Trusted User Bylaws =================== Trusted Users 1.2, 18 January 2011 Summary ------- This document describes the bylaws of the Trusted User group, its mission, and duties. Mission ------- The Trusted Users serve the following purposes: 1. Maintain +[community]+ as an intermediary between Archlinux's official repositories and the +unsupported+ package collection in the AUR. 2. Maintain, manage, and watch over the operation of the AUR. Bylaws ------ The bylaws are written to be consistent with the mission of the Trusted Users, and to ensure that Trusted Users continue to be *Trusted* in the future. They are also written with the intent to keep the Trusted User organization a thriving one, fulfilling their purpose. Standard Voting Procedure ------------------------- Standard Voting Procedure (SVP) describes the formal procedure used by TUs to accept or reject proposals regarding TU affairs. SVP begins with a proposal, for example the addition of a TU or an amendment to the bylaws. The proposal should be clear and concise and it must be posted on the aur-general mailing list (aur-general). The proposal must also be worded unambiguously, and such that a YES or NO answer may be given. The discussion period begins when the proposal is posted on aur-general. The duration of the discussion period shall be 5 full days UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. Official discussion shall take place on aur-general. During the discussion period, votes shall not be cast. The voting period begins when the discussion period ends. The duration of the voting period shall be 7 full days UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. During the voting period, TUs may vote YES, NO or ABSTAIN. Votes shall be cast under the Trusted User section of the AUR homepage. At the end of the voting period, all votes shall be tallied. In the context of SVP, TUs are considered active if they are marked as active when the voting period ends. Quorum shall be 66% of all active TUs and participation shall be measured by the sum of YES, NO and ABSTAIN votes, UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. The proposal is accepted if EITHER 1. the number of YES votes is greater than half the number of active TUs OR 2. quorum has been established and the number of YES votes is greater than the number of NO votes UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. The proposal is rejected if EITHER 1. the number of NO votes is greater than or equal to half the number of active TUs OR 2. quorum was established and the number of NO votes is greater than or equal to the number of YES votes UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. A rejected proposal may not be presented again before a waiting period has passed. The duration of the waiting period shall be 3 full months UNLESS otherwise stated in a section of the bylaws pertaining to the proposal. The waiting period begins at the end of the voting period. If quorum is not established by the end of the voting period then the proposal is neither accepted nor rejected. A second SVP shall begin to establish the status of the proposal. If the proposal is not accepted at the end of the second SVP then it shall be rejected. [[Q]] Quorum ------ This section deals with quorums, and the consequences for those that repeatedly keep the group from meeting them. Quorums were established to make sure that all TUs are having a say in the matters that they vote on, and to ensure that TUs remain active in the job that they have taken on. All active TUs should be participating in discussions and voting procedures in order to continue meeting the quorums. For this reason, active TUs that keep quorum from being established on a voting procedure for three consecutive voting procedures (they need not be on the same motion) are automatically brought up for removal procedure, by reason of unwarranted inactivity. Active vs. Inactive ------------------- A Trusted User will have an activity status at all times. Only two statuses exist, +active+, and +inactive+. A TU should remain active whenever possible, and avoid being inactive, especially without declaring it. An active TU participates in all TU tasks and activities normally. A TU may declare themselves inactive, for instance if they are going on vacation, by sending a message to https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general]. TUs are expected to step down altogether if they plan on becoming inactive for a period longer than 2 months. It is expected that while inactive, a TU is unable to maintain packages and partake in normal TU activities. They are exempt from quorums and in fact cannot vote. A TU becomes active again at the stated date on their original inactivity declaration, or when they declare themselves such. If a TU becomes inactive without declaring it, "disappears", someone must motion for their removal for reason of unwarranted and undeclared inactivity, and the normal procedure for the motion is followed. Addition of a TU ---------------- The addition of a Trusted User may occur at any time. In order to become a Trusted User, one must first find a sponsoring active TU, and arrange privately with them to announce their candidacy on the https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general] mailing list. Following the announcement, standard voting procedure commences with a discussion period of 5 days, a quorum of 66%, and a voting period of 7 days. ---- SVP( addition_of_TU, 5, 0.66, 7 ); ---- If a candidate is rejected by SVP, they may not reapply to become a Trusted User for a period of three months. Removal of a TU --------------- The removal of a Trusted User may also occur at any time. A motion must be made by at least two active Trusted Users for the removal of a Trusted User. The motion must be sent to https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general], and contain a detailed and valid reason that the TU in question should be removed. Following the motion, standard voting procedure commences with a discussion period of 7 days, a quorum of 75%, and a voting period of 7 days. ---- SVP( general_removal_of_TU, 7, 0.75, 7); ---- The Trusted User brought up for removal may defend themselves during the discussion period, but may not vote during the voting period, nor may they vote on any other matters while SVP for their removal is in progress. There is one special case for removal, removal due to unwarranted and undeclared inactivity, for which standard voting procedure deviates from the above. This motion is also automatically triggered by repeated quorum offenses, as described in the <> subsection of this document. For this special case, SVP is followed with a discussion period of three days, a quorum of 66%, and a voting period of 5 days. ---- SVP( inactivity_removal_of_TU, 3, 0.66, 5 ); ---- Amendment of Bylaws ------------------- These bylaws may be amended at any time. An active Trusted User must motion for an amendment by sending an announcement to https://mailman.archlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/aur-general[aur-general]. The message must either contain, or have attached, a patch against this document which accomplishes the suggested change. SVP is commenced at the time of the motion, with a discussion period of 5 days, a quorum of 75%, and a voting period of 7 days. ---- SVP( amend_bylaws, 5, 0.75, 7); ---- If the amendment fails, the same amendment may not be motioned for for a period of three weeks.