Structure Group Report 2011-01-31

STRUCTURE GROUP REPORT 31st JANUARY 2011 http://freegle.it/Structure

This is a summary of discussions since our last report of 31st December 2010, covering messages 6931 to 7226. Our membership stands at 74 (an increase of 2 since last month).

The topics we have discussed this month are below.

Annual Election for Reps

Reps contributed to a thread which resulted in a document giving the pros and cons of being a Rep over the past year. The document link was published on Central to help inform candidates and the electorate about the job of a Rep. Questions raised on the group for candidates and serving Reps were posted on Central on behalf of the group. A spreadsheet was created to compile the responses and resumes of candidates.

Group Poll

Task 55, priority 10

A poll was created on the group: "Do you agree that if a vacancy for any elected post (Rep, Ombudsman, Returning Officer etc.) occurs within 3 months of election, the role vacancy should be offered to the next highest voted candidate? Result: 28 votes, 26 'Yes', 2 'No' This hasn't been progressed, however, as there was dissension on the group about whether this was a clear enough question as it was possible for someone getting a very low vote (albeit as next highest voted candidate) to step into a role and also that it should probably be a condition stated before any election process takes place. This idea has been put on the task list, but mothballed for the time being.

Recent National Poll

Comments received from participants in the last national poll (to adopt documents and approve national volunteer status) were posted on the group. Comments will be taken into consideration when appropriate discussions take place. The poll approved documents were all uploaded and locked to the wiki. National volunteers criteria will be discussed, Task 54, Priority 3.

Central Group Moderation

Discussions were had about what to do about trolls and whether there is a need to review the message moderation policy on Central. At the moment the policy is to not moderate any members messages. The Central Mods Team will discuss this.

Central Group Mods Team Remit

Task 50, priority 2

Work continued on this remit document resulting in a draft which has been sent to the proofreaders. The intention is then to post it to Central for discussion, before passing to the Reps to approve or not. It was agreed that a Reps observer would be advisable for the team.

Other/Special Interest Groups

Task 10 and 10a

It was agreed to mark Task 10 'complete' on our task list as Start is handling affiliation criteria for special interest groups as voted for in the October 2009 poll. It was noted that a strategic view should be taken, so that difficult precedents are not set, but also acknowledged that until situations are presented, it is hard to anticipate future problems. Task 10a is pending, which covers a second set of affiliation criteria whcih would be required for groups such as cafes, as voted for in the January 2010 poll.

Freegle as a Charity?

Task 18, Priority 2

This subject has been raised on and off for months and now brought forward, prompted by questions posted on Central for Rep candidates. This is difficult to evaluate, but now the Reps have a remit to look at the strategic direction for Freegle, this should tie into those discussions in the future. A page has been set up on the wiki for general information - http://wiki.ilovefreegle.org/Charitable_Status , which can be edited as discussions progress.

Working Group Owners

Task 20, Priority 4

The proposal that there should be a restriction on how many working groups one person should own is being discussed. A recommendation will be posted on Central once agreed on the Group.

Adjudication Panel Decision and Process

Task 51, Priority 3

The decision of the recent Adjudication Panel was received. A review of the process will be conducted. Please join our group and contribute to this task if you have constructive comments to contribute on the procedures we have adopted. Personal information and details of the recent decision will not be discussed.

Teamwork

Task 56, Priority 10

Following a discussion by the Reps about teamwork, this was added to the Task List for future debate.

Task List Our Task List can be viewed at http://freegle.it/StructureTasks

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If any of the above topics interest you, or if you have proposals about the structure of Freegle to suggest, please do join our group.

The spokespeople for this group are Jacky (Great Yarmouth) and Edward (Rep, Edinburgh). Owners are Wendy (Woodley) and Jacky.

This report was posted on Central as a Special Notice 31st January 2011

Back to Freegle Structure or Structure Group Report 2010-12-31, or forwards to Structure Group Report 2011-02-28