The Tunes Charter

This document will outline a set of rules to facilitate the parallel development of interrelated projects.

(Last modified Thursday January 19th 1995 at 19:59)

Project Structure

  • The project may be divided into a number of more specific subprojects.
  • These subproject may be partially ordered, so that some subprojects are subject to others.
  • There is only one subproject without subproject above it, which is the main project, also called root project or project.

    Project Membership

  • The project founders can be members of the project as they wish.
  • Any human can become a member of an existing subproject, including the main project, by just volunteering and publishing his wish. He will actually become a member if no other member opposes, or a decision is taken to grant him membership.
  • A member of a project is automatically granted membership to all subproject below it, unless he refuses.
  • Members have the right to be informed of any decision taken or ballot organized concerning the subproject, as well as to vote (with the same weight as the other ones) during those ballots.
  • A procedure exists to avoid lack of decision from democratic means (see below).

    Project Coordinators

  • Each subproject, including the root project, has got a coordinator, also called maintainer.
  • The coordinator of the root project is also called general coordinator.
  • A project maintainer has the responsibility to maintain all documents and make them available to everyone in the project.
  • In those documents, he must take into account the arguments of other members, even though he would not agree, by at least quoting them.
  • A project coordinator also has the responsibility to organize any ballot related to the project.
  • A project's first coordinator will arbitrarily be the one who proposed the project.
  • In case of vacancy, a post of coordinator will be given to the first volunteer, unless a decision is otherwise taken.

    Decision Procedure

  • A decision can be any modification of any document in the project, the appointment of a new coordinator, or the creation or removal of a subproject.
  • It is possible for a project coordinator, as a quick decision prodecure, to take any decision concerning his project or a subproject below it, if he publishes it, and that no one opposes to it before one week.
  • In case anyone opposes, and no agreement is found with the coordinator, a ballot must be organized by the coordinator before one week, to take any decision.
  • Any member can propose a decision for a subproject, and ask for a vote if no agreement is found with the coordinator.
  • In case no majority opinion is obtained after two ballots, a referee will be chosen, whose decision will prevail.
  • The referee will be, among those who accept, the coordinator of the highest subproject above the one involved.
  • >If a referee was called, the coordinator of the project (perhaps himself the referee), must state the lack of majority in the project's documents.
  • A coordinator may not undo a vote using a quick decision procedure, unless no one opposes within one month, and three three other members are found to support him (assuůing that many members exist).

    Special Decision Procedure

  • A special decision can be any other decision concerning the project, including financial decisions, modification of the Charter, choice of copyright policies.
  • When a special decision is to be taken, the coordinator of the main project must organize a vote, and the special decision
  • The general coordinator, or three agreeing project members, can propose a special decision.
  • A ballot is then organized, and two third of expressed votes at least must agree so the special decision passes; a quorum of three members (if there are that much members) is required for the ballot to be valid.
  • In case no special decision passes, and no previous special decision was taken, the general coordinator's opinion will prevail, but he must state the lack of agreement in the project's documents.
  • Under no circumstance a coordinator (including the general coordinator) shall undo a special decision taken by vote; however, a successful ballot may alter previous special decision.

    Project Continuity

    This section is still optional; I'd like members to state their mind about it. It is meant to prevent the project from being wormed by any outside interest group.

    To ensure the continuity of a project, there is a way in which older members can veto decisions made by newer ones, so that the project remains the same until an agreement is found:

  • At any moment, a member of a subproject can ask all members who oined before him to veto a decision or a special decision.
  • A ballot will be organized, and the same majority as required by the vetoed decision must be found to put the veto, that is, majority plus one vote for normal decisions, or two-thirds majority in case of special decision.
  • If the veto is put, the vetoed decision is cancelled and considered as having failed.
  • The veto can itself be removed by an even older member organizing a veto to the veto.

    To Do on this page

  • Submit the modified version to the mailing list (the older version is on the list's archive).

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    Page Maintainer:
    Faré -- rideau@clipper.ens.fr