[Osmf-talk] Thanks for making the effort

[Jonathan Harley]

On 13/12/14 11:13, Simon Poole wrote:
> Now that we have (semi-)official results from the General Meeting this
> month, I would like to thank everybody who participated in the vote and
> extend a special thanks to the board members that organized the event in
> an efficient fashion.
>
> As I said from the very beginning the 75% hurdle would be difficult to
> pass and without board support essentially impossible. However I believe
> the 56% majority gives a clear signal to the board and would hope that
> it is taken seriously and results in action
>

I don't think a result so close to 50% sends a clear signal to the board 
about what action is needed. But I do hope there will be action.

I think what the EGM does make clear is that proposals that are put in 
front of the membership fully-formed, bypassing the consensus-building 
process, are doomed to failure. This EGM felt rushed. There was no 
debate about the relative merits of longer or shorter term limits. No 
options were offered and nobody bothered to run a straw poll to find out 
what people on the mailing list thought about them. In short, there was 
no real attempt to home in on a consensus about the proposals, before 
calling an EGM to vote on them.

And perhaps a consensus really isn't possible on term limits, if we are 
really split 56/44 on it, but I suspect opinion could be shifted. 
Personally, I'm generally against term limits because they limit my 
choice as a voter, but I feel I could be persuaded if someone could 
demonstrate that having them is better than not having them.

I'm also not sure that proposals concerning the accountability of our 
board should come from the board. Perhaps next time round, we should 
suggest that the board themselves should actually refrain from offering 
a public opinion about resolutions pertaining to accountability? What 
does anyone else think?

I do think that we need better accountability. I don't think it's the 
highest priority, but I think we should aim to have new proposals on the 
table at the next AGM - whether it's to change the Articles or just to 
pass a "this meeting resolves..." mandate to the board. If anything will 
send "a clear signal to the board" as Simon puts it, it's that we 
continue discussing accountability and coming up with concrete proposals 
to improve it.

So I say, let the debate continue. Maybe not right now, but in enough 
time before the AGM to build a consensus about the next step forward.


Jonathan.


-- 
Dr Jonathan Harley   :    Managing Director    :   SpiffyMap Ltd

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