board members voting in favor (IIRC, Matt Gore was out of town or otherwise unavailable):

  • In favor: Will Allred, Henry Andrews, Ray Bottorff, Jr., Lionel English, Ralf Haring, Lou Mazzella, Mike Nielsen, Tony Rose
  • Abstain: Matt Gore

I move to have a Board representative--I nominate Ralf Haring--approach Jon about finalizing transfer of the control of the comics.org domain to the GCD Board, or, temporarily, a representative thereof (namely the aforesaid Ralf Haring). I further move that we not wait till October to do so, when the current registration expires, but that we initiate the process at the earliest available opportunity, so that we have the ability to move the domain name as needed based on site performance.

Moved by Lionel English, seconded by Will Allred, vote period: 2009-08-19 - 2009-08-23

September 2009

Postmaster

The following motion has passed with all members voting in favor:

That we create a postmaster to administer mail.comics.org. Said postmaster would report to the technology coordinator and would be responsible for working with Jon Lovstad to coordinate the closure of the old mail.comics.org, and would be responsible for the creation of a new mail.comics.org upon the successful closure of the old. The postmaster would thereafter be responsible for the creation, maintenance, and deletion of mail accounts, in accordance with standard mail administrator responsibilities and in accordance with policies created by the Board. Postmaster would also be responsible for advising the Board on issues of relevance to the performance of their job.

Should this motion pass Ralf Haring would assume the position of postmaster.

Moved by Lionel English, seconded by Tony Rose, vote period: 2009-09-08 - 2009-09-15

October 2009

Charter Amendment Ballot Initiative

The following motion has passed with all members voting in favor:

That the following initiative be put to the members for their approval or rejection:

That the Statement of Purpose for the GCD be modified from its current form:

Purpose: The Grand Comic-Book Database [herein called the GCD] is a nonprofit, Internet-based organization of international volunteers dedicated to the collection, preservation, and dissemination of information about all comics publications throughout the world. Its primary objective is to build a publicly accessible database using the latest technology available in order to document the medium of comics magazines and books wherever they may be published. The GCD may also pursue other activities that relate to the general purpose described above

To this:

Purpose: The Grand Comics Database [herein called the GCD] is a nonprofit, Internet-based organization of international volunteers dedicated to the collection, preservation, and dissemination of information about all printed comics throughout the world. Its primary objective is to build a publicly accessible database using the latest technology available in order to document the medium of printed comics wherever they may be published, and in whatever form, including but not limited to comic strips, books, albums, periodicals, graphic novels, book collections, bandes dessinées, manga, manhua, and manhwa, and their creators, publishers, and distributors. The GCD may also pursue other activities that relate to the general purpose described above.

Please cast your vote by placing an x next to one of the following:

(   )In Favor 
(   )Against 
(   )Abstain 

Moved by Lionel English, seconded by Will Allred, vote period: 2009-10-11 - 2009-10-18

November 2009

Revised Charter Amendment Ballot

The following motion has passed with all members voting in favor:

That the board put the following ballot before the members to vote upon on a special election week to commence Dec 15: The Board of Directors for the GCD would like you to vote on the following propositions:

1) In the GCD's Statement of Purpose (reproduced below), and in other official documents, replace the name "Grand Comic-Book Database" with the name "Grand Comics Database"

     ____ Approve 
     ____ Reject 
     ____ Abstain 

2) In the GCD's Statement of Purpose (reproduced below) replace the phrases "comics publications" and "comics magazines and books" with the phrase "printed comics".

     ____ Approve 
     ____ Reject 
     ____ Abstain 

3) In the GCD's Statement of Purpose (reproduced below) replace the phrase "a publicly accessible database" with the phrase "publicly accessible collections of structured information".

     ____ Approve 
     ____ Reject 
     ____ Abstain 

For your reference, the GCD's current Statement of Purpose: Purpose: The Grand Comic-Book Database [herein called the GCD] is a nonprofit, Internet-based organization of international volunteers dedicated to the collection, preservation, and dissemination of information about all comics publications throughout the world. Its primary objective is to build a publicly accessible database using the latest technology available in order to document the medium of comics magazines and books wherever they may be published. The GCD may also pursue other activities that relate to the general purpose described above.

Moved by Lionel English, seconded by Ralf Haring and Will Allred, vote period: 2009-10-31 - 2009-11-07

Hosting Expenses

The following motion has passed with all members voting in favor:

That the Board begin the process of transferring the account from Andres, and reimbursing or providing the appropriate donation receipts (at his choice) for his expenses incurred to date.

Moved by Henry Andrews, seconded by Tony Rose, vote period: 2009-11-08 - 2009-11-15

General reservation policy

The following policy was selected through ranked choice (instant runoff) voting:

Short initial reservations (2-6 weeks)

The votes were as follows:

No reservations (temporary locks of some sort, on the order of a few hours, may be used) Short initial reservations (2 - 6 weeks) Long initial reservations (3 months or more)
Will Allred 1 2 3
Henry Andrews 2 1 3
Ray Bottorff Jr 3 1 2
Lionel English 2 1 3
Matt Gore 1 2 3
Ralf Haring 2 1 3
Lou Mazzella 3 1 2
Mike Nielsen 3 1 2
Tony Rose 2 1 3

Moved by Henry Andrews, seconded by Will Allred, vote period: 2009-11-11 - 2009-11-18

Length of initial reservation

The following term of initial reservation was selected using ranked choice (instant runoff) voting:

3 weeks

The votes were as follows:

1 week 2 weeks 3 weeks 4 weeks 5 weeks 6 weeks
Will Allred 1 2 3 4 5 6
Henry Andrews 2 1 3 4 5 6
Ray Bottorff Jr 6 5 4 1 2 3
Lionel English 4 2 1 3 5 6
Matt Gore 1 2 3 4 5 6
Ralf Haring 4 2 1 3 5 6
Lou Mazzella 6 5 4 3 2 1
Mike Nielsen 5 2 1 3 4 6
Tony Rose 5 4 1 2 3 6

This required the full elimination of various alternatives, ending in a 6-3 vote between 3 weeks and 1 week in the final round:

1 week 2 weeks 3 weeks 4 weeks 5 weeks 6 weeks
Round One 2 1 4 1 0 1
Round Two 2 1 4 1 1
Round Three 2 1 4 2
Round Four 3 4 2
Round Five 3 6

Using the same ranked choice voting as in the previous reservation-related vote, please rank your choices for length of initial reservation period. This vote does *not* affect how reservations may (or may not) be continued beyond the initial period. At the end of this initial period, the reservation will expire (move into the pending queue if there are changes, or simply be dropped if there are no changes) unless conditions for continuation/renewal (to be discussed separately) are met. The Board reserves the right to set conditions for exceptions to this default time period with a future vote.

Moved by Henry Andrews, seconded by Tony Rose, vote period: 2009-11-18 - 2009-11-25

Ongoing reservations

The following motion has passed with 7 members voting in favor and 2 members voting against:

  • In favor: Henry Andrews, Ray Bottorff, Jr., Peter Croome, Lionel English, Ralf Haring, Lou Mazzella, Tony Rose
  • Against: Will Allred, Matt Gore

That the GCD will continue to provide for ongoing series reservations. Specific limits placed on these (such as the maximum number held) are *not* addressed by this vote.

Moved by Henry Andrews, seconded by Lionel English, vote period: 2009-11-21 - 2009-11-29

[FAILED] Only ongoing reservation holder can add issues

The following motion FAILED with 5 members voting against and 4 members voting in favor:

  • In favor: Henry Andrews, Ray Bottorff, Jr., Lionel English, Tony Rose
  • Against: Will Allred, Peter Croome, Matt Gore, Ralf Haring, Lou Mazzella

That the holder of the ongoing reservation shall be the *only* person who can add issues to the series (this guards against someone adding the issues early and causing an improper timeout- early additions to series with no ongoing reservation are not addressed on this ballot)

Moved by Henry Andrews, seconded by Lionel English, vote period: 2009-11-21 - 2009-11-29

Exceptions for reservations holders who receive books monthly

The following motion has passed with 5 members voting in favor and 4 members voting against:

  • In favor: Henry Andrews, Ray Bottorff, Jr., Peter Croome, Lou Mazzella, Tony Rose
  • Against: Will Allred, Lionel English, Matt Gore, Ralf Haring

That since the initial reservation timeout is less than one month (specifically 3 weeks), exceptions should be made for reservation holders who receive their books on a monthly bases. The specifics of the exceptions will be voted on separately if this motion passes.

Moved by Henry Andrews, seconded by Lionel English, vote period: 2009-11-21 - 2009-11-29


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