Board/Minutes/2024-11-21
Draft minutes.
Date and time: Thursday 21 November 2024 12:00 UTC --- Countdown
Video room at https://osmvideo.cloud68.co
using BigBlueButton.
Participants
- Craig Allan
- Héctor Ochoa Ortiz
- Maurizio Napolitano
- Roland Olbricht
- Guillaume Rischard
- Laura Mugeha (joined 7' after start)
Not Present
- Dani Waltersdorfer (apologies)
Officers and board historic
Biographies historic
Minutes by Dorothea Kazazi.
Guests
Meeting not open to observers.
Distribution of Meta sponsorships to regional SotMs
| Background |
|---|
| The OSMF board on 2023-07-29 voted to act as financial intermediary for the distribution of sponsorships by companies to regional State of the Map conferences. The rationale and the template agreement are on the OSMF page Sponsorship support and distribution for local State of the Map (SotM) conferences. Some of the requirements are stated in the agreement.
Meta in 2024 has provided funds to OSMF for several items, one of which was Meta sponsoring regional SotMs and distributing these sponsorships via OSMF. Selection of regional SotMs The list of proposed SotMs and amounts was approved by Meta. Meta will also carry the 5% overhead fee specified in the SotM distribution agreement. The Meta sponsorships will be distributed to:
The board has already received the signed sponsorship distribution agreements from four of the selected SotMs, and other documents. Discussion will be on the status and the processing. |
| Topic suggested by Héctor Ochoa Ortiz |
Urgent - since some of the regional SotMs already took place. Each of the organising teams has sent a detailed budget, the signed sponsorship distribution agreements and their banking details.
Suggestion: Have a circular for Treasurer to send the payments.
On international banking challenges
- There might be delays in transferring funds to Rwanda
- The OSMF was previously kicked out of the bank it was using, due to having a member stationed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the person worked as a humanitarian.
- Finding a reliable bank that would accept us was a lot of work for the Treasurer at the time.
- We should be cautious when supporting countries that are subject to international sanctions.
Action item
Héctor to create a circular with the conferences, amounts and GitLab tickets. Once approved, the Treasurer will make the transfer.
Dorothea provided some of the required information for the circular.
External formal appeal for OSMF Board intervention on moderation inaction
Topic suggested by Craig Allan.
Below are draft redacted minutes. They do not contain names, urls and the minutes of a tangential discussion, which is minuted on the private board wiki.
The board received an anonymous complaint regarding the moderation team's handling of some posts, mentioning that the penalty placed by the moderation team was not adequate. The sender had initially emailed the moderation team and then appealed to the board, apparently suggesting the review of the moderation team's findings and discontinuing the participation/memberships of the individuals who wrote the posts.
Suggestions for next steps
- Disentangle this appeal from other issues raised by a board member, which can be raised as an additional agenda item for further board discussion.
- Nominate the 3 new board members to review the facts and determine whether the appeal requires further board attention and propose an action or decision at the next board meeting.
- The new board members offered to help.
- Define the terms of reference for the three board members' committee.
- Dismiss the complaint, as it vaguely references social media messages, which fall outside the moderation committee's remit.
Related to moderation and the moderation team
- While the OSMF guidance advises against being mean to others, it was noted that expressing mean opinions on external sites appears to be permitted.
- Overriding the decision made by the moderation team could potentially destroy the trust between the board and the team.
- The moderation team should define its scope and decide whether the posts constitute fair commentary under the OSMF guidelines or if it qualifies as abuse.
On appeals
- The board has an established practice of dismissing appeals, unless they are substantial, in order to avoid routinely overriding the decisions of working groups.
Other points mentioned during discussion
- No additional context is needed to make a decision on the matter.
On (potential) board members' conflicts of interest
Dorothea noted that all board members probably have a conflict of interest in this case.
Craig stated that board members have conflicts of interest and the three new members have the least conflict of interest.
On the posts which probably the complaint refers to
The sender did not link to the posts in the appeal email to the board. However, based on the rest of the information provided in the email, there were a few very likely candidates for the posts that the sender considered to be abusive.
Two urls were shared during the discussion.
Comments on the first probable post
One of the posts that the sender likely refers to is outside of the remit of the moderation committee, as it was published on an OSMF platform, but may fall under the OSMF behavioural guidelines. It was also mentioned that the post lacks specific context and while it is about a specific individual, it does not mention a name, age, organisation, or timeframe. People assumed the context, as it was linked from another post. It was noted that the timing of the publication is of interest.
Comments on the second probable post
The second likely post was published on an OSMF platform. One of the board members mentioned that is justifiable criticism, not abusive, while another board members mentioned that it does not seem to assume good faith.
On penalties proposed by the sender
The sender seemed to suggest discontinuing the participation/memberships of the individuals who wrote the messages that the sender found to be defamatory.
- There's no specified schedule of penalties.
- Moderation team's authority: The moderation team can ban people from participation in discussion groups for varying durations, ranging from a few hours to 10 years.
- Removals: No one has been removed from the OSMF membership, working groups, or committees to date.
- Only the board has the authority to remove someone from membership; this decision cannot be delegated.
- GlobalLogic incident: we asked them to leave before being formally removed.
- The Articles of Association (AoA) outline procedures for suspending membership, though these may apply to new members.
- Suspension from participation in mailing lists is up to the board.
Suggestions
- Ask the moderation team to clarify the exact subject of the complaint
- Focus on the appeal itself, separate from other posts and events.
- Focus on the way forward, considering that some members have already left the board.
- Resolve the core conflict.
Key issues: 1) the appeal, 2) determine what has happened and whether the board should take actions, 3) plan the way forward.
Concern: The board is spending too much time on issues caused by individuals outside the board.
Decision
A subcommittee of the three new board members will be formed, to talk with the moderation team, review the team's findings and determine if they are adequate.
The board tried to separate the appeal from a tangential discussion, which is minuted on the board wiki.
Questions about board processes
Topic suggested by Craig Allan.
Not discussed.
Scheduling the recurring dates and times of board meetings and chats
Topic suggested by Héctor Ochoa Ortiz.
Dani has proposed dates for approximately another year:
Board mid-month / Board Public Meeting
12 December 2024 / 19 December 2024
16 January 2025 / 30 January 2025
13 February 2025 / 27 February 2025
13 March 2025 / 27 March 2025
10 April 2025 / 24 April 2025
15 May 2025 / 29 May 2025
12 June 2025 / 26 June 2025
17 July 2025 / 31 July 2025
14 August 2025 / 28 August 2025
11 September 2025 / 25 September 2025
16 October 2025 / 23 October 2025
You will find them on this Framagenda calendar, which will also reflect any rescheduling.
Suggestions on meeting start time
- Move the meeting to a later time, for US board members.
- Move the time to 13:00 UTC.
- After 09:00 NYC time is more flexible for Guillaume.
- Some board members had scheduling clashes with those times.
- After 09:00 NYC time is more flexible for Guillaume.
Other points mentioned during discussion
- Board members can miss one or two of the scheduled meetings.
Decision
Decide on the meeting times by circular.
Potential board face-to-face or screen-to-screen meeting
Topic suggested by Craig Allan.
Suggestion: The board to have a meeting in Q1 2025 (Jan, Feb, Mar).
Other points mentioned during discussion
- Dani (Secretary) will send possible dates soon (as relayed by Héctor, deputy Secretary)
- Héctor is looking at possible locations.
- Laura needs at least a month's notice before the meeting. Has gone to Schengen twice, which helps. Going to the US is more difficult.
- Europe seems a better location.
Meeting adjourned 1 hour and 14 minutes after start.