TC Process change to attendance rules

[James Bryce Clark <jamie.clark@oasis-open.org>]

     To:  OASIS Members

      Please be advised that the OASIS TC Process has been amended to 
simplify the rules for TC attendance and the effects on the voting rights 
of TC members.

     After the April 2005 TC Process revisions, TC chairs and members 
suggested that the revised rules in Section 2.4 could be made easier to 
administer.   The OASIS staff and Board of Directors appreciate the input 
we received, and the Board directed its TC Process Committee to simplify 
the rule.  The new text is set out at the bottom of this message.
     Please bear in mind that a TC member who fails to attend TC meetings 
(or certain ballots, in the case where those are counted) may lose his or 
her *voting* rights as a result.  However, the attendance rule only toggles 
voting-versus-nonvoting status.  Membership in the TC does not lapse due to 
absence.
     The change is effective today, 12 August 2005,  and also will be 
posted to the TC Process page at 
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/process.php.

REVISED TEXT:

2.4 TC Membership and Participation
     TC membership is per person, not per organization, and is not 
transferable from person to person.

Observer
     An Eligible Person may become an Observer of a TC by registering as an 
Observer using the electronic collaboration tools provided by OASIS. If the 
Eligible Person is an employee or designee of an OASIS member organization, 
the Primary Representative of that organization must be notified that the 
person has requested to become an Observer. The Observer is not a Member of 
the TC so has no attendance or participation requirements to maintain this 
status, other than to remain an Eligible Person.

Member
     Any time after the first meeting, an Eligible Person shall become a 
Member of an existing TC by registering as a Member using the electronic 
collaboration tools provided by OASIS. If the Eligible Person is an 
employee or designee of an OASIS member organization, the Primary 
Representative of that organization must confirm to the Chair and to the TC 
Administrator that the person may become a Member of the TC. Upon receipt 
by the Chair of confirmation by the Primary Representative the Member may 
begin participating, but shall not have voting rights. A Member shall 
become eligible to vote in the TC when the requirements below are met.

Voting Member
     After the first Meeting of a TC, a Member shall gain voting rights at 
the close of the second consecutive Meeting attended by the Member or 60 
days after the person becomes a Member, whichever comes first.
     A Voting Member must be active in a TC to maintain voting rights. In 
TCs that hold Meetings, a Voting Member who is absent from two consecutive 
Meetings (as recorded in the minutes) loses his or her voting rights at the 
end of the second Meeting missed. If a TC has adopted a standing rule to 
conduct business only by electronic ballot, without Meetings, then a Voting 
Member who fails to cast a ballot in two consecutive Specification Ballots 
loses his or her voting rights at the close of the second ballot missed.
     A Member who has lost his or her voting rights shall regain them for a 
TC that holds Meetings by attending two consecutive Meetings (as recorded 
in the minutes), thus regaining voting rights after the end of the second 
Meeting attended.  A Member of a TC that does not hold Meetings may regain 
voting rights by making a request to the chair(s) to regain them, effective 
60 days after the request.
     Voting Members who lose their voting rights remain Members of the TC. 
A warning may be sent to the Member by the Chair, but the loss of voting 
rights is not dependent on the warning.

END OF TEXT

Regards  JBC

~   James Bryce Clark
~   Director, Standards Development, OASIS
~   jamie.clark@oasis-open.org