Re: AFFS

Adam Bower <[email protected]> wrote:
> I believe (from memory) that to reach quorum the AFFS constitutuion 
> (which AFFS is now well outside of) requires 20 members to be present
> at a meeting. Is there any practical way around this requirement given
> the current rules and state of the organisation?

There wasn't a quorum on the dissolution (section 15) and the
dissolution could have a quorum of only one-half of the surviving
members.
http://web.archive.org/web/20070802050236/http://www.affs.org.uk/documents/affs-const.txt

[ Marc Eberhard: ]
> > I don't know if I'm still a member with outstanding fees or no member
> > anymore.

As I read it (paragraph 4 a 1), anyone who hasn't kept paying the
annual subscription is not a member, like me.

> This indeed is something that needs to be answered, Is it possible that
> re-opening membership could provide a practical solution to gaining
> quorum and holding a meeting?  [...]

Yes, I think it's possible and probably a simple way.  AFFS could even
set the fees refundable on attendance of the meeting.  However, such a
meeting would involve a bit of irritating procedural stuff to appoint
an executive to take care of the winding-up or reform.  There might be
a simpler way to dissolve a defaulting association - I'll ask around.

> Is it more practical to wind up AFFS and then restart with a new
> organisation that has similar aims but a much more simple constitution
> and rules or try to reboot AFFS and drastically change the constitution
> which has proven to have effectively crippled it and caused it to drift 
> into the state that it is now in?

I think it's most practical to start successor organisation(s) and
*then* dissolve AFFS in their favour.  However, I don't think that it
was the constitution that crippled AFFS.  The constitution was
surprisingly buggy and cumbersome for one from a respected national
body, but I feel a more cooperative group could have made it work.

Regards,
-- 
MJ Ray (slef)
Webmaster for hire, statistician and online shop builder for a small
worker cooperative http://www.ttllp.co.uk/ http://mjr.towers.org.uk/
(Notice http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html) tel:+44-844-4437-237