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 MET)
(Last corrected Monday 1995-07-17 21:29 MET)
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 other members are found to support him
(assuming 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).
Back to the
Tunes Home page.
Page Maintainer:
Faré
-- rideau@clipper.ens.fr