Transcript for the 2008-05-20 Board Meeting
Times listed are EDT.
(2008-05-20 20:07:44) seanegan: Ok, shall we get under way?
(2008-05-20 20:07:54) elb: sounds good
(2008-05-20 20:07:58) seanegan bangs gavel!
(2008-05-20 20:08:24) seanegan: lschiere: Do you have minutes from the last meeting to go over?
(2008-05-20 20:08:27) lschiere: yes
(2008-05-20 20:08:53) BigBrownChunx [eionrobb@gmail.com/WorkA61F994E] entered the room.
(2008-05-20 20:08:57) lschiere: Last meeting Luke Schierer, Ethan Blanton, Evan Schoenberg, Nathan Walp & Sean Egan in attendence. Mark Doliner and Mark Spencer absent
(2008-05-20 20:09:29) lschiere: The President (Sean) stated that all legal obligations were resolved until 20080504 when we could no longer use “Gaim” to refer to ourselves or the Pidgin project.
(2008-05-20 20:09:36) khc [khc@hxbc.us/Home] entered the room.
(2008-05-20 20:09:37) lschiere: The treasurer (Ethan) then reported:
(2008-05-20 20:09:38) nosnilmot [nosnilmot@pidgin.im/Pidgin] entered the room.
(2008-05-20 20:09:43) lschiere: We have $7,996.64 in account. We have taken in $15,000 of which $3,000 was held for Adium and disbursed to them.
We have spent $3,090.96 on artwork.
We have spent $26 on wire fees.
We have spent 103.87 on credit card processing.
We have spent $7.63 on postage.
We have spent $775 on legal fees.
(2008-05-20 20:10:17) lschiere: That concluded the treasurer’s report. I then reported on my research todate on the costs and advantages of a second server. The board voted to defer decision
(2008-05-20 20:10:33) lschiere: The board unanimously voted that the vp continue to look into the possibilities of selling Pidgin tee-shirts and other merchandise.
The board unanimously voted that a webpage for imfreedom be created.
The board unanimously voted to create discussion@imfreedom.org
The board voted that the president would invite devel@pidgin.im and adium-devl@adiumx.com to disccusion@imfreedom.org
(2008-05-20 20:10:48) lschiere: The board voted to re-elect all officers. The board voted that an agenda would be published no less than one week in advance of the meeting.
(2008-05-20 20:10:59) lschiere: The board voted that:
Any proposal dealing with the expenditure of more than a total of $100 (either as a one-time cost, or the sum of recurring expenditures), must be proposed at least one week before votes are collected. It may either be proposed for an email vote with one week of notice, or proposed for vote at a board meeting, provided that the text of the proposal is present in the meeting agenda one week in advance.
(2008-05-20 20:11:08) lschiere: The board voted that the website contain the following:
1) A statement clarifying that IM Freedom, Inc. does not direct the day-to-day development of Pidgin, libpurple, Adium, or any libpurple related project.
2) A statement that any funds donated to IM Freedom, Inc. in no way entitle the donator to any special privileges or control over the activites of IM Freedom, Inc. or the disbursment of their donation.
3) Information reguarding the public mailing list, discussion@imfreedom.org, and the archives of board@imfreedom.org (as appropriate).
4) A regularly updated statement on the activites being pursued by IM Freedom, Inc. as discussed on the mailing lists and voted on by the board.
(2008-05-20 20:11:21) lschiere: The President then thanked everyone for coming, and closed the meeting
(2008-05-20 20:11:34) seanegan: Thanks!
(2008-05-20 20:12:46) seanegan: Let’s elect a new board now. Everyone has been re-nominated for the current position, with noone running opposed.
(2008-05-20 20:12:55) lschiere: (that concluded the minutes of the previous meeting, the president would now custimarily ask of anyone wished to amend the minutes)
(2008-05-20 20:13:10) elb: I move to approve the minutes as read
(2008-05-20 20:13:15) seanegan: I said we were gonna try this more casual like, Luke ;)
(2008-05-20 20:13:33) seanegan: but, there is a motion to approve the minutes as read :)
(2008-05-20 20:13:39) lschiere: seconded
(2008-05-20 20:14:03) seanegan: all in favor of approving the minutes as read, say aye.
(2008-05-20 20:14:07) lschiere: aye
(2008-05-20 20:14:08) evands: aye
(2008-05-20 20:14:10) elb: aye
(2008-05-20 20:14:18) markdoliner: Aye
(2008-05-20 20:14:29) seanegan: The ayes have it! The minutes are approved
(2008-05-20 20:15:02) seanegan: The chair moves to vote to re-elect all officers and directors to their current position
(2008-05-20 20:15:09) lschiere: seconded
(2008-05-20 20:15:25) seanegan: All in favor, say aye.
(2008-05-20 20:15:28) markdoliner: Aye
(2008-05-20 20:15:29) lschiere: aye
(2008-05-20 20:15:32) elb: aye
(2008-05-20 20:15:58) evands: aye
(2008-05-20 20:16:05) seanegan: The ayes have it!
(2008-05-20 20:16:17) seanegan: Congratulations on your re-election!
(2008-05-20 20:16:34) evands: Thanks, chair!
(2008-05-20 20:17:22) seanegan: The chair has a few more motions.
(2008-05-20 20:18:11) elb: the treasure waits with bated breath
(2008-05-20 20:18:26) seanegan: The chair has to find them :)
(2008-05-20 20:19:19) seanegan: Ah, the chair moves to ammend the by-laws of the corporation as written in the e-mail sent to board@imfreedom.org.
(2008-05-20 20:19:28) lschiere: seconded
(2008-05-20 20:19:54) seanegan: These changes were recommended by our attorney due to some confusion that came up when we were filing our tax exemption form.
(2008-05-20 20:20:33) evands: For reference: http://pidgin.im/pipermail/board/2008-May/000110.html
(2008-05-20 20:21:06) lschiere: http://imfreedom.org/pipermail/board/2008-May/000110.html
(2008-05-20 20:21:23) seanegan: It clarifies our address information (which is listed as []) on the copy posted to imfreedom.org, and removes a somewhat ambiguous requirement that the treasurer co-signs all checks and contracts.
(2008-05-20 20:22:44) seanegan: There are two variations we can choose from, so we’ll vote on them separately.
(2008-05-20 20:23:37) seanegan: The first variation states that the treasurer sign all checks as authorized by the board and the president signs all contracts as authorized by the board.
(2008-05-20 20:23:58) seanegan: The second states that the president sign all contracts as authorized, and any officer may sign a check if authorized.
(2008-05-20 20:24:23) lschiere: I’d prefer the first form
(2008-05-20 20:24:44) markdoliner: Point of information, what is needed to be “authorized”?
(2008-05-20 20:24:58) seanegan: A majority vote
(2008-05-20 20:25:05) markdoliner: Thanks, chair
(2008-05-20 20:25:19) seanegan: Including the incidental charges resolution passed last year
(2008-05-20 20:25:56) evands: Point of information, isn’t the treasurer the only individual with said checks?
(2008-05-20 20:26:27) seanegan: actually, the chair doesn’t think the treasurer has any checks, but uses the banks webpage to issue them.
(2008-05-20 20:26:33) seanegan: Is that true
(2008-05-20 20:26:48) elb: that is true
(2008-05-20 20:26:53) elb: the president has our paper checks
(2008-05-20 20:27:08) elb: (due to them having been delivered to our location of incorporation)
(2008-05-20 20:27:18) Robby [robby.is.on@jabber.org/Adium] entered the room.
(2008-05-20 20:28:00) evands: It doesn’t make much difference for the terms of authorization, in any case, I think
(2008-05-20 20:28:04) elb: any officer can be given access to the (auditable) web bank account access as needed; we have not needed to extend it past the president and treasurer for business until now
(2008-05-20 20:29:47) evands: I think it makes sense for the treasurer to manage signing of checks… though if it’s not trouble to revise the phrasing, I suggest “the treasurer or his designated appointee may sign checks as authorized by the board”
(2008-05-20 20:30:12) seanegan: who would be a “designated appointee?”
(2008-05-20 20:30:28) elb: whomever the treasurer designates
(2008-05-20 20:30:36) seanegan: touche!
(2008-05-20 20:30:51) seanegan: Why would the treasurer want to designate someone else to sign them?
(2008-05-20 20:30:58) elb: RSI
(2008-05-20 20:31:22) seanegan: or because I have them all :)
(2008-05-20 20:31:22) elb: I point out that for paper checks, currently the only signatures on file with the bank are the treasurer and the president
(2008-05-20 20:31:45) lschiere: the only real reason I can think of would be if the treasurer were to have a vacation or leave of absence
(2008-05-20 20:31:54) evands: In case the treasurer weren’t able to handle a future-payment.. e.g. board authorizes payment for service X at time Y, but treasurer will be unavailable at time Y to handle it
(2008-05-20 20:32:02) seanegan: that’s a good point.
(2008-05-20 20:32:37) seanegan: What if the treasurer isn’t around to designate someone either?
(2008-05-20 20:33:18) seanegan: I guess, if the treasurer went on vacation, he’d make the designation before hand.
(2008-05-20 20:33:27) evands: Right.
(2008-05-20 20:33:41) evands: That language is a bit vague - the board could designate someone
(2008-05-20 20:33:52) seanegan: I think that’s what we’re doing :)
(2008-05-20 20:34:05) evands: Well, yes. Nevermind :)
(2008-05-20 20:34:14) seanegan: How about the easy ammendment first.
(2008-05-20 20:34:36) seanegan: Move to ammend article one of the by-laws to read “The mailing address of the corporation shall be 2515 4th Ave., Seattle, Washington. The corporation
may have offices within or without this state as the board may from time to time determine or the
business of the corporation may require.”
(2008-05-20 20:34:45) elb: as the Treasurer, let me say that I think any officer authorized by the board seems like a reasonable compromise to me
(2008-05-20 20:34:46) seanegan: Actually strike that.
(2008-05-20 20:34:56) seanegan: Move to ammend article one of the by-laws to read “The mailing address of the corporation shall be 2515 4th Ave. #1108, Seattle, Washington. The corporation
may have offices within or without this state as the board may from time to time determine or the
business of the corporation may require.”
(2008-05-20 20:35:02) evands: Seconded
(2008-05-20 20:35:08) seanegan: all in faovr
(2008-05-20 20:35:10) seanegan: favor
(2008-05-20 20:35:10) elb: aye
(2008-05-20 20:35:13) markdoliner: Aye
(2008-05-20 20:35:15) evands: aye
(2008-05-20 20:35:16) lschiere: aye
(2008-05-20 20:35:20) seanegan: ayes: 3, nays: 0
(2008-05-20 20:36:19) seanegan: move to ammend the by-laws to add the following sentence to Article IV, Section 3: “She or he shall, when duly authorized by the Board of Directors, sign and execute all contracts in the name of the Corporation.”
(2008-05-20 20:36:47) lschiere: point of info, this is the amendment about the president signing contracts, right?
(2008-05-20 20:36:53) seanegan: That’s correct
(2008-05-20 20:37:05) markdoliner: Seconded
(2008-05-20 20:37:22) seanegan: all in favor say aye
(2008-05-20 20:37:25) elb: aye
(2008-05-20 20:37:27) markdoliner: Aye
(2008-05-20 20:37:27) lschiere: aye
(2008-05-20 20:38:05) seanegan: The ayes win
(2008-05-20 20:39:00) seanegan: The chair is finding the exact text for the next two ammendments, about who signs checks
(2008-05-20 20:40:23) seanegan: move to amend the by-laws such that Article IV Section 5 reads: “The Treasurer shall have the care and custody of all the funds and securities of the Corporation, and shall deposit said funds in the name of the Corporation in such bank or trust company as the Directors may elect; she or he shall also sign all checks, drafts, notes, and order for the payment of money, which shall be duly authorized by the Board of Directors; she or he shall at all reasonable times exhibit her or his books and accounts to any Director upon application at the office of the Corporation during ordinary business hours. At the end of each corporate year, she or he shall have an audit of the accounts of the Corporation made by a committee appointed by the President, and shall present such audit in writing at the annual meeting of the Directors, at which time she or he shall also present an annual report setting forth in full the financial condition of the Corporation.”
(2008-05-20 20:41:10) seanegan: This is the first choice, which authorizes only the treasurer to sign checks.
(2008-05-20 20:41:55) seanegan: anyone?
(2008-05-20 20:42:06) evands: I think this is needlessly limiting, as the criterion that the board authorize the signing remains in any case
(2008-05-20 20:42:12) elb: I agree
(2008-05-20 20:42:24) lschiere: It seems only reasonable that as the Treasurer is the one responsible for the money, he/she should sign the checks
(2008-05-20 20:42:30) seanegan: Ok, the motion is dismissed.
(2008-05-20 20:42:33) elb: it’s not like we have an enormous and confusing number of financial transactions
(2008-05-20 20:42:37) lschiere: true
(2008-05-20 20:43:05) seanegan: move to ammend the by-laws such that Article IV Section 1 reads: Unless otherwise provided for in the Certificate of Incorporation, the Board may elect or appoint a President, one or more Vice-Presidents, a Secretary and a Treasurer, and such other officers as it may determine, who shall have such duties, powers and functions as hereafter provided. All officers shall be elected or appointed to hold office until the annual meeting of the Board. Each officer shall hold office for the term for which she or he is elected or appointed and until her or his successor has been elected or appointed or qualified. Any officer may, with the approval of the Treasurer, sign all checks, drafts, notes, and order for the payment of money, as duly authorized by the Board of Directors
(2008-05-20 20:43:35) seanegan: That’s a motion to amend, by the way.
(2008-05-20 20:43:58) elb: seconded
(2008-05-20 20:44:29) markdoliner: With the approval of the Treasurer? I thought it was going to be with a majority vote from the board?
(2008-05-20 20:44:38) lschiere: if I read it correctly, both are required
(2008-05-20 20:44:48) seanegan: It’s basically what evands was describing, I think.
(2008-05-20 20:44:57) elb: yes, (approval && duly authorized)
(2008-05-20 20:44:59) markdoliner: Ah, ok
(2008-05-20 20:45:15) seanegan: All in favor of the amendment say aye
(2008-05-20 20:45:19) markdoliner: Aye
(2008-05-20 20:45:26) elb: aye
(2008-05-20 20:45:27) lschiere: aye
(2008-05-20 20:45:37) evands: aye
(2008-05-20 20:45:45) seanegan: The ayes have it.
(2008-05-20 20:46:55) seanegan: And, for completeness, move to amend the by-laws to remove the clause that reads “she or he shall also sign all checks, drafts, notes, and order for the payment of money, which shall be duly authorized by the Board of Directors and shall be countersigned by the President”
(2008-05-20 20:47:08) seanegan: from Article IV Section 5 (Treasurer)
(2008-05-20 20:47:20) elb: second
(2008-05-20 20:47:24) seanegan: all in favor
(2008-05-20 20:47:28) Masca [_salinasv@linux.mty.itesm.mx/Lap] entered the room.
(2008-05-20 20:47:33) elb: aye
(2008-05-20 20:47:34) evands: aye, as elsewise we’ll be killed in the next zebra crossing
(2008-05-20 20:47:42) markdoliner: Aye
(2008-05-20 20:47:47) Robby left the room.
(2008-05-20 20:47:48) lschiere: aye
(2008-05-20 20:48:10) seanegan: ok, cool.
(2008-05-20 20:49:25) Robby [robby.is.on@jabber.org/Adium] entered the room.
(2008-05-20 20:49:34) seanegan: My next motion was to adopt a conflict of interest policy according to http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1023/ar03.html but I’m getting server errors, so I’ll have to defer that. Move to vote on a conflict of interest policy over e-mail instead?
(2008-05-20 20:49:47) lschiere: seconded
(2008-05-20 20:49:52) seanegan: all in favor?
(2008-05-20 20:49:54) markdoliner: Aye
(2008-05-20 20:49:54) lschiere: aye
(2008-05-20 20:49:55) evands: I can load it
(2008-05-20 20:49:59) evands: would you like me to mirror it?
(2008-05-20 20:50:13) seanegan: There’s a motion on the floor, dude ;)
(2008-05-20 20:50:31) evands: aye
(2008-05-20 20:50:42) seanegan: you can move to amend the motion to provide for you mirroring it now instead!
(2008-05-20 20:51:00) evands: I move to amend the motion to provide a mirror for consideration of the chair’s motion
(2008-05-20 20:51:07) seanegan: But I’d actually rather defer it because I haven’t actually read it yet. :)
(2008-05-20 20:51:19) elb: someone decide what I’m voting on
(2008-05-20 20:51:50) seanegan: elb: Do you want to defer voting on a conflict of interest policy that I can’t load right now, or have evan mirror it?
(2008-05-20 20:51:55) evands: Specifically, I move to amend the motion to a conflict of interest policy according http://evands.penguinmilitia.net/ar03.html , a mirror of http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1023/ar03.html as of 5/20/08 at 8:51 PM EDT
(2008-05-20 20:52:18) evands: *to adopt
(2008-05-20 20:52:32) elb: see, that’s not really an answer to my question
(2008-05-20 20:52:34) evands: (I’m fine deferring, as I haven’t read it anyways, but I started this)
(2008-05-20 20:52:36) elb: which one am I voting on, right now
(2008-05-20 20:53:05) seanegan: see, this is about where the rules of order thing starts breaking down on the Internet ;)
(2008-05-20 20:53:40) lschiere: That text needs to be (slightly) edited to remove the optional hostpital clauses (which are marked in the text)
(2008-05-20 20:53:42) markdoliner: I bet this problem is fixed on the Internet2
(2008-05-20 20:53:59) seanegan: Evan moves to adopt a conflict of interest policy according to that page he linked to, which mirrors an IRS page.
(2008-05-20 20:54:07) seanegan: does anyone second that?
(2008-05-20 20:54:27) seanegan: Luke points out it’s not even complete.
(2008-05-20 20:54:39) lschiere: I move to amend that text to remove the clauses marked “Hospital Insert”
(2008-05-20 20:55:10) evands: Can we recurse into motions? I second lschiere’s motion.
(2008-05-20 20:56:24) seanegan: Ok, moving back down the recursive stack, now… all in favor of starting a vote on accepting the page Evan linked to, minus the “hospital insert” text, say aye.
(2008-05-20 20:56:33) lschiere: aye
(2008-05-20 20:57:12) evands: aye
(2008-05-20 20:57:28) seanegan: all against say nay (you can still say aye if you want)
(2008-05-20 20:57:36) markdoliner: Nay
(2008-05-20 20:57:47) elb: nay
(2008-05-20 20:58:11) markdoliner shamefully hasn’t read the conflict of interest policy, and would prefer to read it then vote over email
(2008-05-20 20:58:11) seanegan: the chair votes aye
(2008-05-20 20:58:31) lschiere: we’ve gone slow enough that I managed to read it here
(2008-05-20 20:59:24) elb: I actually read it when it was first floated; however, I think we should defer as it’s clear that several of us have not
(2008-05-20 20:59:36) seanegan: seconded
(2008-05-20 20:59:45) seanegan: all in favor of defferal?
(2008-05-20 20:59:46) lschiere: good point. I cahnge my vote to nay
(2008-05-20 20:59:53) lschiere: (aye in favor of deferal)
(2008-05-20 20:59:56) elb: aye
(2008-05-20 20:59:59) evands: I agree - we should defer a vote until everyone voting is familiar with the material
(2008-05-20 21:00:02) markdoliner: Aye
(2008-05-20 21:00:04) evands: aye: deferral
(2008-05-20 21:00:09) seanegan: Ayes have it.
(2008-05-20 21:01:03) seanegan: Ok, the chair has one more motion.
(2008-05-20 21:01:16) lschiere motions that email voting on the text shall open on Tuesday May 27 2008, and close at midnight on Friday May 30th
(2008-05-20 21:01:58) seanegan: does anyone second luke’s motion?
(2008-05-20 21:02:04) elb: an email announcement will have to be sent, first, and voting will open no less than one week later
(2008-05-20 21:02:09) elb: there are board members who are not present
(2008-05-20 21:02:34) lschiere: nods that’s why I chose that date
(2008-05-20 21:02:58) seanegan: motion to change the dates proposed to the 28th and 31st
(2008-05-20 21:03:05) lschiere: okay
(2008-05-20 21:03:35) seanegan: I’ll take that as a ‘seconded’
(2008-05-20 21:04:31) seanegan: all in favor of mailing the board the text of that conflict of interest policy, minus the “Hospital” bit, and having an e-mail vote from the 28th through 31st of this month, say aye
(2008-05-20 21:04:37) evands: aye
(2008-05-20 21:04:41) markdoliner: Aye
(2008-05-20 21:04:47) lschiere: aye
(2008-05-20 21:05:10) seanegan: all opposed say nay
(2008-05-20 21:05:14) elb: aye, assuming the email goes out in time
(2008-05-20 21:05:16) elb: :-P
(2008-05-20 21:05:20) seanegan: the ayes have it.k
(2008-05-20 21:05:37) seanegan: the chair notes that he will be out of the country at the time and the vice-president will have to conduct the vote.
(2008-05-20 21:05:50) seanegan: move that the vice president sends that mail out?
(2008-05-20 21:05:56) lschiere: mail is sent out
(2008-05-20 21:05:57) markdoliner: seconded
(2008-05-20 21:06:01) seanegan: nice
(2008-05-20 21:06:04) seanegan: thanks, Luke,.
(2008-05-20 21:07:33) seanegan: Last motion from the chair: move to authorize spending $750 plus FedEx costs, for filing the 1023 tax exemption form
(2008-05-20 21:07:54) elb: point of information: for what is the $750, exactly?
(2008-05-20 21:07:55) lschiere: information: this would give us 501© status?
(2008-05-20 21:08:08) seanegan: The chair regrets not knowing how much the fedex cost.
(2008-05-20 21:08:29) lschiere: this was not in the agenda
(2008-05-20 21:08:33) lschiere: we can’t vote on this today
(2008-05-20 21:08:53) seanegan: oh, fair point.
(2008-05-20 21:09:34) seanegan: the chair will follow-up with an e-mail that includes the bit in the 1023 that lists the $750 filing fee
(2008-05-20 21:10:20) seanegan: The lawyers have already sent the form in with payment, by the way.
(2008-05-20 21:10:32) lschiere grumbles
(2008-05-20 21:11:07) seanegan: Ok, Ethan, you have the floor
(2008-05-20 21:11:25) elb: for the interest motion, or the treasurer’s report?
(2008-05-20 21:11:31) elb: (or both)
(2008-05-20 21:11:33) seanegan: both
(2008-05-20 21:11:47) elb: OK, then let me start with the treasurer’s report
(2008-05-20 21:12:08) elb: First, a summary of our 2007 accounts
(2008-05-20 21:12:43) elb: We opened the year with $9,627.74, and closed the year with $7,810.64
(2008-05-20 21:13:45) elb: we spent $801 on artwork, $775 on legal fees, $218.87 on credit card processing, $21 on bank charges, and $1.23 on postage
(2008-05-20 21:14:27) elb: 2008 year-to-date, we have spent $150 and have an outstanding (believed erroneous) bank service charge for $25 which I am straightening out
(2008-05-20 21:14:41) elb: our current balance is $7660.64
(2008-05-20 21:14:46) elb: sorry, $150 on credit card processing
(2008-05-20 21:15:20) elb: I make a motion that this report be approved, and remind that our books are open to any board member who wishes to review them
(2008-05-20 21:15:39) evands: Seconded
(2008-05-20 21:15:40) lschiere: seconded
(2008-05-20 21:15:43) seanegan: all in favor?
(2008-05-20 21:15:46) evands: aye
(2008-05-20 21:15:48) lschiere: aye’
(2008-05-20 21:15:48) markdoliner: Point of information, what is the credit card processing for, again?
(2008-05-20 21:15:57) seanegan: good question! :-p
(2008-05-20 21:16:09) lschiere: we have open the ability to accept credit card donations
(2008-05-20 21:16:18) lschiere: which we’ve never implemented a webpage to accept
(2008-05-20 21:16:39) markdoliner: Aye to the motion approving this report
(2008-05-20 21:16:42) elb: the credit card processing fees were authorized so that we could readily accept donations, which we have not yet arranged as we have not yet resolved our tax-exempt status
(2008-05-20 21:16:50) elb: so … for now, they’re marking time
(2008-05-20 21:16:51) seanegan: We’ve also been a bit weary to do so before having our tax exemption in the bag
(2008-05-20 21:16:57) seanegan: Approved
(2008-05-20 21:17:48) seanegan: You still have the floor, Ethan,
(2008-05-20 21:17:54) elb: OK, as you were all notified, I would like to move our money to an interest-bearing account
(2008-05-20 21:18:08) elb: our current account is not interest-bearing, and as you see, we are running a net deficit
(2008-05-20 21:18:51) elb: I would like to move that we open an appropriate interest-bearing savings account with our current banking institution (Charter One/RBS Citizens Bank) and transfer funds to it as they are available
(2008-05-20 21:19:43) markdoliner: Seconded
(2008-05-20 21:19:50) seanegan: all in favor?
(2008-05-20 21:19:51) lschiere: point of information, what went into the bank choice?
(2008-05-20 21:19:59) lschiere: oh, that’s our current. good reason
(2008-05-20 21:20:11) elb: yes, that is the bank we currently deal with
(2008-05-20 21:20:25) elb: we can discuss changing banks if that’s desired, but that would be a different motion :-)
(2008-05-20 21:20:42) markdoliner: Aye to the motion to open an appropriate interest-bearing savings account and transferring funds to it
(2008-05-20 21:21:07) evands: Aye
(2008-05-20 21:21:10) lschiere: aye on the savings account & transfer
(2008-05-20 21:21:32) evands: point of information, what interest rate will we currently bear at Chater One/RBS Citizens Bank?
(2008-05-20 21:21:57) elb: one moment
(2008-05-20 21:21:59) elb: (poor)
(2008-05-20 21:22:34) elb: I don’t have a current rate sheet for that
(2008-05-20 21:22:39) elb: I cannot answer it at this time
(2008-05-20 21:23:25) seanegan: all against say nay, or aye if you still want to
(2008-05-20 21:23:42) elb: from the numbers on their web site, we’ll be looking at something under 1%
(2008-05-20 21:24:02) evands: nod that’s what it looked like to me, too; personal savings at 0.25%, ‘high yield’ at 1% to 2.5%
(2008-05-20 21:24:21) elb: our accounts are “special”, we may see higher rates than they list there, so I can’t say for sure
(2008-05-20 21:24:35) evands: fair. In any case, the current motion is a decided improvement
(2008-05-20 21:24:44) elb: as I said, I’d be happy to discuss other options, but that’s another motion; in the meantime, I just want to stop the leakage as best I can :-)
(2008-05-20 21:24:47) evands: and does not require an investment to make other than a minimal time investment
(2008-05-20 21:24:53) evands: so:
(2008-05-20 21:24:54) evands: aye
(2008-05-20 21:25:57) seanegan: going once…
(2008-05-20 21:26:22) elb: aye, if I didn’t
(2008-05-20 21:26:32) seanegan: luke-adium, lschiere?
(2008-05-20 21:26:38) lschiere: I voted aye
(2008-05-20 21:26:54) seanegan: Oh, I completely missed it.
(2008-05-20 21:26:58) seanegan: Ayes have it.
(2008-05-20 21:27:26) elb: OK, then I will see to that and report back when it is completed
(2008-05-20 21:27:39) seanegan: Ok, that concludes the agenda. Does anyone else have a matter to bring before the board?
(2008-05-20 21:28:12) elb: a reminder that those who are watching can contact a board member with any issues they would like to raise
(2008-05-20 21:28:47) seanegan: Ok, motion to adjourn
(2008-05-20 21:29:06) elb: second
(2008-05-20 21:29:07) lschiere: a reminder that those watching can also post to discussion@imfreedom.org
(2008-05-20 21:29:14) seanegan: all in favor?
(2008-05-20 21:29:19) evands: aye
(2008-05-20 21:29:20) lschiere: aye
(2008-05-20 21:29:21) markdoliner: Aye
(2008-05-20 21:29:31) elb: aye
(2008-05-20 21:29:31) seanegan bangs gavel. Thanks for coming.
(2008-05-20 21:30:20) markdoliner: It would probably be pretty easy to buy Certificates of Deposit instead of using a savings account. If we don’t think we’ll be spending lots of money in the next year we could do that and get a better interest rate over a savings account. Usually you can withdraw funds early, but you lose the interest for the past few months
(2008-05-20 21:30:27) elb: CDs suck right now
(2008-05-20 21:30:37) markdoliner shrugs
(2008-05-20 21:30:44) lschiere: we might also go with an ING account
(2008-05-20 21:30:46) lschiere: (for savings)
(2008-05-20 21:30:48) elb: they’re marginally better than a decent savings account for short (6-18mo), but a decent savings account will beat them otherwise
(2008-05-20 21:30:57) elb: yeah, I think we should look at ING, but I didn’t get it on the agenda
(2008-05-20 21:31:08) elb: ING did not offer small business accounts until sometime since the last board meeting
(2008-05-20 21:31:18) lschiere: ah
(2008-05-20 21:31:23) elb: frankly, we don’t have enough money to worry about it right now
(2008-05-20 21:31:35) elb: after the 2007 SoC payment hits, and the 2008 comes, it’ll be a bigger issue
(2008-05-20 21:31:43) elb: we’ll be doubling or tripling our balances
(2008-05-20 21:32:00) markdoliner: Do we know how long it’ll take to get approved as a non-profit at the national level?
(2008-05-20 21:32:11) lschiere: can you look into it sometime before those SoC payments and report to the board list?
(2008-05-20 21:32:23) elb: the 2007 SoC payment is supposedly in the mail
(2008-05-20 21:32:28) lschiere: ah
(2008-05-20 21:32:33) seanegan: You don’t have to say “Supposedly” It really is :)
(2008-05-20 21:32:39) markdoliner: Ha ha ha
(2008-05-20 21:32:41) seanegan: but I think lschiere was talking about 2008 :)
(2008-05-20 21:32:43) elb: it’s supposed until it hits my mailbox
(2008-05-20 21:32:44) lschiere: I was
(2008-05-20 21:33:17) elb: but yes, I can certainly look into it
(2008-05-20 21:33:32) elb: (in fact, I did, just a few weeks ago, but I’ll get more current info; freaking rate cuts)
(2008-05-20 21:33:41) seanegan: markdoliner: I’ll find out for you
(2008-05-20 21:34:47) markdoliner: I’m too am curious about the $750 filing fee
(2008-05-20 21:35:00) evands: So the lawyers fronted us that money, and we’re going to pay them back, basically?
(2008-05-20 21:35:03) seanegan: yeah
(2008-05-20 21:35:17) seanegan: we’ve done that with all our legal filings.
(2008-05-20 21:35:40) elb: that filing was actually approved before the current board was formed
(2008-05-20 21:35:44) lschiere: my wife is impatient for this meeting to be over. I’ll send an email tomorrow with both meetings minutes. I’m sorry I forgot to do that last year
(2008-05-20 21:35:44) elb: it’s just … taking a while
(2008-05-20 21:35:46) seanegan: Exactly
(2008-05-20 21:35:55) seanegan: lschiere: Oh, I banged the gavel a while ago
(2008-05-20 21:35:58) nosnilmot: (does the floor get to shout obscenities yet?)
(2008-05-20 21:36:00) markdoliner: lschiere: Have a good evening!
(2008-05-20 21:36:05) elb: thanks, Luke
(2008-05-20 21:36:19) elb: apologize to your wife and tell her there’s no excuse for this to have been an hour and a half
(2008-05-20 21:36:46) faceprint [faceprint@faceprint.com/Laptop] entered the room.
(2008-05-20 21:36:58) elb: hey Nathan
(2008-05-20 21:36:59) faceprint: sorry i missed it
(2008-05-20 21:37:07) elb: we voted you off the island
(2008-05-20 21:37:07) faceprint: got stuck at work
(2008-05-20 21:37:08) elb: for truancy
(2008-05-20 21:37:18) seanegan: The fee is $750 if you’ve made or expect to make more than $10,000 a year (which we did), or $300 otherwise
(2008-05-20 21:37:33) markdoliner shakes his fist at the gov’ment
(2008-05-20 21:37:45) seanegan: So, do you think we should try a conference call next time?
(2008-05-20 21:37:57) seanegan: make things flow a little easier?
(2008-05-20 21:38:26) markdoliner doesn’t have a preference either way
(2008-05-20 21:38:30) elb: or have a plan
(2008-05-20 21:38:35) elb: one of the two ;-)
(2008-05-20 21:38:57) markdoliner: A meatier plan seems like it would help a lot
(2008-05-20 21:39:11) evands left the room.
(2008-05-20 21:39:29) seanegan: Ok. I’ll get more organized next time
(2008-05-20 21:39:33) markdoliner: I actually kind of like the pace of using a chatroom
(2008-05-20 21:39:39) nosnilmot: I assume the meeting is officially over, and that my speaking here won’t be considered an intrusion, but if you make it a conference call, please consider international observers
(2008-05-20 21:39:47) seanegan: oh, yeah
(2008-05-20 21:39:58) seanegan: We’ll do it as a chat, but I’ll just be a better chairman.
(2008-05-20 21:40:08) markdoliner: If we did a conference call, do you think it’ll be like a really awkward hour and a half long phone call?
(2008-05-20 21:41:03) seanegan: Oh, we should write a totally awesome plugin that the participants can use that add a nice “current motion” text box” and give “aye” and “nay” voting buttons and stuff.
(2008-05-20 21:41:11) elb: it’s bad enough sitting in front of this window for an hour and a half ;-)
(2008-05-20 21:41:14) faceprint: haha
(2008-05-20 21:41:17) evands [tekjew@gmail.com/Adium0D9001B8] entered the room.
(2008-05-20 21:41:26) elb: nosnilmot: an excellent point
(2008-05-20 21:41:32) nosnilmot: you should add voice support and just use pidgin for your conference call :-P
(2008-05-20 21:41:44) evands: seconded
(2008-05-20 21:41:54) seanegan: evands: we’re not doing that anymore
(2008-05-20 21:41:54) evands-2 [tekjew@jabber.org/Adium] entered the room.
(2008-05-20 21:41:58) seanegan: ;)
(2008-05-20 21:42:00) elb: note that Mark (Spencer) offered an exchange for this; I’m sure he could arrange for some voip feeds for international observation ;-)
(2008-05-20 21:42:08) evands: seanegan: ;)
(2008-05-20 21:42:49) nosnilmot: elb: that would be fine
(2008-05-20 21:43:13) elb: (that said, I prefer chat)
(2008-05-20 21:43:18) elb: (faster chat)
(2008-05-20 21:44:00) evands: I, too, prefer text, unless voice would make a very significant difference…. which I don’t think it would. We really only lapsed into threaded chaos once
(2008-05-20 21:44:29) elb: yeah, you can’t do recursive motions ;-)
(2008-05-20 21:44:59) elb: no doubt we’ll get another scathing email about playing office :-P
(2008-05-20 21:45:34) seanegan: I thought you could move to ammend a motion
(2008-05-20 21:45:45) seanegan: you have to shoot the first one down first?
(2008-05-20 21:46:42) elb: you can move to amend
(2008-05-20 21:46:58) elb: but we had a lot more than movements to amend going on
(2008-05-20 21:47:06) elb: we had two motions up at the same time plus an amendment
(2008-05-20 21:47:07) elb: or something
(2008-05-20 21:47:10) seanegan: really? I didn’t think so.
(2008-05-20 21:47:15) seanegan: It was just confusing, is all
(2008-05-20 21:47:51) elb: for example: “seanegan: elb: Do you want to defer voting on a conflict of interest policy that I can’t load right now, or have evan mirror it?”
(2008-05-20 21:48:04) elb: that’s not an up/down ;-)
(2008-05-20 21:48:11) seanegan: well, I was trying to make it clearer ;)
(2008-05-20 21:48:34) seanegan: Evan moved to ammend the motion to accept the irs.gov thing to make the motion to accept the evanspage.com thing
(2008-05-20 21:48:38) elb: yes, I understood the various motions on the floor, just not which one I was voting on ;-)
(2008-05-20 21:48:53) seanegan: yeah, I think that hypothetical plugin would be badass
(2008-05-20 21:49:00) elb: yes, it would
(2008-05-20 21:49:45) elb: “Aye” “Nay” “Request information: “ “Amend: “
(2008-05-20 21:49:50) elb: nosnilmot: are you listening?
(2008-05-20 21:50:09) seanegan: nosnilmot: We’ll give you a spot on the board if you write it!
(2008-05-20 21:50:18) elb: he can have mine
(2008-05-20 21:50:28) markdoliner: Ha ha
(2008-05-20 21:50:33) faceprint: did we just do bylaws and conflict of interest?
(2008-05-20 21:50:51) evands-2 left the room.
(2008-05-20 21:51:02) elb: we deferred conflict of interest, and we voted to open an interest-bearing account
(2008-05-20 21:51:04) seanegan: we re-elected you!
(2008-05-20 21:51:11) faceprint: cool
(2008-05-20 21:51:20) elb: the bylaws is a bit more complicated
(2008-05-20 21:51:24) faceprint: hooray, more paperwork!
(2008-05-20 21:51:40) elb: we did the simple amendment (change of address)
(2008-05-20 21:51:53) faceprint: luckily only about half the paperwork vs. if we weren’t non-profit
(2008-05-20 21:51:59) elb: and clarified the president’s signatures on contracts and international treaties
(2008-05-20 21:52:11) seanegan: haha
(2008-05-20 21:52:23) elb: and then we decided that anyone can sign a check, if I tell them to
(2008-05-20 21:52:32) elb: so I’ll tell Sean, since he’s the only one with checks
(2008-05-20 21:52:38) faceprint: heh
(2008-05-20 21:52:38) seanegan: I’ll send you some!
(2008-05-20 21:52:52) seanegan: (in 10 months)
(2008-05-20 21:52:59) seanegan: That’s how long it takes me to send a check
(2008-05-20 21:53:02) seanegan: as you know
(2008-05-20 21:53:29) rekkanoryo: someone should bludgeon seanegan for taking 10 months to send a check :-P
(2008-05-20 21:53:39) seanegan: seconded
(2008-05-20 21:53:47) elb: yes, I’ll be bludgeoning him when we get smacked with fees for trying to cash an expired check
(2008-05-20 21:54:01) rekkanoryo: fortunately business drafts are not staledated until 366 days after their issue date unless otherwise stated on the face of the check
(2008-05-20 21:54:46) elb: the face of the check is in the mail
(2008-05-20 21:54:53) elb: I will be examining it when it arrives
(2008-05-20 21:54:54) seanegan: supposedly
(2008-05-20 21:54:58) elb: yeah, supposedly
(2008-05-20 21:55:00) elb: I don’t have it yet
(2008-05-20 21:55:42) seanegan: If it’s any consolation (I don’t know why it would be), I had to remove it from my own pile of checks to me of comperable age.
(2008-05-20 21:55:55) seanegan: So, it’s not like I specifically have a thing against IM Freedom.
(2008-05-20 21:55:55) nosnilmot wonders what he’s supposed to be writing
(2008-05-20 21:56:11) seanegan: I just hate checks, apparently.