response 101 of 198:

Sep 23 15:47 UTC 1995

Ahem.  As the required commitment is being minimized, I'd like to point
something out: at several of the first board meetings I attended (Grex was
approaching 2 years old, I think?), I was treated to the following sight: 
Dan (danr) presented the treasurer's report, & it showed a current deficit.
There was some discussion of the situation, at the end of which various
directors' wallets appeared and the deficit disappeared.  (Not *only*
directors contributed to the working of this magic act, I think.)

I agree that having the board represent others than computer geeks is a goal
worth going for.  It's very wise for prospective candidates to ask how much
time is involved, and for us to answer in the kind of terms that are being
thrown around.  But we should also be looking for directors who are committed
to keeping Grex going, and willing on at least some occasions to go beyond
attending meetings & "providing input" to act on that commitment.

I'm not trying to scare anyone off, or to comment on anyone, or to suggest
that (say) willingness to fork over $20 or $40 extra every couple of months
should be a criterion for being elected.  (I sure hope we're past *that*
point, anyway!)  I'm just uncomfortable with the suggestion that the *only*
commitment a board member is making is to attend meetings & read baff/board
mail.  I think that a board full of people who felt that way would be a sure
recipe for killing Grex; I've seen organizations which were run on
approximately those terms.

response 103 of 198:

Sep 24 02:32 UTC 1995

I was talking about baff mail, since I'm not on the staff mailing list.  It's
nothing near the volume that I've heard staff mail gets, but it can get kind
of heavy at times.

response 105 of 198:

Sep 24 15:18 UTC 1995

How possible are "on-line" meetings?
(just curious, since I don't live in the A^2 area)

response 107 of 198:

Sep 24 16:29 UTC 1995

There is a legal requirement for ftf meetings, and the bylaws require it
every two months, at a minimum. It would be necessary for a board member
to attend these. 

We do try to get the minutes posted quickly and available for all to read.

response 109 of 198:

Sep 25 06:34 UTC 1995

I thought of one more suggestion for prospective board members:
attend a meeting to see what they're like!  They aren't like the
image "board meeting" normally conjures up, and it might be a
good idea to see if you're comfortable in such an environment.
 
I've attended on-line meetings, both with programs to automatically
silence people until they're called on, and with an on-your-honor
protocol of being recognized (participants say "wave" or something
when they have something to say on the current topic, and when the
current speaker is done, the moderator goes down their list of
whose turn it is next, and periodically interjects the current
queue).  The non-enforced method worked poorly for a group of 50
people, but I think it would be okay with a smaller group.  Be a
fun experiment anyway!

response 111 of 198:

Sep 25 13:03 UTC 1995

Rob makes an excellent suggestion in #109--if you're thinking of
running for the board, attend a meeting or two and see if it's
your cup of tea.

response 113 of 198:

Sep 26 09:32 UTC 1995

Re "passing the hat" at board meetings that Dave brought up in #101:
That happened during Grex's first year, when it was still a struggling
startup. We're long past that point.

response 115 of 198:

Sep 26 15:02 UTC 1995

   You're comments are well taken, Dave.  Commitment is a big part of
being on the board.  So far, becuase of the history of Grex, we've
had all these fanatical computer types on the board.  It will be
interesting to see what happens when a few more normal types wander
in.

response 117 of 198:

Sep 26 16:22 UTC 1995

(Re #114: I know you said we were past that point, and agree that board
members should feel a commitment to Grex that goes beyond attending
board meetings. Just wanted to emphasize that "passing the hat" is a
form of commitment that new board members shouldn't have to worry about.
(No guarantees of course, since unforseen disasters can always strike.))

response 119 of 198:

Sep 26 23:33 UTC 1995

Re 117: I'd be against making any single criterion *the* test of commitment
we're looking for, whether it's opening your wallet every couple of months
to meet expenses or getting up in the middle of the night to go to the dungeon
and reboot Grex or whatever.  I used that as a very clear example: I think
that if a whole bunch of people, some of whom regularly get dumped on a lot,
hadn't been willing to do more than go to a meeting and talk, Grex would not
currently be around.  We've been very likely to have a *lot* of *very*
committed people running Grex, both as board & as staff.  We need more, and
a wider variety.

response 121 of 198:

Sep 27 08:02 UTC 1995

I don't agree with your suggestion that a board member needs to pass
some kind of test of commitment to Grex. If the members vote for someone
and they come to the board meetings, that is good enough for me.

I think non-computer people would be a great asset on the board, but
not very likely to volunteer in other ways, and that is just fine.
We need a diversity of points of view on the board.

response 123 of 198:

Sep 27 14:26 UTC 1995

        Lilmo- the prosepct is one I consider workable.

        Abchan- Well, how about someone like me? I know how to _use programs_
not use unix.. I have enough expertise with it to get around the
system without tying up helplines, but that would be about all..
        Other than that, I'm stuck with pre-written scripts and such,
until I get to really studying my "UNIX for Dummies" book..