In the March 2013 Open Source Matters (OSM) board meeting, the board voted to accept changes to the OSM bylaws that were proposed by the Community Oversight Committee (COC) upon their dissolution. For more details about those proposed changes, please read this previous blog and the public forum discussion.
By voting to accept those proposed changes to the OSM bylaws, OSM has become a self-governing group. In simple terms, this means that OSM is now empowered to add and remove board members on its own, without the approval that was previously required by the COC.
This also means that the oversight function previously performed by the COC is no longer in place. Because OSM remains committed to openness and accountability in our community-driven project, the following next steps have been undertaken:
Researching legal requirements
OSM is researching if there are any legal requirements for a new process about adding or removing OSM board members. OSM is a non-profit organization licensed in the state of New York of the United States of America, and is subject to the laws of that state.
Discussing a new short term process
OSM is also discussing a short term process for adding and removing board members. A decision about that will wait until guidance on the legal aspect mentioned above has been received.
Requesting recommendations from the Governance Working Group
In the March board meeting, OSM also agreed to request research and recommendations from the Governance working group about a new long term process for adding and removing OSM board members. This new working group was announced at the first Joomla World Conference in November 2012. It has a mission to conduct research and provide recommendations about best practices for overall governance issues that may affect the Joomla project and community.
Earlier today an email went out to those who previously expressed an interest in joining the Governance working group. Please send an email to if you are also interested in joining.
If you have questions or comments about this blog, please share them in this public forum discussion, which is a continuation of the discussion that took place when the proposed bylaws changes were announced.
