DMB rules

This section contains rules and regulations for the Developer Membership Board to use when conducting its business. Changes to these rules should be proposed by a board member and voted on by the board.

Board Member attendance

The final formal wording is from this post and is reproduced here:

Any DMB member who fails to attend 6 consecutive scheduled DMB meetings (during a period no shorter than 12 weeks) shall be considered inactive and removed from membership in the DMB. Since the number of members required for quorum is 1/2 the number of active DMB members, rounded up, the change in the number of active members will affect quorum. At such time as any DMB member is found to be inactive due to this rule, the current DMB chair will add an action item to schedule a public vote for a new DMB member. Previous DMB members, including those changed to inactive due to this rule, are eligible to run in the new election and any later elections. This proposal is not retroactive, and the attendance requirement shall start the first meeting after this proposal is adopted.

Note

This rule was proposed on the mailing list, and approved on 2021-11-05.

Voting and quorum

  • The total number of active board members should be 7, with a quorum of 4.

  • We don’t require quorum to hold meetings, we only require ‘quorum’ during voting.

  • Members vote on applications or proposals by giving -1 (reject), 0 (abstain), or +1 (approve).

  • The sum of all votes given must reach >0 (a majority) to pass a vote.

  • The vote must be quorate for it to be valid.

    • However if quorum is not reached at first meeting, then at the next meeting a “majority of present votes” is sufficient to pass.

  • If the meeting is quorate and all members present vote in the same way (+1 or -1), then the application will have passed or failed – the remaining members cannot overturn the vote. However if the verdict was not unanimous, then the remaining members will be asked to vote by email or at the next meeting.

  • If the vote is in doubt (for example, if 4 members are present and the vote is tied) then it is hung and the remaining members will be asked to vote by email or at the next meeting.

  • In the case of a deferred email or next-meeting vote, those members are entitled to ask the applicant further questions if they still have any upon reviewing the meeting log (or recording).

Note

These rules are complex, a different approach to make it less misunderstandable is by expressing it as a DMB vote funtion.