Discussion of RadioExam.Org Charter in SBAY.ORG

This discussion is intended to establish the traditions of RadioExam.Org for its charter under the SBAY.ORG By-Laws. RadioExam.Org previously existed as a project operated solely by Ian Kluft, author of the initial version of this charter, who is submitting the project to the corporation in order to create a larger community around it that it needs to reach its potential. This is not the actual charter, but just a discussion and note-taking area for it.

We wrote in the corporate by-laws intending to have Open Source Software projects as SIGs. But this is the first one. It borrows from the structure of Open Source projects under the corporate umbrellas of the Apache Software Foundation and the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo). OSGeo is also recently incorporated and following ASF's model, though with some differences in style. Some notable differences in our structure:

• The Steering Committee is part of the SIG, not specified in the corporation's by-laws. (This is because we have other types of SIGs, such as clubs and events.)
• We have the concept of membership in the SIG. A member may be a software committer or an operations participant. A member may be nominated and approved by either the Steering Committee or the whole membership.
• While the Steering Committee runs the organization like in ASF or OSGeo projects, in order to add some balance, votes by the membership can override some Steering Committee decisions, or in extreme cases remove Steering Committee members.

In some places this refers to SBAY.ORG's By-Laws, which can be found at http://corp.sbay.org/

Purpose

RadioExam.Org maintains Open Source software which is available for free to the public, and one or more web sites using that software, which provides online practice for FCC Amateur Radio examinations. In general this community may provide volunteer-operated support for those studying for Amateur Radio exams that members of our volunteer community offer to perform. The following related activities are also specifically included in the purpose and intended community of the organization:

• provide redundant web sites using the RadioExam.Org exam practice software
• provide a calendar of upcoming official exam sessions and/or links to examiner organizations' calendars
• provide a location for anyone teaching classes in preparation for the Amateur Radio exams to post their information in a public calendar of upcoming classes

RadioExam.Org is a Special Interest Group (SIG) of the South Bay Community Network, Inc., a California non-profit corporation, also known as SBAY.ORG or SBAY. RadioExam.Org is organized under Article 12 of the corporation's By-Laws.

Definitions

"The corporation" refers to the South Bay Community Network, Inc.

"The organization" refers to RadioExam.Org, which is organized as a Special Interest Group under the corporation.

A "simple majority vote" is a vote where the minimum number to pass must be greater than a fraction of the total votes that were cast. If no other fraction or percentage is specified then the vote must be greater than 1/2 to pass.

An "absolute majority vote" is a vote there the minimum number to pass must be greater than a fraction of the total eligible voters. If no other fraction or percentage is specified then the vote must be greater than 2/3 to pass.

RadioExam.Org Officers

The Steering Committee oversees the organization including software development, operational and community aspects. All members of the Steering Committee are officers of the organization.

Each calendar year or any time that there is a vacancy, the Steering Committee shall elect one of its members to act as the RadioExam.Org Coordinator. The Coordinator shall act as the chair of the Steering Committee. All activities which represent RadioExam.Org externally shall be under the authority of the Coordinator.

The Steering Committee may create or remove volunteer positions. The Steering Committee may appoint, delegate or remove volunteers in any position created by the Steering Committee.

The corporation's Board of Directors may remove any Steering Committee member or volunteer from their position.

The Steering Committee shall have responsibility to ensure that RadioExam.Org complies with (in order from highest to lowest precedence)

• applicable federal, state and local laws
• the corporation's By-Laws
• RadioExam.Org's charter (this document)
• the corporation's rules and policies
• RadioExam.Org rules and policies

SIG Coordinator

The RadioExam.Org Coordinator shall serve as the SIG Coordinator according to the corporation's By-Laws, and represent RadioExam.Org to the corporation.

Qualifications of Steering Committee members

Each Steering Committee member shall be a member in good standing of the corporation. The Steering Committee may nominate pending new Steering Committee members for membership in the corporation if necessary in order to meet this qualification.

Each Steering Committee member shall be a member in good standing of RadioExam.Org.

Procedures for election and removal of Steering Committee members

Any member of the Steering Committee may nominate a qualified member of RadioExam.Org for Steering Committee membership.

The Steering Committee is intended to act as the core volunteers of the Open Source Software project. Terms of Steering Committee members do not expire unless any policy of the organization specifies rules for expiration.

Nominations must include a description of the merit by which the individual is believed to have earned this status.

A simple majority vote of the Steering Committee is required to approve the nomination and add the member to the Steering Committee.

A member of the Steering Committee may be removed by one of the following methods:

• requiring a statement of cause, a 2/3 absolute majority vote of the Steering Committee
• requiring a statement of cause, a 2/3 simple majority vote of the members of RadioExam.Org cast by e-mail on the mail list, including a minimum number of votes in favor of removal of 3 in total or 10% of the total membership, whichever is higher
• with or without cause by the corporation's Board of Directors

E-mail lists

RadioExam.Org shall maintain e-mail lists for discussion. New e-mail lists may be created with the approval of the RadioExam.Org Coordinator or Steering Committee.

RadioExam.Org shall adhere to the corporation's e-mail list policies including e-mail etiquette. RadioExam.Org may make its own mail list policies according to the Policies and Rules section below.

Procedures for voting

The following procedure applies to votes on issues put before the Steering Committee or before the membership of RadioExam.Org.

Voting may take place by e-mail with the following requirements. This procedure is called an "e-mail vote".

• Voting shall take place within a minimum period set by policy. In the absence of such a policy, the minimum period shall be 24 hours.
• Only votes e-mailed to the entire votership will be counted. Votes shall be known to the entire votership. The smallest mail list including all the valid voters is recommended. Votes sent to an incorrect destination may be re-sent by the voter or forwarded with the voter's permission to the mail list.
• Only members in good standing shall be eligible to vote.
• Votes use the style from the BSD and Apache open source projects:
  • "+1" is a positive vote
  • "0" is an abstention
  • "-1" is a veto, which requires an explanation and follow-up discussion, in which the vote may be changed if reasons for the objection or question are resolved. Unless voting periods are specified by policy, the following rules shall apply:
    • If a veto occurs with less than 6 hours remaining in the vote, then the discussion period may continue until 6 hours after the veto.
    • Any period after the end of the 24 hours is called the "extended voting period".
    • A veto during an extended voting period shall not cause an additional extension.
  • Members may change their votes during the discussion period.
• Unless a specific margin to pass is specified by this charter, the following criteria are required for a vote to pass:
  • A vote on an issue fails if there are any unresolved vetos at the end of the voting period and extended discussion period.
  • Votes on any issue require a minimum of 3 positive votes in order to pass.

Policies and Rules

Policies and Rules may be enacted, amended or removed by simple majority vote of the Steering Committee.

Any RadioExam.Org member in good standing may also submit proposals for policies and rules. A draft of the policy shall be posted to the members mail list for a minimum of 24 hours of review, unless cancelled by its author.

The RadioExam.Org membership may adopt proposed policies or remove existing policies of the organization by a simple majority e-mail vote.

Policy and rule votes by the membership take precedence over those by the Steering Committee.

Any RadioExam.Org policy or rule may be removed by the corporation's Board of Directors.

In case of conflict, the corporation's by-laws, the corporation's policies, US Federal law, and laws of applicable state and local governments take precedence over any RadioExam.Org policy. A policy or proposed policy found by the Steering Committee or the corporation to be in violation shall be cancelled and returned to its author with recommendations as a new proposal.

Qualifications for membership in RadioExam.Org

There are two methods to become a member of RadioExam.Org: a software committer or an operations participant.

Individuals may perform volunteer assistance without being members.

Software developers may qualify for membership by submission of useful patches or providing other assistance which indicates merit.

Operations participants may qualify for membership by providing resources and/or assistance with infrastructure, such as web sites or mail lists, which indicates merit.

A new member may be accepted by either of the following methods:

• A Steering Committee member nominates the individual and the Steering Committee votes to approve.
• Any RadioExam.Org member in good standing nominates the individual and the RadioExam.Org membership votes to approve.

Removal or suspension of RadioExam.Org Members for misconduct

Any RadioExam.Org member who is found by the Steering Committee to have broken rules or committed behavior contrary to the purpose of RadioExam.Org shall be subject to disciplinary action. If the individual is on the Steering Committee, the decision shall be made by the remainder of the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee shall decide whether the degree of the offense warrants requiring an apology and temporary suspension of some or all membership privileges, or in the most severe circumstances expulsion from RadioExam.Org. Expulsion of a RadioExam.Org member requires a 2/3 vote of the Steering Committee - all others require a simple majority vote.

A RadioExam.Org member shall not be considered on good standing while a suspension of any membership privileges is in effect.

Decision-making procedures and conflict resolution

Decision-making procedures of Article 6 of the corporation's By-Laws shall also govern decisions within RadioExam.Org. It shall be the responsibility of the Coordinator to ensure that these procedures are followed and to perform or delegate the role of conflict resolution arbitration when necessary.

Amendments to the RadioExam.Org Charter

This document may be amended when a proposed amendment is announced to the RadioExam.Org members and approved by either of the following:

• A 2/3 absolute majority vote of the RadioExam.Org members and approval by a simple majority vote of the corporation's Board of Directors.
• A 2/3 absolute majority vote of the corporation's Board of Directors.