[governance] Voting Process for election of co coordinators

[Imran Ahmed Shah (via governance Mailing List)]

 Thanks Norbert for explaining the phrase "Subscribe to the IGC Charter".
    On Friday, 30 August 2019, 15:48:10 GMT+5, Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch> wrote:  
 
 On Thu, 29 Aug 2019 15:20:00 +0100
Chris Prince Udochukwu Njọkụ <udochukwu.njoku at unn.edu.ng> wrote:

> That's interesting, Norbert.  You seem to mean I'll be known to have
> subscribed to the charter in the course of time, through how I
> participate in IGC.  Is that right?

Actually, no, that's not what I mean.

Let me give an example.

The Charter says about postings to the IGC list:

"""
The messages must observe a minimum of decorum, including:
  
 * refrain from personal attacks, […]

[…]

Failure to abide by posting rules may result in suspension or removal
from the IGC list according to the following process:

 * The coordinators will first warn a subscriber privately of the
  problem
 * If the problem persists the coordinators will notify the
  subscriber publicly on the list of impending suspension from the
  list.
 * Suspension will include only posting rights.
 * If the problem persists the subscriber’s posting rights will be
  suspended for one (1) month.
 * Once the subscriber’s posting rights are restored, any further
  problem will result in another public warning.
 * If the problem continues to persist after suspension and a second
  public warning, the coordinators will be permitted to either suspend
  the posting rights for three (3) months or to remove the subscriber
  from the list.
 * Any decision for suspension can be appealed. Any decision to remove
  someone from the list will call for an automatic appeal by the
  appeals team.
"""

In relation to this aspect of the IGC Charter, applying what I wrote
about my understanding of the phrase "subscribe to the IGC Charter"
implies:

1. Anyone who truly subscribes to the IGC Charter will endeavor to
refrain from posting messages to the IGC list that contain personal
attacks.

2. Assuming that they truly subscribe to the IGC Charter, IGC
co-coordinators will endeavor to ensure that the conversations on the
list remain constructive, and generally in alignment with the posting
rules, by means of applying the process that has been foreseen for
dealing with violations.

3. Assuming that they truly subscribe to the IGC Charter, all other
participants on the IGC list will be accepting, and supportive of,
such actions by the co-coordinators. 

Now because it's a long time since any of the IGC co-coordinators have
actually made any publicly-visible attempt of applying the process that
has been foreseen for dealing with posting rules violations, I have no
way of predicting how anyone on the list will react the next time that
happens. Therefore, no, I can't tell whether people truly subscribe to
the Charter just on the basis of what I may have observed about their
conduct on the list over the last months and years.

I certainly support the practice of asking for an explicit commitment
to the Charter in the context of IGC co-coordinator elections.

Greetings,
Norbert



> On Thu, Aug 29, 2019 at 12:43 PM Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch> wrote:
> 
> > Dear Chris and all
> >
> > My understanding of the word "subscribe" in this context is that it
> > expresses a commitment to accept actions which are done in
> > accordance with the Charter, and to act oneself in accordance to
> > the Charter.
> >
> > In this sense I can subscribe to the Charter while at the same time
> > holding the opinion that it would be good to change some aspects of
> > it at the next good opportunity to do so.
> >
> > Greetings,
> > Norbert
> >
> >
> > On Thu, 29 Aug 2019 12:30:47 +0100
> > Chris Prince Udochukwu Njọkụ <udochukwu.njoku at unn.edu.ng> wrote:
> >  
> > > Thank you so much, Ian, for answering my question. I'm OK with
> > > your answer.
> > >
> > > Regarding Imran's suggestion, I understand the word "subscribe" in
> > > this context as meaning "agree".  In that case, it's not vague.
> > > What I think may need to be specified in the charter is how
> > > someone will be known to have agreed.  What do other IGCians
> > > think?---
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