X.org calls for the removal of the of the entire FSF BoD

[Marc Balmer]

Thanks Paul for the clarification

Whether it is in the bylaws or not, I find it strange that the X.Org <http://x.org/> board takes such action without prior consultation of the X.Org <http://x.org/> members.

- Marc


> Am 24.03.2021 um 20:42 schrieb Lyude Paul <lyude at redhat.com>:
> 
> On Wed, 2021-03-24 at 20:06 +0100, Marc Balmer wrote:
>> Paul,
>> 
>> can you please explain to me which article of the X.Org <http://x.org/> bylaws allows the board of directors to take such action without prior voting by the X.Org <http://x.org/> members?  I am not enciting that it is wrongful, I just did not find it in the bylaws.
> 
> JFYI - I think you have a misunderstanding on how by-laws work; something that isn't mentioned in by-laws does not mean that something is disallowed. It's the other way around, so you've kind of answered your own question there.
> 
> Either way, there are explicit by-laws that actually do explicitly enable these actions: see Article 4 sections ii and iii (also, section i makes a vague mention of this). There's also no actual situations described in the by-laws that require member votes other then elections (of course), and I don't think I've ever heard of a foundation which has all of it's members vote on any PR statements before they're made. 
> 
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> Marc
>> 
>> 
>>> Am 24.03.2021 um 17:56 schrieb Lyude Paul <lyude at redhat.com <mailto:lyude at redhat.com>>:
>>> 
>>> Hello. As many of you are already likely aware, yesterday Richard M. Stallman
>>> rejoined the Board of Directors for the Free Software Foundation. This is an
>>> incredibly disappointing decision, one which runs contrary to the values that
>>> the X.org <http://x.org/> and freedesktop.org <http://freedesktop.org/> communities are built-upon.
>>> 
>>> Richard M. Stallman, or RMS for short, has an infamously well documented history
>>> of causing problems both for the FSF, it's associated projects, and open source
>>> as a whole. On numerous occasions he's exhibited seriously inappropriate
>>> behavior and views that are transphobic, ableist, and misogynist among many
>>> other things that are wholly unacceptable and which have no place in the open
>>> source community. In doing so he's set a dangerous and irresponsible precedence
>>> for the open source community that has tarnished its reputation for ages.
>>> 
>>> As well, the board for the Free Software Foundation must also be held
>>> accountable for his actions and presence back on the board. While RMS himself is
>>> a huge problem, he would not be able to hold a place on the FSF BoD without the
>>> board being complacent with his behavior and allowing him to return. This is
>>> also part of a long recurring pattern with the FSF board encouraging RMS's
>>> behavior and refusing to hold him accountable. It is not enough for RMS to step
>>> down again, the entire board of directors must step down.
>>> 
>>> It is for these reasons that the X.org <http://x.org/> foundation's Board of Directors have
>>> overwhelmingly voted to join in the call for the FSF's Board of Directors to
>>> step down, and additionally for RMS to be removed from all leadership positions
>>> including the GNU project. You can find our endorsement of this along with more
>>> information here:
>>> 
>>> https://rms-open-letter.github.io/ <https://rms-open-letter.github.io/>
>>> 
>>> We encourage members of X.org, freedesktop.org, and the open source community as
>>> a whole to endorse this letter and boycott involvement with the FSF and
>>> associated projects.
>>> 
>>> Sincerely,
>>> 	Lyude Paul - X.org board member and Secretary
>>> 	On behalf of the X.org foundation
>>> 
>> 
> 
> -- 
> Sincerely,
> Lyude Paul (she/her)
> Software Engineer at Red Hat
> 
> Note: I deal with a lot of emails and have a lot of bugs on my plate. If you've asked me a question, are waiting for a review/merge on a patch, etc. and I haven't responded in a while, please feel free to send me another email to check on my status. I don't bite!

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