Council Orientation - Revision history

Liliana at 00:22, 28 April 2013

2013-04-28T00:22:09Z

Ideath: linking to current PDF

2009-05-05T22:42:05Z

linking to current PDF

Ideath at 00:34, 16 April 2009

2009-04-16T00:34:44Z

Ideath: making minor changes

2009-01-21T20:00:49Z

making minor changes

Ideath at 19:53, 21 January 2009

2009-01-21T19:53:06Z

Ideath at 20:25, 13 December 2008

2008-12-13T20:25:40Z

Ideath: /* What to expect */

2008-12-13T19:41:42Z

What to expect

Ideath: /* The purpose of Council */

2008-12-13T19:40:47Z

The purpose of Council

Ideath at 19:33, 13 December 2008

2008-12-13T19:33:01Z

Anne at 18:24, 16 October 2008

2008-10-16T18:24:29Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:22, 28 April 2013
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		+	'''This page is no longer relevant as of June 2011. Council has been disbanded and Free Geek is now governed by one Board of Directors''' [[User:Liliana\|Liliana]] 00:22, 28 April 2013 (UTC)
		+
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	''Note: There are newer revisions of this text in a [[Media:Councilintro.pdf\|PDF-formatted version]] created for physical distribution. I will update this document soon to reflect those refinements. Please refrain from edits until these updates are made, i don't want to clobber yours. (Or put suggestions in the discussion page.) --[[User:Ideath\|Ideath]] 00:34, 16 April 2009 (UTC) ''		''Note: There are newer revisions of this text in a [[Media:Councilintro.pdf\|PDF-formatted version]] created for physical distribution. I will update this document soon to reflect those refinements. Please refrain from edits until these updates are made, i don't want to clobber yours. (Or put suggestions in the discussion page.) --[[User:Ideath\|Ideath]] 00:34, 16 April 2009 (UTC) ''

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-''Note: There are newer revisions of this text in a PDF-formatted version created for physical distribution. I will update this document soon to reflect those refinements. Please refrain from edits until these updates are made, i don't want to clobber yours. (Or put suggestions in the discussion page.) --[[User:Ideath|Ideath]] 00:34, 16 April 2009 (UTC) ''
+''Note: There are newer revisions of this text in a [[Media:Councilintro.pdf|PDF-formatted version]] created for physical distribution. I will update this document soon to reflect those refinements. Please refrain from edits until these updates are made, i don't want to clobber yours. (Or put suggestions in the discussion page.) --[[User:Ideath|Ideath]] 00:34, 16 April 2009 (UTC) ''
 '''So you're interested in Council...''' Thanks for joining us! The Council is an important part of Free Geek's governance, and we try to have people from all parts of our community represented in it. So yes, we want you here.

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 {{draft}}
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-''Note: I'm working on a formatted version that can be printed. See the draft [[Media:Councilintro.pdf|here]]''
+''Note: There are newer revisions of this text in a PDF-formatted version created for physical distribution. I will update this document soon to reflect those refinements. Please refrain from edits until these updates are made, i don't want to clobber yours. (Or put suggestions in the discussion page.) --[[User:Ideath|Ideath]] 00:34, 16 April 2009 (UTC) ''
 '''So you're interested in Council...''' Thanks for joining us! The Council is an important part of Free Geek's governance, and we try to have people from all parts of our community represented in it. So yes, we want you here.

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 '''So you're interested in Council...''' Thanks for joining us! The Council is an important part of Free Geek's governance, and we try to have people from all parts of our community represented in it. So yes, we want you here.
-<table width="25%" align="right" padding="5" callpadding="10" border="0" bgcolor="#cccccc"><tr><td align="left><small><em>Underlined terms in the text refer to separate resources. The URLs for those resources are in these boxes.</em></small><br />
+<table width="25%" align="right" callpadding="10" style="margin:10px; background-color:#cccccc;"><tr><td align="left><small><em>Underlined terms in the text refer to separate resources. The URLs for those resources are in these boxes.</em></small><br />
-''Free Geek staff:''<br />
+'''Free Geek staff:'''<br />
 http://www.freegeek.org/staff
-''Council email list:''<br />
+'''Council email list:'''<br />
 http://lists.freegeek.org/listinfo/council
-''Free Geek's Bylaws:''<br />
+'''Free Geek's Bylaws:'''<br />
 http://wiki.freegeek.org/index.php/Bylaws</td></tr></table>The Council's purpose (explained more below) is about big-picture decisions. If those things bore you and you're more of a hands-on, immediate-problem person, you may want to look into some of the workgroups that govern various aspects of Free Geek's operations to find your niche. If you have a concern and you're not sure whether you should take it to the Council, ask a [http://freegeek.org/staff staff member] about it. They may be able to help you put your idea into action or get your concern addressed even before the Council next meets!
@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 Council meetings have a facilitator to make sure things roll along, and a scribe, to keep a record for those who can't make it and for future reference. These roles rotate among Council members to make sure that one person is not overburdened and so that more people can develop those skills. If you're interested in trying out those roles, observe a few times first, read [[Meeting Tips]], and either volunteer or talk to someone you've seen doing it about volunteering. These roles are common to our meetings, so it's a really good skill to learn.
-There will be an agenda (posted to the email list, and usually also written on the whiteboard). That agenda usually starts with introductions and checkin. You may want to say what you normally do at Free Geek, what brought you to Free Geek, why you're interested in the Council, how the weather's been making you feel, or who your favorite Beatle is. It's a chance to get a sense of who's around.
+There will be an agenda (posted to the email list, and usually also written on the whiteboard). That agenda usually starts with introductions and checkin. You may want to say what you normally do at Free Geek, what brought you to Free Geek, why you're interested in the Council, how the weather's been making you feel, or who your favorite Beatle is. It's a chance to get a sense of who's who, and get comfortable talking.
 Please note our [[Conflict of Interest Policy]]. As a council member, you're a decision-maker, so you should familiarize yourself with this policy. Don't feel like you have to sign anything immediately, but if you become a regular attendee, it would be good to get a signed copy of that policy to a staff member.
@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 ==Being part of Council==
 ===Attendance and Membership===
-Council meetings are open to guests from the public, although those guests are asked to limit their participation. Any active Free Geek volunteer, paid worker, or board member is welcome to participate fully except as limited by our conflict of interest policy. Council membership is attained at a member's third consecutive meeting, and is lost if three consecutive meetings are missed.
+Council meetings are open to guests from the public.  Any active Free Geek volunteer, paid worker, or board member is welcome to participate fully except as limited by our conflict of interest policy. Council membership is attained at a member's third consecutive meeting, and is lost if three consecutive meetings are missed. (See the next two sections about participation and member rights.)
 ===Participation and Preparation===
-Full participation in council meetings includes attending attentively and contributing to conversation. To use time well, participants are expected to prepare for meetings with reading and discussion. If a participant has detailed questions or needs a lot of background information, the facilitator may ask the participant to refrain from taking meeting time for these needs. Guests are asked to minimize their speaking time, and not to weigh in strongly on concerns not shared by the rest of the group. In other words, guests should not slow deliberations by being lone representatives of concerns.
+Full participation in council meetings includes attending attentively and contributing to conversation. To use time well, participants are expected to prepare for meetings with reading and discussion. If a participant has detailed questions or needs a lot of background information, the facilitator may ask her to refrain from taking meeting time for these needs. Guests (attendees who are not active volunteers, staff or board members) are asked to minimize their speaking time, and not to weigh in strongly on concerns not shared by the rest of the group. In other words, guests should not slow deliberations by being lone representatives of concerns.
 ===Decision making===

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 '''So you're interested in Council...''' Thanks for joining us! The Council is an important part of Free Geek's governance, and we try to have people from all parts of our community represented in it. So yes, we want you here.
-The Council's purpose (explained more below) is about big-picture decisions. If those things bore you and you're more of a hands-on, immediate-problem person, you may want to look into some of the workgroups that govern various aspects of Free Geek's operations to find your niche. If you have a concern and you're not sure whether you should take it to the Council, ask a [http://freegeek.org/staff staff member] about it. They may be able to help you put your idea into action or get your concern addressed even before the Council next meets!
+<table width="25%" align="right" padding="5" callpadding="10" border="0" bgcolor="#cccccc"><tr><td align="left><small><em>Underlined terms in the text refer to separate resources. The URLs for those resources are in these boxes.</em></small><br />
 To get a sense of the scope of the Council and what's currently on our plate, check out the [http://lists.freegeek.org/listinfo/council email list archives]. They contain minutes from past meetings and discussion that occurs between meetings, and are ''highly recommended'' (if not required) reading for new council members.

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:41, 13 December 2008
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	Please note our [[Conflict of Interest Policy]]. As a council member, you're a decision-maker, so you should familiarize yourself with this policy. Don't feel like you have to sign anything immediately, but if you become a regular attendee, it would be good to get a signed copy of that policy to a staff member.		Please note our [[Conflict of Interest Policy]]. As a council member, you're a decision-maker, so you should familiarize yourself with this policy. Don't feel like you have to sign anything immediately, but if you become a regular attendee, it would be good to get a signed copy of that policy to a staff member.
		+
		+	==Being part of Council==
		+	===Attendance and Membership===
		+	Council meetings are open to guests from the public, although those guests are asked to limit their participation. Any active Free Geek volunteer, paid worker, or board member is welcome to participate fully except as limited by our conflict of interest policy. Council membership is attained at a member's third consecutive meeting, and is lost if three consecutive meetings are missed.
		+
		+	===Participation and Preparation===
		+	Full participation in council meetings includes attending attentively and contributing to conversation. To use time well, participants are expected to prepare for meetings with reading and discussion. If a participant has detailed questions or needs a lot of background information, the facilitator may ask the participant to refrain from taking meeting time for these needs. Guests are asked to minimize their speaking time, and not to weigh in strongly on concerns not shared by the rest of the group. In other words, guests should not slow deliberations by being lone representatives of concerns.

	===Decision making===		===Decision making===

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 The Council generally tries to stay away from deciding on ''implementation'' issues, which are left to the staff to determine in line with the directives of the Council. You will find the staff highly represented at the Council, too, because of the information and responsibilities they have.
 Council needs broad input from the FreeGeek community to make decisions. This requires openness to many views and good judgment about how to use meeting time.
 ==What to expect==

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 '''So you're interested in Council...''' Thanks for joining us! The Council is a an important part of Free Geek's governance, and we try to have people from all parts of our community represented in it. So yes, we want you here.
-Please note that the Council's purpose (explained more below) is about big-picture decisions. If those things bore you and you're more of a hands-on, immediate-problem person, you may want to look into some of the workgroups that govern various aspects of Free Geek's operations to find your niche. If you have a concern and you're not sure whether you should take it to the Council, ask a [http://freegeek.org/staff staff member] about it. They may be able to help you put your idea into action or get your concern addressed even before the Council next meets!
+The Council's purpose (explained more below) is about big-picture decisions. If those things bore you and you're more of a hands-on, immediate-problem person, you may want to look into some of the workgroups that govern various aspects of Free Geek's operations to find your niche. If you have a concern and you're not sure whether you should take it to the Council, ask a [http://freegeek.org/staff staff member] about it. They may be able to help you put your idea into action or get your concern addressed even before the Council next meets!
 To get a sense of the scope of the Council and what's currently on our plate, check out the [http://lists.freegeek.org/listinfo/council email list archives]. They contain minutes from past meetings and discussion that occurs between meetings, and are ''highly recommended'' (if not required) reading for new council members.