Maille Artisans' International League - Charter

A Charter for the Mail Artisans' International League.

Article 1 - Contents

Article 1 - Contents
Article 2 - Intent
Article 3 - Definitions
Article 4 - Structure
4.1 - Components of the Organization
4.2 - Administration of the Organization
Article 5 - Procedures
5.1 - Actions of the Board of Directors
5.2 - Voting
5.3 - Issue Polls
5.4 - Published Guidelines
5.5 - Ad-hoc Committees
Article 6 - Finances

Article 2 - Intent

2.1 - This Document

The intent of this document is to define the organization and operation of the Maille Artisans' International League (M.A.I.L.).

2.2 - The Organization

The stated intent for the creation and existence of M.A.I.L. is to be an international group of artisans dedicated to the advancement of maille art and maille-related arts. Our aim is to create new techniques, weaves, and patterns, expanding the knowledge of both novice and master, and to increase public awareness of the art and industry of maille.

Article 3 - Definitions

3.1 - Maille

(also mail, chainmail, chainmaille) A flexible material composed of small interlocking metal rings or loops of chain.

3.2 - M.A.I.L.

(also MAIL) An acronym for "Mail Artisans' International League"

Article 4 - Structure

4.1 - Components of the Organization

M.A.I.L. consists of three components, a website, an online discussion board, and the actual membership of the organization.

4.1.1 - Website

The M.A.I.L. website is a repository of articles, photographs, definitions and tools contributed wholly by the membership of M.A.I.L. The contents of this repository reflect
4.1.1.1 - Submissions
Any member of M.A.I.L. may submit entries to the M.A.I.L. website. The content of submissions will be subject to guidelines set by the administrators of the website and reviewed by the membership.
Any and all submissions to the M.A.I.L. website must be made by a registered member of the organization who agrees to the following statement:

"I hereby grant Maille Artisans International League rights of publication of my work on the M.A.I.L. site. In cases of re-publication, the aforementioned M.A.I.L. must recieve my prior permission and in said re-publication provide me with credit for my work.
I further understand that as the owner of such material it is my right to have it removed from the MAIL site for any reason."

4.1.1.2 - Access
All data on the M.A.I.L. website are available to anyone who desires to access them. Membership in the organization is only required in order to contribute to the site.
4.1.1.3 - Discussion Board
The M.A.I.L. website maintains easily accessible hyperlinks to the M.A.I.L. discussion board.
4.1.1.4 - Membership List
The M.A.I.L. website maintains a publically accessible list of the membership of the organization.

4.1.2 - Online Discussion Board

The M.A.I.L. Online Discussion Board is a public forum for the discussion of any and all maille-related topics.
4.1.2.1 - Posting
Any member of M.A.I.L. may post messages and responses to the discussion board. The content of posts will be subject to guidelines set by the moderators of the board and reviewed by the membership.
4.1.2.2 - Access
All non-restricted discussions are available to anyone who desires to access them. Membership in the organization is only required in order to post messages to the board.

4.1.3 - Membership

The artisans and artists who register with the M.A.I.L. website and take part in the M.A.I.L. community are the membership of the organization.
4.1.3.1 - Registration
Membership in M.A.I.L. is open to any person who wishes to contribute to the M.A.I.L. community, subject to guidelines set by the M.A.I.L. board of directors and reviewed by the membership.
4.1.3.2 - Voting rights
All members of M.A.I.L. in good standing have the right to participate in any membership-wide discussion or vote.

4.2 - Administration of the Organization

The following governing groups undertake the decision-making, day-to-day operations, and maintenance of M.A.I.L.

4.2.1 - Website Coders

The M.A.I.L. Website coders carry out all coding functions necessary to maintain and operate the M.A.I.L. website. A website coder is appointed by the M.A.I.L. Board of Directors, subject to review by the membership.

4.2.2 - Discussion Board Coders

The M.A.I.L. Discussion Board coders carry out all coding functions necessary to maintain and operate the M.A.I.L. discussion board. A discussion board coder is a member of M.A.I.L. in good standing, appointed by the M.A.I.L. Board of Directors, subject to review by the membership.

4.2.3 - Website Administrators

The M.A.I.L. Website Administrators carry out all day-to-day functions necessary to maintain and operate the M.A.I.L. website. A website administrator is a member of M.A.I.L. in good standing, appointed by the M.A.I.L. Board of Directors, subject to review by the membership.

4.2.4 - Discussion Board Moderators

The M.A.I.L. Discussion Board Moderators carry out all day-to-day functions necessary to maintain and operate the M.A.I.L. discussion board. A discussion board moderator is a member of M.A.I.L. in good standing, appointed by the M.A.I.L. Board of Directors, subject to review by the membership.

4.2.5 - Board of Directors

The M.A.I.L. Board of Directors (B.O.D.) consists of all members of the following groups; Website coders, Discussion Board coders, Website Administrators, Discussion Board Moderators. The board makes and carries out all decisions for the M.A.I.L. organization, subject to review by the membership, and has sole discretion in the interpretation of this document.

Article 5 - Procedures

5.1 - Actions of the Board of Directors

The M.A.I.L. Board of Directors will make such decisions as are necessary to maintain and operate the organization. All decisions will be subject at least to review by the membership of M.A.I.L.

5.1.1 - Day-to-Day Decisions

Any member of the board is also a member of one or more of the governing groups, and has duties related to membership in that group. Day-to-day decisions and actions (for example, approval of submissions to the M.A.I.L. website) are undertaken by a director in his/her area(s) of responsibility without prior approval of the B.O.D., but are subject to published guidlines for their area of responsibility and review by the B.O.D. and/or the membership at large.

5.1.2 - Policy Decisions

Policy decisions, either in the form of published guidelines or individual actions, must be posted for approval by the B.O.D. before being put into effect. The membership retains right of review on any policy decision.

5.1.3 - Major decisions

Major decisions (for example, removal of a member or website/discussion board redesign), must be proposed by the B.O.D., and posted for discussion and approval by the membership. The B.O.D. will only carry out such actions after approval has been secured from the membership.

5.1.4 - Open Discussions

The records of all discussions carried on by the B.O.D as a whole must be easily and freely available to the public.

5.2 - Voting

Any vote, be it among the B.O.D. or the entire membership, must be carried out on the M.A.I.L. Discussion Board. The B.O.D must carefully oversee the wording of an official vote before it is opened to the group for voting. A vote may have a time limit imposed by the B.O.D., and may be invalidated by the B.O.D. for lack of participation. Unless otherwise stated, a vote will be carried by a simple majority of those members who vote.

5.2.1 - Review Vote

A review vote is used to attempt to reverse an action already taken by the B.O.D. or one of its members. A review vote by the B.O.D may be initiated by any member of the B.O.D. by posting a poll for the members of the B.O.D.. A review vote by the membership may be initiated by a successful issue poll of the membership. Review votes must be officially posted by an appointed representative of the B.O.D., and titled "MAIL REVIEW VOTE: 'topic' "

5.2.2 - Approval vote

An approval vote is used to gain approval for a proposed action to be taken by the B.O.D. or one of its members. An approval vote by the B.O.D. may be initiated by any member of the B.O.D. by posting a poll for the members of the B.O.D.. An approval vote by the membership may be initiated by the B.O.D.. Approval votes must be officially posted by an appointed representative of the B.O.D., and titled "MAIL APPROVAL VOTE: 'topic' "

5.2.3 - Charter Alteration Vote

A vote to alter this charter will be carried out in the same fashion as an approval vote, the only difference being that the vote must have been participated in by a number of members which is at least 1/2 of the number of members who have made at least 20 posts to the M.A.I.L. Discussion Board and have been active in the last 90 days, and been approved by 2/3rds of those members voting, in order to be carried.

5.3 - Issue Polls

An issue poll can be initiated by any member in good standing of the M.A.I.L. community by posting a clearly labelled and worded poll to the discussion board with the subject line "MAIL ISSUE POLL: 'topic' ". This poll determines whether a vote will be taken. An issue poll is considered to be successful if a majority of those participating in the poll are in favor of initiating a vote on the issue presented in the poll. An issue poll must be acted on by the B.O.D. when a significant portion of the currently active membership have participated in the poll.

5.4 - Published Guidelines

Any member of the B.O.D. may ask the B.O.D.'s approval to either institute or alter a set of guidelines used in the running of a portion the website or discussion board. Guidelines are subject to review by the membership, and must be available to the membership at least in the form of a 'sticky' post in one or more related fora on the M.A.I.L. Discussion Board.

5.5 - Ad-hoc Committees

The B.O.D. may, subject to review by the membership, appoint a committee of one or more members in good standing to serve as a single issue governing group for a particular initiative. Members of these groups will NOT be considered members of the B.O.D. unless their membership in another group already grants them that status, but the group may act on behalf of the B.O.D. in its designated area of responsibility, subject to review by the B.O.D./membership.

Article 6 - Finances

One member of the B.O.D. will be appointed by the B.O.D. to serve as Finance Manager for M.A.I.L., subject to review by the membership. This person will be responsible for administering all financial concerns for the organization, and informing the B.O.D. of the organization's financial status at regular intervals.