Archive:2008-03-03

This is a Core Team meeting.

Attendance/introductions
If you put your ?def into jibot, it makes introductions go a LOT faster. If you have no idea what this means, we'll explain in the meeting :)

Who's taking minutes?

Notes from the Board

 * Core Team helping with SSH/FTP Dump Site
 * Information on meetup in New York this Weekend
 * Agenda:
 * Research / work on grant applications
 * T-Shirts (Review design, look at pricing, crunch numbers...)
 * Discuss ways to revamp the Chapter Care Package
 * Make on Online DIY SFC Chapter Kit
 * Discuss re-election issue

Choose 5 internal projects that should get done in the near future
Also brainstorm at least a couple "next actions" for each project. Possible internal projects that were mentioned last meeting include:
 * Supporting the Board in incorporating / seeking 501(c)3 status
 * Activist packet / "how to start a chapter kit"
 * chapter blog-a-thon (leading to a podcast?)
 * free culture reporter / newsletter
 * collect chapter-made materials, e.g. flyers
 * SFC pamphlet
 * Clean up the SFC wiki
 * Find and use FOSS project management software

We should see if any other internal projects are worthy of consideration... it may also be worth brainstorming external activist projects, but I think we should focus on internal projects first to get the organization up to speed.

Choose a chair and vice-chair/secretary
The bylaws say that we'll elect a new chair & vice-chair every 4 months. (Of course, either officer can resign before then if they want and make way for new elections, if that is desirable.) It's been suggested that the vice-chair should perform secretarial duties when the chair is present, so that we always have someone who will reliably take minutes, but those duties are not assigned by the bylaws.

If you think you may want either job for the next four months, please read the bylaws to understand what the position requires, and come to the meeting prepared with a few lines (only a few) about why you'd be good for the position. Then we'll just do simple majority vote of every chapter member who attended both meetings. (Since that's not going to be that many people, if there's a tie or something icky you'll just have to duke it out or flip a coin or something, sorry, the bylaws seem to assume a voting body larger than 4 people. We can run elections again once there are more people on the Core Team if the officers are agreeable to that and you can't wait 4 months for their terms to expire... but right now, it's best to just choose someone and run with it.)

Volunteers
How separate should the Volunteers be from the Core Team? The bylaws clearly state who will have voting power on the Core Team, and there will be a number of people who are interested in volunteering for SFC who clearly cannot have decision-making power. Does that mean the Volunteers should be able to meet at a different time instead of immediately after the Core Team? Should they have a separate mailing list, or hang out on the Core Team list even if they can't vote? Which is worse, information fragmentation or confusion between the two groups?

New Business
What didn't we get to cover this meeting that should be placed on the agenda for next meeting? (This is a good way to make these agendas more participatory so Nelson doesn't have to write the agenda every week.)

Volunteer until everyone leaves!
Actually get work done instead of just talking about it.

Attendance
Karen Rustad, Nelson Pavlosky, Fred Benenson, Parker Phinney, Adi Kamdar (mostly idle, does that count?), Jan Hendrik Grahl (came in late)

Nelson is taking minutes, very unwillingly.

Notes from the Board
Fred Benenson from the Board swung by to give us an assignment: get chapters to upload their media (flyers, etc.) to the FTP dump site. We want stuff from 4-5 chapters (that aren't represented on the Board) by next week. Updates on Board activities from the agenda:
 * Research / work on grant applications
 * T-Shirts (Review design, look at pricing, crunch numbers...)
 * Discuss ways to revamp the Chapter Care Package
 * Make on Online DIY SFC Chapter Kit
 * Discuss re-election issue

Choose 5 internal projects that should get done in the near future

 * 1) FTP dump
 * 2) * everyone should upload stuff from their chapter
 * 3) * pick another chapter and ping them too
 * 4) ** Nelson = Swarthmore and VT, Karen = Claremont & USC, Parker = Chadwick & Reed?, Grahl = UF
 * 5) Wiki cleanup - Karen, Richard from UPRM, Dominic from Reed
 * 6) * put all the chapter help info in one place
 * 7) * make the front page useful
 * 8) * populate the Special: pages
 * 9) SFC pamphlet
 * 10) * someone take responsibility for content
 * 11) ** Karen = graphic design, Nelson = content
 * 12) Activist packet
 * 13) * write up 1 event with media etc. from your own chapter... basically a "how to do this event on your campus" + "how it worked on my campus"
 * 14) Project management software
 * 15) * sign everyone up for Basecamp
 * 16) * research FOSS alternatives
 * 17) * get a FOSS alternative installed on FC.o

Choose a chair and vice-chair/secretary

 * Chair = Karen Rustad
 * Vice-chair/secretary = Parker Phinney

Volunteers

 * let's not have a separate mailing list, we'll stick the Volunteers on Core as well. Chapters will be for announcing stuff to chapters, Core will be for decision-making and getting work done, and should be more chattery.