[Osmf-talk] Possible AoA Amendment #2: Your boss can't force you to vote a certain way

[Simon Poole]

Am 26.10.2020 um 10:06 schrieb Sander Deryckere:
> Hello all,
>
> As an outsider with little legal knowledge, I also wonder how similar 
> foundations handle this.
> Could you get in touch with entities like the Wikimedia Foundation, or 
> the Linux Foundation?

The WMF doesn't have any members and the board is for all practical 
purposes not democratically controlled nor determined (the suspicion is 
that in reality the whole thing is run by WMF employees, but I digress).

The Linux Foundation is already controlled by big business so it isn't 
clear what a hostile takeover in context of this discussion would be for 
starters.

> Both manage community-created, open-licensed, intellectual property? 
> Do they have measures in place to avoid hostile takeovers?
>
It isn't as if the OSMF doesn't have some protections

- the CTs are essentially immutable and strongly regulate how the 
foundation can distribute the data, even if your favourite boefei [1] 
would completely control everything there is not much they could do 
about that,

- if the company is dissolved or would up any remaining funds need to go 
to an organisation with similar goals or a charity.

- but the by far most substantial protection is that the OSMF doesn't 
really control much of the project to start with, and it is unclear what 
your boefei would achieve with OSMF control that it couldn't do without 
with a lot less hassle.

What the OSMF currently doesn't have is an asset lock which would stop 
distribution (but not necessarily a sale) of assets to members and other 
organisations (except to those with a similar purpose etc). Historically 
we never added this because there was a feeling that the foundation 
would need the flexibility to reorganize and move, and that is 
definitely still the case. Note: while this would have to be confirmed, 
but I suspect that neither the OSMF intellectual property, nor the OSM 
data would be considered assets in the sense of a conventional asset 
lock anyway (this probably could be worked around). A different approach 
could be the self-electing cabal for example as HOT is organised, not 
something that is imho not practical for a mass membership organisation 
the OSMF aspires to be, not even considering the problematic issue of 
creating a sectarian non-diverse bubble of opinions that this results in.

Simon

1. "Böeser Feind" Swiss military slang for unnamed evil enemy that tends 
to never materialize


> Kind regards,
> Sander
>
> Op ma 26 okt. 2020 om 05:07 schreef Heather Leson 
> <heatherleson at gmail.com <mailto:heatherleson at gmail.com>>:
>
>     Morning all and thanks for this conversation.
>
>     Let's pause and take the time to do the consulation and writing
>     with legal advice. Mikel (on list) and Rob (on diary) both asked
>     for this. Yes, there needs to be adjustments, but let's make this
>     a top priority with the board for the next round.
>
>
>     Heather
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