[uktug-committee-public] An AGM motion concerning future of UKTUG.

[Jonathan Fine]

Hi Jay

Thank you for submitting your motion in draft form. I hope that my
comments below will help you make your motion easier for the members
to understand. I'll also point some difficulties, that you might wish
to address by adjusting the details of the motion.

You wrote
> how UK-TUG continues to operate in accord with the constitution.

There's an implication here, that UK-TUG is at present operating in
accord with the constitution. I think it better to separate
recognition of facts from instructions to the committee.

So I suggest the redraft (and you might not want to move 3a).

3a. This AGM notes that last year's operation of UK-TUG is consistent
with its Constitution.
3b. That the incoming committee report, within three months, [etc].

Similarly

4a. This AGM notes that last year UK-TUG promoted TeX use, particularly [...].
4b. [Some variant of your (4), but without continues]

You wrote:
> if the incoming committee is unable to address actions from clauses 3 and 4

To me this is unclear. Suppose the new committee has failings, perhaps
serious failing, in its consistency with the constitution and its
promotion of TeX. And that it, as required in (3) and (4), reports
those failings. Is the committee then obliged to call the SEGM.

My *reading* of your motions is that in this situation, they are NOT
required to call the SEGM. But my understanding of your intent is that
they ARE required to do so. I think which it is must be made clear.
Also, who is it that decides if the incoming committee has failed. Is
it the incoming committee itself? It can't be the SEGM that hasn't
been called yet.

In your dissolution motion 5, you wrote:
> between 80 days and 110 days after the AGM

My mental arithmetic with the calendar is week (oops). We know the
date of the AGM. Perhaps you'd like to replace 80 and 110 by specific
dates. Or perhaps say 'in the month of Umbuary' (for some value of
'Um').

In your dissolution motion 5, you wrote about the motion(s) your
motion instructs the committee to move. It's not clear to me whether
your motion instructs the committee to move one motion or several. I
suggest you clarify this aspect of the motion.

The dissolution SEGM will have to consider both the details of the
dissolution, and the decision to dissolve. I think the SEGM you go
better if the details were decided first, in a series of motions, and
then the decision to dissolve or continue was made (in a single
motion).

I'll some time this evening, if you like me to make further comments
on you motion. One again, thank you for publishing your motion in
draft form. You're doing this is a great benefit to the members, and I
hope my comments are similarly beneficial.

with kind regards

Jonathan