[Proposal:Procedure] PMC Voting Process revisited

Hi gang,

remember this thread?

http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?t=103918240400005&r=1&w=2

Basically we all said "okay, looks good" about the proposed text, then a 
vote was held on the PMC list, and then when the vote was over (the 
proposal was accepted) we got Greg Stein's attention (who's on the 
board, and also watching our fledling PMC and helping us out), and he 
pointed out some problems with the proposal (it conflicts with board 
resolutions).

I popped a few questions, and he's like 90% sure elaborate legalese 
doesn't have any legal advantage (IIUC and he also UC it is actual 
actions that matter and 'formal' procedure documentation means zip in 
court).
As a "prose form" of documentation is also easier to understand (and 
contribute to) for most people, the (my) idea now is to write our voting 
procedures, and future documentation too, down in prose form rather than 
in some kind of legalese.

I tweaked my original "layman text" a bit to describe the actual 
procedure as we're following it atm. The proposal is we adopt it. 
Comments welcome; I'll put it up for vote when peeps get back from 
holiday. (I really feel like wrapping this stuff up sooner than later, 
but I'm relatively sure Steve'll have something to say ;)

cheers,

- Leo

proposed text (Note to Paul: you don't have to look, this is *not* on 
the wiki :P) follows:

PMC Voting procedures
=====================
This document details how the Avalon PMC has agreed to handle voting. 
Note that in the case of any conflict between this document and official 
ASF policy (be it in the form of bylaws, board resolutions, ASF officer 
decisions, or something similar), the official ASF policy is always the 
policy followed.

The Vote Administrator
----------------------
It is usually the case that there is one person who administers the vote 
process, that is, this person puts a proposal up for voting, counts the 
votes, and sends in the vote results when voting is over. We've dubbed 
this task "administering the vote".

Prior to the voting
-------------------
Votes only take place after that what will be voted upon has been 
discussed, and all people with an interest in the subject at hand have 
had a chance to say their says. This discussion usually happens under a 
thread marked with "[PROPOSAL]" on the Avalon development mailing list.

The Vote
--------
Votes are handled through e-mail. They are held on the Avalon 
development mailing list, unless the PMC decides it is for some reason 
unappropriate to handle the matter at hand publicly. In that case, 
voting is done on the private Avalon PMC mailing list.

Votes are clearly identified as being votes by marking the subject field 
of the e-mail with "[PMC:VOTE]". This to make the difference between a 
vote and other discussion quite clear, and also to make the difference 
between a PMC vote and a committer vote quite clear.

Representation
--------------
A representative part of the PMC needs to vote on a proposal for it to
be valid. This representative part is called quorum, and quorum needs to
be at least three (3) and not less than half of the PMC members (50% of
the PMC members, rounded up to the nearest nonfractional number).

Conventions
-----------
Voting on matters placed before the PMC is restricted to the members of
the PMC, but all interested individuals are encouraged to express their 
opinion. Votes may be expressed in support, opposition, or abstention in
accordance with the following conventions:

        +1  a vote supporting the motion
        +0  a vote of supportive abstention
        -0  a vote of non-supportive abstention
        -1  a vote opposing the motion

A member may vote multiple times. The last vote is the vote that counts.

Qualified Majority Vote
-----------------------
Votes on modification to and amendment of the PMC Charter or on 
modification to or amendment of this document require a 2/3 majority.

Normal Majority Vote
--------------------
Votes that are not Qualified Majority Votes require a 1/2 majority.

Vote Duration
-------------
Voting is normally open for one week. If quorum is not met within that 
week, the voting remains open one more week, but no more. As soon as 
quorum has been met in that second week, the vote is closed. If quorum 
is not met after that second week, the vote is considered failed.

After the voting
----------------
After a vote is closed, the results of that vote are summarized in an 
e-mail where the subject field is marked with "[VOTE-RESULT]"; the 
proposal which was voted upon is also included. This allows people not 
closely following the mailing lists to easily take notice of these 
important decisions.