[libreplanet-discuss] membership confusion, FSF way forward

[Daniel Pocock]

Recent discussions show a lot of confusion about FSF (associate) membership.

The FSF publishes[1] copies of the financial statements

The 2018 filing[2] shows that FSF has only registered 7 people as voting
members and the other 1466 people only registered as volunteers.  Why
the distinction?

Given the scale of the recent problems, a change of leadership is not
just about changing the president.  The existing board have supported
the president through many years.  Any of them could have resigned at
any time if they didn't agree with his leadership.

Therefore, it is my personal view that:

1. all the 1466 volunteers, associate members and any new volunteers who
joined recently must be given equal voting rights.

2. the entire board resigns and the entire organization is then engaged
in the election of both a new board and president.

The actual resignation date could be deferred until LibrePlanet so there
is time for reasoned decision making.

A new president alone doesn't mean much if the existing board or staff
carry on doing different things.  It may take time to see just what
success the president really has.  People may want to know who the
president will be and what their platform is before deciding to renew
membership or make further donations, it is too early to decide right now.

Given the extent to which recent discussions demonstrate
misunderstandings about membership status, it doesn't feel correct for
the FSF to continue using the term "associate member", as this term and
the marketing around it (phrases like "Renew your membership!") appear
to be giving people an inaccurate understanding of their status.

Regards,

Daniel


1. https://www.fsf.org/about/financial
2. https://static.fsf.org/nosvn/financial-statements/Form990-FY2018.pdf