A Review of the MUUG By-Laws - Ten Years After

By Gilbert Detillieux

The MUUG By-Laws were first drafted in the summer of 1992, with a final
draft (Draft 6) written on September 28, and approved by the membership
at the annual meeting in October 1992.  Ten years have passed since
then, and many things have changed:  the UNIX trademark has changed
hands a few times, UniForum Canada (of which MUUG was an affiliate) has
ceased to exist, and the group has had to make due with a much smaller
board, due to attrition and a reduced membership base.

During that time, the by-laws had been more-or-less forgotten, and many
of the current members may not even be aware of their existence.  They
were, however, approved by the membership in 1992, and do still remain
in effect.  It is therefore important that they be brought up to date,
to reflect the current status of the group, and still offer a viable
framework for the operation of the group.

We therefore propose that the group vote on a special resolution to
amend the by-laws at the October meeting.  Most of the proposed changes
are trivial corrections, to update and correct the trademark attibution,
and to remove articles that pertain to the now-defunct UniForum Canada.
We also propose a couple more significant changes.

First of all, the minimum number of directors on the board should be
changed from five to three.  At the time of the by-laws' drafting, the
group was much larger, and involved in more activities, requiring a
larger number of board members.  Since the group is now smaller and more
focussed, we've managed just fine with only three board members for
several years.  The by-laws should therefore reflect this, in part to
legitimise our current board, but more importantly, to not overly burden
the board and the membership at large with the need to fill vacancies
should we ever fall below the minimum.  (This is not to say that we
shouldn't strive to elect more than the minimum number of directors to
the board each year.  On the contrary, it would be highly desirable to
have the extra directors, to share the load of running the group, and to
avoid falling below the minimum number should one or more directors have
to resign before their term is up.)

Secondly, a new by-law article dealing with finance is proposed.
This would "fill the gap" created by the proposed deletion of another
article, but more importantly, it would make explicit the accountability
of the treasurer to the group, by requiring the presence of that person
at a general meeting at least once a year.  (This has never been a
problem in the past, so it's really just a formality.)

According to the current by-laws, any notice of motion to alter them
must be supported by at least five group members in good standing.
We therefore are presenting the draft notice of motion one month early,
in order that it can be discussed at the September meeting, and the
required number of supporters added to the motion for submission to the
board.

Here is the draft notice, with the specific proposed amendments to the
MUUG by-laws...