changed charter, new elections proposal

[Bart Decrem <bart eazel com>]

Hi everyone,

I just modified the charter, removing the slates system.  I think this
is by popular demand :)

Check it out at http://www.decrem.com/gnomefdn.html.  There's a change
log at the end.

Here's a new proposal for how to hold elections.

1.  Proposed election process
------------------
- The charter provides for 7 to 15 board seats.  For this election, I
propose that we have 11 board members.  I picked this number because
it's odd, and large enough to allow a broad mix of people, but hopefully
still manageable.
- I don't think we should designate specific slots for specific types of
representatives.  If we try to set aside slots for "documentation
person" or whatever, I think we're going to end up with a logistical
nightmare and flame wars that make the debate about slates look like a
joy.  It would get hopelessly complicated.  The reasons for this have
been discussed at length on this list in recent days.  People should
just vote for people that they think will best represent GNOME in all
its diversity.
- I propose that candidates nominate themselves by sending email to a
list to be created by Havoc with a few sentences about their involvement
with GNOME and what they would add to the board.  There'd be a two-week
period for people to nominate themselves, and then we'd publish a list
of candidates (see timeline).
- I propose that everyone be allowed to vote for up to 11 candidates.
So everyone gets to elect their dream-team.
- Havoc will write a script to help tally the votes.  Votes would be
held by sending email to vote gnome org (or whatever).  Havoc would come
up with a ballot format that could be processed by his script.

2.  Proposed timeline
--------------
- October 4 (Wednesday): Announce the elections on Gnotices,
Gnome-announce, invite people to register to vote, invite people to
nominate themselves.
- October 23 (Monday): Deadline for candidate nominations for the
elections.  Deadline for making changes to the charter.
- October 25 (Wednesday): Candidate list posted on Gnotices.
- October 30 (Monday): Deadline to register to vote.
- November 1 (Wednesday): Elections begin.
- November 8 (Wednesday): Elections end.
- November 10 (Friday): Election results announced.

3.  Next steps
---------
If people are comfortable with this approach, we would draft and
circulate the announcement to go up on Gnotices, update the FAQ.  Then
Havoc would create new mailing lists and a voting script.  People would
then nominate themselves, and there could be comments and discussions as
candidate nominations come in.

Cheers,

Bart