Constitution Planner
From STNY LUG Wiki
All planning for the official Constitution page should go here, this includes FAQ's for now.
Contents |
Name
This organization will be know as the Southern Tier of New York Linux Users Group hereafter referred to as STNY LUG.
Info
The info for subscriptions or any other matter is as follows First Name: STNY Last Name: LUG Street: City: ZIP: State: Phone: Email: Gender: Male Birthday: April 1, 1979
Why do we need a Constitution?
- Apply for a Bank Account
- Apply for grants/receive funding
- Hire or use Lecture Theaters if BU becomes unavailable
- Write Letters from STNY LUG to government bodies
- Get liability insurance if needed for Installfests or other projects
- Allow STNY LUG to endorse companies
Why do we need a bank account?
- Hold money that is raised throughout the year from Auctions, Barbecues, T-Shirt sales and Donations and the like.
- To hold money for a new STNY LUG Web
- To hold sponsorship funds
- To grant scholarships for those pursuing a technical degree from the Southern Tier
Legal Pros/Cons
The case for formal LUG organisation can be debated:
Pro: Incorporation and recognized tax-exemption limits liability and helps the group carry insurance. It aids fundraising. It avoids claims for tax on group income.
Con: Liability shouldn't be a problem for modestly careful people. (You're not doing skydiving, after all.) Fundraising isn't needed for a group whose activities needn't involve significant expenses. (Dead-tree newsletters are so 1980.) Not needing a treasury, you avoid needing to argue over it, file reports about it, or fear it being taxed away. Meeting space can usually be gotten for free at ISPs, colleges, pizza parlours, brewpubs, coffeehouses, computer-training firms, GNU/Linux-oriented companies, or other friendly institutions, and can therefore be free of charge to the public. No revenues and no expenses means less need for organization and concomitant hassles.
For whatever it's worth, this HOWTO's originator and second maintainer lean, respectively, towards the pro and con sides of the issue -- but choose your own poison: If interested in formally organizing your LUG, this section will introduce you to some relevant issues.
Note: this section should not be construed as competent legal counsel. These issues require the expertise of competent legal counsel; you should, before acting on any of the statements made in this section, consult an attorney.
Liability concerning Free Software
The undersigned has chosen to accept Free software. The definition of Free software includes Free Software, Open Source Software and Linux. It is understood that this is installed and used at the owner's own risk and that the owner has granted permission to install the software on the hardware involved. It is also understood that the software comes with:
- No guarantee
- No installation or ongoing technical support from STNY LUG or it's users.
STNY LUG, volunteers of these groups or the person that has given you or installed the software is not responsible for anything concerning the software and holds no liability for:
- Any software
- Any data lost or corrupted
- Any Hardware Malfunction or destruction
- Received by:
- Date:
- Witness:
Liability concerning Free Software, Technical recommendations and Installation at a STNY LUG Install Fest
The undersigned has chosen to accept Free software and to have that installed on their computer. The definition of Free software includes Free Software, Open Source Software and Linux. It is understood that this is installed and used at the owner's own risk and that the owner has granted permission to install the software on the hardware involved. It is also understood that the software comes with:
- No guarantee
- No installation or ongoing technical support from STNY LUG or it's users.
- The person that is doing the installation can have a varying degree of expertise in the subject and the results are not guaranteed
STNY LUG, volunteers of these groups or the person that is installing the software for you is not responsible for anything concerning the installation of the software and holds no liability for:
- Any software
- Any data lost or corrupted
- Any Hardware Malfunction or destruction
- Received by:
- Date:
- Witness:
Membership
- Membership shall not be denied to any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran status (except for those sex qualifications directly relevant to the organizational purpose).
- There will be no maximum number of members
- Wiki page identifying oneself is highly recommended
- Members who attend all of the total meetings per year will be granted Platinum Status (One excused absence) and be awarded the coveted title of Sir Tuxalot
- ID tags will be presented to members who attend more than three quarter (3/4) of the total meetings per year and be granted Gold status
- Members who attend more than one-half (1/2) the total meetings per year will be granted Silver Status
- Members who attend more than one-quarter (1/4) the total meetings per year will be granted Bronze Status
- A member of no status must contribute to STNY LUG simply by attending one (1) meeting per year or by keeping correspondence with any active member of STNY LUG
Voting
- Each registered voter must be a Bronze Member of STNY LUG
- Absentee ballots will be accepted
- Voting will occur once every two years in April (See here)
- 1 President
- 1 Vice President
- 1 Secretary
- 1 Treasurer
Amendments
- Require a two-thirds vote by Bronze members
