[sudo-discuss] Articles of Incorporation

[Eddan Katz]

I did read it, and thought that both that message and the one marc sent out yesterday were very helpful, especially in getting the ball rolling. i just think we should be deliberate about it in such a way that everyone feels like they know what's going on. nothing too fancy here - just knowing what we will be discussing when so that we can at least feel like we're making informed decisions. it is my conviction that our best bet for working together on this document is making sure everyone's on the same page. 

in regards to the frustration of how long this has taken and will take, my biggest concern with the 501(c)(...) process in fact is that it is the most protracted of the options - typically ranging from 6-18 months from the time submitted. I also suspect that sudo room's articles of incorporation will stand out from the average application - at least in regards to the significant removal of any decision-making power of the Board. as we discussed it last night, we want an intentionally inactive Board and would like to try to make sure we set it up that way from the beginning. to be clear, i'm not against that - but i do think it will likely require more back and forth with the Secretary of State than the conventional application and may then be on the later end of that spectrum.

i whole-heartedly agree that it is due time for us to become an incorporated entity, and am committed to adding what I can to make that happen. i am also frustrated at the lack of clarity at this recent moment when several new corporate structures have been introduced but no one is really used to them yet or confident they know what they mean. i'm sorry if what i've said came off otherwise. 

in this process though, neglecting to create legitimacy for an agreement among everyone could be regrettable later on. the scenarios i'm thinking about in terms of what the Board can unintentionally do that could be harmful has mostly to do with our basic values and political perspectives, not with embezzlement. which is why i think diversity needs to be front and center in our deliberative process for this core structural agreement. and why everyone should take some notice of what's going on with this in administrative detail - even if you've never been to a Wed. meeting and don't plan on coming to one.

i am trying to work on adding to what Marc has graciously started without veering things off or slowing them down or confusing things any further. Turns out that takes a little longer than pushing something through so that it will be done. 

On Oct 17, 2013, at 10:45 AM, Yardena Cohen <yardenack at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Thu, Oct 17, 2013 at 12:56 AM, Eddan Katz <eddan at clear.net> wrote:
>> Perhaps it was purposely
>> distributed just before the meeting and not before then so that those who
>> did not send the email would have had less of a chance to review it?
> 
> Eddan, did you read Marc's link?
> http://lists.sudoroom.org/pipermail/sudo-discuss/2013-October/003910.html
> 
> I sent that email 12 days ago!
> 
> Frankly, I'm tired of waiting on incorporation any more. I am thankful
> to Marc for helping us move forward. I respect the desire to find more
> radical horizontal legal hacks but the truth is, even being a regular
> corp would not make us any worse-off than we are NOW, where we have a
> DBA, bank account, lease and trifling assets in the legal names of a
> handful of people with no accountability other than the goodness of
> their hearts. IMO, we'd actually be closer to horizontal than now, as
> bizarre as that sounds. We'd also be generally more likely to exist at
> all, given that incorporation is the bottleneck for a wide variety of
> solutions to problems that damage our community with every week of not
> being solved.
> 
> Which brings me to my other point: no amount of legalese in the world
> will make up for souring human relationships. With respect to the
> horror stories of orgs being slyly pwnd by white-collar embezzlement
> because of loopholes in their bylaws, it is vastly more likely that
> sudoroom would get pwnd by more informal, intangible problems like our
> board having poor skills at empathy, communication and listening. I am
> not indulging any fantasies about us turning Founding Father and
> overcoming our differences via parliamentary intrigue. If we can't
> work together on a simple document over several weeks, then this is
> pointless.
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