[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

(maybe) constitutional amendment: clarification of section 5.1.5



Hi all,

When I read the constitution so many years ago for the first time, there
were some things that stuck, and others that didn't. One of the things
that stuck was a particular power of the DPL which I hadn't seen used
in, like, forever. And when I wanted to send a private mail to our
current DPL about that subject, I noticed that my reading of the
constitution may have been in error.

Section 3.1.2 of the constitution reads as follows:

[...An individual developer may...]
2. Propose or sponsor draft General Resolutions

whereas section 5.1.5 reads as follows:

[...The project leader may...]
5. Propose draft General Resolutions and amendments.

I had always, probably incorrectly, interpreted the lack of the words
"or sponsor" in that sentence as meaning that a GR proposal from the
project leader doesn't actually require sponsors.

That interpretation probably would have made sense if the word "draft"
wasn't in that sentence: in that case, non-DPL DD's could propose
"draft" GR statements, which would become "proposed" GR statements upon
acquiring enough seconds, and "GR" statements once they had been voted
upon. Had it not used "draft", then the Project Leader could bypass the
"draft" phase in that order. But at any rate, that's not what it says.

Having thought about it this way for years (without ever having seen
it happen, of course), I do believe this is actually not that bad an
idea, as it would allow a DPL to fast-track a vote on an important
issue: recall that any accepted amendment resets the discussion period,
as per A.2.4; to avoid unnecessary delay in the procedure, the DPL could
use that power to bring an amendment on the ballot immediately, without
having to wait a few days for more formal seconds and thereby risk what
I'll call "accidental filibustering". If people do not think I'm crazy,
I'd like to propose a formal amendment to make this reading the official
one.

At any rate, ignoring what may be no more than a silly brain fart on my
end, there's still a bit in there which could use some clarification: as
written currently, and ignoring the procedure under A.1, it would appear
as if non-DPL developers don't actually have the right to propose
amendments.  This is obviously in error, and I think it wouldn't hurt to
fix that.

Thoughts?

-- 
The volume of a pizza of thickness a and radius z can be described by
the following formula:

pi zz a

Attachment: signature.asc
Description: Digital signature


Reply to: