Minutes of Vancouver Free-Net Meeting -- Steering Committee 11 May 1993 -- 7:30 PM Tuesday -- Vancouver Public Library Agenda 1. Acceptance of the agenda 2. Minutes of the last meeting 3. Strategic & policy issues Institutional membership/sponsorship Membership application form Membership brochure Information providers brochure Membership drive Incorporation of society Application for tax exempt status 4. Constitutional update 5. AGM 6. Logo 7. User ID registration 8. Fall conference 9. Terms of reference & timelines 10. Committee reports The meeting started at 7:30 PM. Attendance: (11 members) Whitney Burgess, Brian Campbell (chair), Steven Chan, Derek Dowden, Mark Gendron, Stuart Hertzog, Larry Kuehn, Phil Lyons, Sandy Mayo, Ian Theaker, Jacqueline van Dyk 1. Acceptance of the agenda The agenda was adopted in the form noted above. 2. Minutes of the last meeting Minutes were not available. 3. Strategic and policy issues Institutional membership/sponsorship. It was noted that a number of institutions (eg, libraries, InterLink) are able to offer support in terms of taking membership or acting as sponsors -- the society needs to formulate a package for institutional membership/sponsorship. Membership application form/Membership brochure. A version designed by Derek Dowden was presented. Several modifications were suggested: Include a $15 "low income" category. Indicate membership benefits (eg, right to vote). Distinguish between membership and registration. Motion (Mark Gendron/Phil Lyons): To accept the modified form as the interim membership form. Carried. Information provider brochure. Not discussed. Membership drive. A drive will be done next week. It was suggested that a membership card be designed. Incorporation of society. Incorporation papers were sent to Victoria on Saturday. The society should be incorporated within three weeks. An application for tax exempt status will occur immediately afterwards. 4. Constitutional update Was dealt with above. 5. AGM The proposed agenda include: (1a) committee reports, (1b) presentation of policy papers on censorship and corporate participation, (1c) elections for directors, (2a) demonstartion of a freenet, (2b) open forum. It was noted that committees will need to elect a member for nomination. It was proposed that the society should recruit members for broader representation (eg, gender, ethnic, and geographic). Motion (Larry Kuehn/Phil Lyons): To form a nomination committee, consisting of Brian Campbell, Sandy Mayo, and Jacqueline van Dyk. Carried. 6. Logo There were no submissions to the logo contest, other than Derek Dowden's. It was decided to fax Derek's logo design to people who are interested in looking at it, and to possibly adopt it as the official logo. 7. User ID registration Examples of registration forms from existing Freenets were presented. A working group from the system design/software/hardware committee will shortly present issues and options on user registration. 8. Fall conference It was proposed for the society to participate with others to hold a conference in the first week of November, on a Saturday and Sunday. Possible topics include (1) general issues on information access, and (2) FreeNet issues. The implications for the society would be for the community/content and publicity committees to work with the BCLA and other possible partners (BCTF, SFU Dept of Communications) to organize the conference. Motion (Larry Kuehn/Stuart Hertzog): To explore the concept of having a conference. Carried. 9. Terms of reference & timelines. Fundraising committee. Stuart Hertzog presented a written discussion, in which it noted that the fundraising committee is not functioning well, and that a more viable option is to hire a professional fundraiser on commission. General discussion: Some members thought it was a good idea to get a professional fundraiser, but that there may be other options, such as revitalizing the fundraising committee, and being more aggressive in seeking more suitable volunteers. It was suggested that the committee could also be restructured to have two components: (1) ongoing volunteers to coordinate, and (2) a looser association of advisors with connections to the funding sources. It was also noted that the fundraising effort may not be too difficult, because the FreeNet project is interesting, viable, and topical, and that there seems to be already a core of willing funders. There were also discussions on specific issues on fundraising, such as actual amounts to aim for. Motion: (Derek Dowden/Steven Chan): To form a working committee (consisting of Derek Dowden, Ian Theaker, Sandy Mayo, Larry Kuehn, and Stuart Hertzog) to revitalize the fundraising effort. Carried. The working committee will first meet 10 AM Friday May 14 at the Vancouver Public Library. At this point in the meeting, it was decided that the rest of the agenda be deferred until the next meeting, for a general discussion on the manner in which all committees have been operating. Brian Campbell presented some concerns: sub-committees seem to be not operating well, not taking priority on issues or tasks that need to be done, not reporting back to the steering committee on options or issues that need to be handled, and being independent and isolated in their areas of concern. General responses to these concerns: there were some acknowledgment that the committees have not been operating as well as they could be, but it was also noted that a beginning phase was ending, in which there has been substantial work. It was noted that the committees recognized the protocol to bring options to the steering committee, but some of the options take time to consider and will be presented to the steering committee shortly. It was also noted that formalizing the terms of reference for each committee, and presenting timelines for defined pieces of work is an important step not yet taken. It was suggested that formalizing electronic ways of communicating amongst as many of the volunteers as possible is important to facilitate as much of the work without needing meetings. It was also suggested that a coordinated collection of databases was important. It was noted that the steering committee was emphasizing its strategic and policy formulating roles over its coordinating roles. It was suggested that the steering committee should place more emphasis on the committee reports, and to react more to the strategic issues as they naturally arise from the sub-committee work. It was also emphasized that certain definite tasks need to be done before the AGM, and that these tasks take priority. Motion (Stuart Hertzog/Ian Theaker): To consider expenses incurred by Stuart Hertzog in conducting the name search for the society as a payment towards his membership fees in the society. Carried. Phil Lyons, acting as the interim treasurer, declared that future expenses be approved by the steering committee before being incurred. Next Meeting: 7:30 PM Tuesday May 18, at the Vancouver Public Library. Meeting adjourned at 9:45 PM.