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  <title>The GNOME Foundation: Membership Policy</title>
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       <a href="http://www.gnome.org">
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       SRC="text.png" ALT="The GNOME Foundation" height=198 width=354>
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       <a href="index.html">Home</a> :&nbsp;
       <a href="press.html">Press</a> :&nbsp;
       <a href="organization.html">Organization</a> :&nbsp;
       <a href="documentation.html">Documentation</a> :&nbsp;
       <a href="membership.html">Membership</a> :&nbsp;
       Elections :&nbsp;
       <a href="directory.html">Directory</a>
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      <br>
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       <a href="elections.html">General Information</a> :&nbsp;
       <a href="electionrules.html">Rules & Timeline</a> :&nbsp;
       <a href="ballot-summary.html">List of candidates</a> :&nbsp;
       <a href="voters.html">List of voters</a> :&nbsp;
       Director Overview :&nbsp;
       <a href="election-2000.html">2000</a> :&nbsp;
       <a href="election-2001.html">2001</a>
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      <br>
      <h2 align="center">Board of Director Overview:</h2>
      <h2 align="center">Running and Voting for the Board of Directors</h2>

      <br>

      <h3>GNOME Foundation Overview</h3>

      <p>
       The GNOME Foundation will work to further the goal of the 
       GNOME project: to create a computing platform for use by 
       the general public that is completely free software.
      </p>

      <p>
       To achieve this goal, the Foundation will coordinate releases 
       of GNOME and determine which projects are part of GNOME. The 
       Foundation will act as an official voice for the GNOME project, 
       providing a means of communication with the press and with 
       commercial and noncommercial organizations interested in GNOME 
       software. The foundation may produce educational materials and 
       documentation to help the public learn about GNOME software. In 
       addition, it may sponsor GNOME-related technical conferences, 
       represent GNOME at relevant conferences sponsored by others, help 
       create technical standards for the project and promote the use and 
       development of GNOME software. For more information, see 
       <A HREF="http://foundation.gnome.org">The GNOME Foundation Web 
       Site</A>.
      </p>

      <br>

      <h3>Becoming a Candidate for the Board of Directors</h3>

      <p>
       If you would like to become a candidate for the Board of Directors, 
       please: 
      </p>
      <OL>
	<LI><P>Read this document.</P>
	<LI><P>Read the GNOME Foundation charter
	(<A HREF="/charter.html">http://foundation.gnome.org/charter.html</A>).</P>
	<LI><P>Read the GNOME Foundation by-laws
	(<A HREF="/bylaws.pdf">http://foundation.gnome.org/bylaws.pdf</A>).</P>
	<LI><P>Make sure you will have adequate time and interest in
	performing the tasks described below.</P>
	<LI><P>Announce your candidacy by sending an email to
	<A HREF="mailto:foundation-announce@gnome.org">foundation-announce@gnome.org</A>
	AND to <A HREF="mailto:foundation-list@gnome.org">foundation-list@gnome.org</A>
	with a description of how you have contributed to GNOME and why you
	want to be on the Board of Directors. (Deadline: Nov 4, 2002) 
	</P>
       </OL>

      <br>

      <h3>Partial List of Tasks of the Board of Directors</h3>

      <p>
       The Board of Directors must perform a broad set of both technical
       and non-technical tasks including: 
      </p>

      <OL>
	<LI><P>Help set overall direction for GNOME.</P>
	<LI><P>Identify and resolve problems in GNOME.  Identify weak points
               and opportunities for improvement and work toward improving GNOME in
               these areas.</P>
        <LI><P>Identify areas in which GNOME needs organizational improvement
               and appoint committees or individuals to work on these areas. Work with 
               and help these teams to ensure the projects move forward succesfully. 
               Some common examples are the release team, GUADEC organizing committee, 
               membership and elections committee, and the fundraising committee.</P>
	<LI><P>Identify areas where GNOME needs improvements in policy, 
               draft new policies, and go through revision and concensus-building of
               the policies with the GNOME community and Board.  Some common examples
               include the GNOME Foundation charter, the membership policy, the 
               GNOME accounts policy, and the software license policy.</P>
	<LI><P>Determine where and when GNOME conferences should be held and
	       appoint individuals to coordinate the conferences.</P>
	<LI><P>Make announcements and press releases on behalf of GNOME.</P>
	<LI><P>Address any legal issues which come up (trademarks branding,
	       licensing, copyright assignment, etc.).</P>
	<LI><P>Develop the GNOME Foundation.</P>
	<LI><P>Administer GNOME Foundation funds.</P>
	<LI><P>Hire, oversee, and work with any GNOME Foundation staff.</P>
	<LI><P>Maintain a web page and mailing lists. Post public parts of
	       Board meeting minutes to foundation-list. Discuss them on the mailing 
               list as necessary to guarantee all non-confidential Board activities are 
               public and clear.</P>
	<LI><P>Arbitrate technical disputes between maintainers.</P>
	<LI><P>Act as a liaison with other open source projects.</P>
	<LI><P>Work with GNOME Foundation Advisory Board. Act as a liason with 
               advisory board members, updating them
               to the state of GNOME, helping them to integrate into the GNOME
               community, and helping to bring their suggestions before the Board.</P>
	<LI><P>Work with companies who would like to learn more about GNOME
	       and define how they can help and work with GNOME.</P>
       </OL>

      <br>

      <h3>Diversity of the Board of Directors</h3>

      <p>
       The Board of Directors should reflect the diversity of the GNOME
       project, including leaders of the core GNOME technologies, volunteer
       contributors as well as representatives of companies which are making
       major contributions to GNOME, individuals from various geographic
       regions, and representatives of other aspects of GNOME. 
       The Board is tasked with addressing a diverse set of problems and 
       challenges and will function best if the Board members are equally 
       diverse in their skill set and expertise.
      </p>

      <br>

      <h3>Qualities of a Good Director</h3>

      <p>
       A good director will have the following characteristics: 
      </p>

      <OL>
	<LI><P>Be a good leader.</P>
	<LI><P>Be willing and able to dedicate a significant amount of time to
	GNOME Foundation work.</P>
	<LI><P>Be an active GNOME contributor who tracks the day-to-day
	happenings of GNOME.</P>
      </OL>

      <br>

      <h3>Director Requirements</h3>

      <p>
       All directors must be willing to: 
      </p>

      <OL>
	<LI><P>Respect confidentiality of private discussions with
	corporations who are interested in working with the GNOME
	Foundation.</P>
	<LI><P>Contribute a significant amount of time to working on various
	GNOME Foundation projects and tasks.</P>
	<LI><P>Participate in biweekly meetings which are held over a
	telephone conference call.</P>
	<LI><P>Attend an annual in-person meeting of the Board of Directors
	(travel expenses would be covered by the Foundation).</P>
	<LI><P>Act on behalf of all GNOME contributors in the best interest
	of GNOME, and not solely represent the interests of a specific
	company or constituency.</P>
      </OL>


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      <center><font size=-1>This site is maintained by
      <a href="mailto:membership-committee@gnome.org">the GNOME Foundation Membership and Elections Committee</a>
      and was designed by <a href="mailto:jpsc@users.sourceforge.net">JP
      Schnapper-Casteras</a> and <a href="mailto:bart@eazel.com">Bart Decrem</a>.</font></center>
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