GCD Board Votes - 2010

February 2010

GCD-Admin Mailing List (GCD-Policy)

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

That the GCD create a new mailing list, tentatively called "gcd-admin" but subject to change before its creation at the will of the membership without need for further board action, for the express purpose of debating and resolving questions of day-to-day operations.

The mailing list shall be open to anyone who would like to join, but no members shall be subscribed automatically.

The mailing list archives shall be open to all members, but closed to non-members.

Operational questions without clear answers that arise on gcd-main or any other GCD mailing list should be moved to this list, with a notification to the original list that topic is being discussed on gcd-admin. Upon the resolution or abandonment of a topic, its resolution (or lack) should be posted to the gcd-main (and, if the list of origin was not gcd-main, gcd-board or gcd-contact, the list of origin).

Questions suitable for discussion on gcd-admin include but are not limited to:

 * Formatting questions
 * Non-technical aspects of proposed new, changed or deleted fields
 * Questions about whether an item belongs in the database or not
 * How to go about resolving a problem getting a changed approved

The above questions are no longer considered suitable for extended debate gcd-main (simple question and answer sessions are always permitted- these are distinguished by their lack of controversy).

Questions not suitable for discussion on gcd-admin include but are not limited to:

 * Discussions of the data itself (which belongs on gcd-main as it is of broad interest)
 * Discussions of technical details beyond that which is necessary to explain constraints (or their lack) on day-to-day operations
 

Notice of the new mailing list shall be posted to gcd-main, gcd-chat, gcd-tech and gcd-editor, along with clear instructions for how one may subscribe and a clear notice that no one shall be subscribed automatically.

May 2010

Elimination of the Senior Editors Group

The following motion has passed with 8 members voting in favor and one member abstaining:

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

That the Senior Editors Group (as created by the Board in September 2007) be eliminated. They were formed to make formatting and editorial decisions and that role has been re-assigned to the membership at large via the gcd-policy list.

Moved by Peter Croome, seconded by Lou Mazzella, voting period: 2010-05-05 - 2010-05-12

Scope of gcd-policy list decision-making authority

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

That the gcd-policy list is empowered to make decisions (via process to be determined in future Board motions) on topics including, but not necessarily limited to:

• Rules about field formats
• Adding, removing, combining, splitting or otherwise restructuring fields within the GCD's existing charter
• Case-by-case clarification of how to apply existing rules

The following areas are explicitly placed outside of the scope of gcd-policy and are reserved to the Board, Membership, or other Board-designated group under the guidance of the Charter:

• Interpreting the charter
• Setting the rules through which gcd-policy produces rules
• Personnel decisions (coordinators, editors/approvers, etc.)
• Technical decisions (how something will be implemented, as opposed to what will be implemented)
• In general, any decision that impacts the project more broadly than the areas of responsibility outlined in the previous list

When there is a dispute or uncertainty over a particular topic's suitability for a gcd-policy decision, the Board shall resolve the dispute or uncertainty through it's usual voting process.

Moved by Henry Andrews, seconded by Ralf Haring, voting period: 2010-05-08 - 2010-05-15

General Coordinator Framework

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

That all "Coordinator" positions be established along the following lines, unless otherwise specified in the motions establishing each individual position.

• Each position shall be held by three individuals.
• Each individual holds a one-year term, evenly spaced around the calendar year:

 * A February term, filled by the Board during January 
 * A June term, filled by the Board during May 
 * An October term, filled by the Board during September 
 * A coordinator may be subject to a forced recall vote on the Board if a number of members equal to the current size of the Board request such a vote.  After the failure of a recall vote, another vote may not be forced by the membership until three months have passed.   
 * The Board shall fill any vacancies resulting from recall or resignation immediately. 
 * Positions filled (due to a new position or the need for a mid-term replacement) within two months before the beginning of a term are considered to be part of that following term.  Otherwise they are considered to be serving the remainder of the previous term. 
 * A Coordinator may step down at any time, for any reason or no reason.  Likewise the Board may remove a Coordinator any time through a motion, although the Board must state a reason. 

• The Board shall post the list of Coordinator positions that are being considered, the requirements one must have to serve in each position, and the current holders of each position, to the gcd-main mailing list and any other general list associated with the position at the beginning of the month of consideration. This will allow those who qualify for the position to notify the Board of their interest.

 * For new positions or mid-term replacements, the announcement should be made as soon as is practical, and the Board vote on the position should take place no earlier than one week after the announcement. 
 * The Board shall vote on a motion to appoint or re-appoint a given person to the Coordinator role through the same process as any other motion. 

• Each Coordinator position is associated with a corresponding email address that will reach all current holders of the position.
• Public-facing coordinator positions shall have one coordinator designated as the lead.

 * A public-facing coordinator is one that exists to handle requests from outside of the GCD mailing lists, either through the web site or through public email. 
 * While all three coordinators are equally empowered to respond to requests from the public, the lead coordinator is responsible for ensuring that someone sends a suitable response in a timely manner.  They may do so themselves, or they may request that one of the other coordinators respond. 
 * The lead shall be chosen by the coordinators, and the position may be reassigned among them as often as they deem necessary. 
 * If the coordinators cannot agree on the lead, one shall be appointed by the Board.  If no coordinator is willing to serve as lead, then the coordinator with the least time remaining in their term must step down, and a new coordinator who is willing to serve is lead can be selected. 

• Coordinator groups responsible for issuing decisions may in general produce a decision whenever two of the three Coordinators agree.

 * In groups that include a lead coordinator, the lead's vote carries no more weight than that of either of the other two coordinators. 
 * The Board may overturn decisions issued by coordinators. 
 * As such decisions are generally intended to facilitate normal operation rather than determine binding policy, no process to force a Board vote shall exist.  As only two Board members are needed to bring up a motion for voting, the bar for getting a vote is not overly high. 

• A coordinator who has failed to help carry out the position's duties for two consecutive months and does not respond to inquires may be removed by the other two coordinators.

 * If the coordinator being removed disputes the charges, the Board shall resolve the dispute.  However, as this rule is intended to be used when a coordinator disappears and can no longer be contacted, it is expected that such disputes shall be rare. 
 * A coordinator may appoint a temporary replacement for up to one month with the consent of the other two coordinators.  Disagreements on this matter are to be resolved by the Board. 

The existing position of Technical Coordinator is exempted from these rules on the grounds that it is primarily an internal liaison and arbitration position. Other existing positions are slated for review by the Board, which will determine the applicability of this framework in their individual motions.

Moved by Henry Andrews, seconded by Lou Mazzella, vote period: 2010-05-20 - 2010-05-27

Data Distribution Policy

The following motion has passed with 7 members voting in favor and 2 against: In favor: Will Allred, Henry Andrews, Peter Croome, Lionel English, Ralf Haring, Lou Mazzella, Matt Gore Against: Ray Bottorff, Jr., Tony Rose

That the GCD distribute its data as a bi-weekly delivery of the complete then-current public data set, in formats including but not necessarily limited to a direct database dump of the public tables and fields. The tech team is directed to fulfill this policy on a best effort basis, with the understanding that a fully automated delivery is both practical and preferred. The establishment of this policy does not prevent the GCD from making alternate arrangements for additional service on a case-by-case basis.

Moved by Henry Andrews, seconded by Will Allred, vote period: 2010-05-20 - 2010-05-27