CHARTER
Article 1 – General
Section
1. The Ethiopian Email Distribution Network (EEDN) is an independent,
non-profit electronic discussion group (hereafter referred to
as the List) incorporated in the State of Delaware (USA).
Section
2. EEDN's mission shall be defined in the Charter, and its organizational
structure, rules and regulations shall be spelled out in the Bylaws.
Article
2 – Mission and Policy
Section
1. The primary mission of EEDN is to provide a minimally restricted
and yet unmoderated forum for constructive exchanges of views
and information concerning the social, political and economic
challenges facing Ethiopia. The network aims at promoting the
welfare of all Ethiopians by focusing on shared aspirations, cultivating
civic-minded citizenship, and exploring the prospects for Ethiopian
democracy and prosperity.
Section
2. EEDN also serves as a medium for undertaking special projects
that are aimed at building up the capacity of Ethiopians to take
full advantage of new information technologies or projects that
promote the causes of human, civic and political rights.
Section
3. EEDN is open to all Ethiopians at home and in the Diaspora
as well as to friends of Ethiopia who share the mission contained
in this Charter, and also agree to abide by the rules and regulations
contained in these Bylaws.
Section
4. EEDN observes all applicable Internet laws and etiquette. It
is a forum open to all regardless of ethnic, political, or religious
affiliation. As a non-partisan organization, EEDN does not discriminate
on the basis of one's cultural identity (including ethnicity,
religion or language), gender, or political views that are offered
in the spirit outlined in Sections 1 and 2 above. However, government
agents, parties or individuals who systematically agitate in favor
of the division of Ethiopia and Ethiopians across demographic
lines are not welcome in EEDN.
Section
5. EEDN insists that all exchanges of views must be constructive
and conducted with utmost respect and civility as befits a democratic
forum and the best of Ethiopian culture. Online harassment, abuse
or intimidation of fellow List members that go beyond the well-placed
polemic will not be tolerated. Protracted exchanges involving
personal or political feuds that are devoid of substantive content
are not permitted in this List.
Section
6. Each subscriber enjoys full rights of posting personal opinion(s),
important news items or brief articles that pertain to Ethiopian
affairs, humor, poems and book reviews, seminar and conference
announcements, and other educational items. However, the author,
not EEDN, is legally responsible for the accuracy of the information,
any libelous attacks, or any infringement of copyright laws. Furthermore,
members are forewarned that there is no guarantee of privacy:
postings are fully accessible to anyone who is a little knowledgeable
with the Internet.
Section
7. Routine cross posting of articles, commentaries, and widely
available news items from other sources is not permitted unless
their relevance to the discussion in this alias can be justified
to the Board. However, members are strongly encouraged to recommend
useful sites or documents to readers.
Section
8. EEDN shall have a Website, www.eedn.org, dedicated to serving
as a gateway for basic information on Ethiopia and its Diaspora.
Copies of the Charter, Bylaws and any other official documents
shall be posted in this Website.
Section
9. The EEDN name and the contents of e-mails posted in the List
or its Website, and any derivable financial benefits thereof,
are the sole property of EEDN. Routine forwarding, quoting and
redistributing e-mails to any outside alias or newsgroup in any
form is strictly forbidden without the written permission of the
Board.
Article
3 – Membership
Section
1. EEDN shall be operated on behalf of its duly registered members,
and it is supported by their financial contributions. There shall
be two classes of membership. Full Members are those who pay the
annual dues (currently $25 per year) and enjoy the right to vote
or serve as officers. Associate Members are those who do not make
any financial contributions or choose to contribute less than
the annual dues. The List welcomes financial contributions other
than dues to help it carry out special projects.
Article
4 – Officers
Section
1. EEDN shall be governed by volunteer Board of Trustees (BOT)
and Board of Directors (BOD). The Full Members, upon completion
of a membership drive, shall elect in January members of the Boards.
Members of the BOD shall be elected annually for a term of one
calendar year, and members of the BOT shall be elected in alternate
years and shall serve for a two-year period. A technical crew
manages the routine activities of the List. The Boards may choose
to establish task forces and advisory committees as necessary.
Section
2. The election of new officers shall be overseen jointly by the
existing officers of the BOT and the BOD.
Section
3. The slate of candidates for election shall consist only of
Full Members who have given prior consent.
BYLAWS
Article 1 - Administration
Section
1. The BOT shall consist of two Trustees, comprising a Chair and
one regular member. The Trustees, operating by consensus, are
entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the overall functioning
of the List and initiating special programs (such as online conferences,
human rights campaigns, and Website enhancement).
Section
2. The BOD shall consist of three officers: Chair, Treasurer,
and Postmaster. The Directors, with the advice of the Trustees,
are responsible for managing the List and enforcing the rules
and regulations.
Section
3. The Trustees, Directors, and Members do not bear personal liability
for EEDN's legal or financial obligations.
Section
4. The Postmaster heads the technical crew, which may include
non-elected volunteers, including a Webmaster. The Postmaster
will notify the List management company of the identity of the
newly elected officers, and post their names in the EEDN Website.
Furthermore, the Postmaster shall have exclusive control of the
"password" unless the Trustees find compelling reasons
for any other officer(s) to have direct access to the profile
of members
Section
5. Officers of the BOD, in consultation amongst themselves, have
the responsibility for approving new members, and for suspending
or terminating existing members.
Section
6. The Trustees may be invited by any officer, or may on their
own choose to ask, to be involved in the deliberations of the
BOD in matters that involve conflicting interpretations of the
Charter and Bylaws.
Section
7. The BOT has the authority to investigate and provide final
decisions on appeals or petitions filed by members that involve
the conduct of the BOD.
Section
8. Any serious disagreements between the BOT and the BOD, or between
the elected officers and the membership concerning issues that
may not be clearly addressed, or are not included at all in the
Charter and Bylaws, shall be brought to the membership for final
adjudication.
Section
9. The Full Members shall also make the final determination regarding
any alleged violations, by the BOD, of the Charter and Bylaws,
which are not resolved by the BOT. The same procedure applies
to any alleged violations by the BOT. These include recalls in
the case of egregious violations or serious neglect of duty by
any elected officer. The conduct of cyber meetings pertaining
to quorum and votes shall be in the spirit of the latest edition
of Roberts
Rules of Order.
Section
10. Any vacancy in the BOT must be announced to the membership
and a by-election shall be held for the vacant position within
60 days of the vacancy. This rule is waived in the case where
the vacancy occurs within 60 days of a general election
Section
11. A vacancy of one officer of the BOD may be filled by a majority
vote of the two boards until the next Annual Election. A vacancy
of two members of the BOD shall lead to its dissolution, and a
by-election for a new BOD shall be held immediately to serve the
remainder of the existing term.
Section
12. The BOD may wish to formulate, and obtain member approval
of, written Working Policy Guidelines that codify best practice.
These guidelines may include such items as procedures for fundraising
requests, devoting a block of time for special topics of discussion,
or terminating threads that have demonstratively proved unfruitful
and disruptive.
Section
13. The latest versions of the Working Policy Guidelines and the
Application Form for New Members shall be consistent with the
Charter and the Bylaws, and appended to them.
Section
14. The BOD shall submit an annual report, including a full financial
statement. It shall also file all documents required by the IRS
and the State of Delaware.
Section
15. The BOD represents EEDN in all legal matters.
Section
16. The BOD or BOT cannot dispose of, sell, assign, lease or transfer
in any other manner or alter the legal ownership of EEDN without
the expressed approval of the membership. At the end of its term,
the BOD shall transfer all assets and responsibility to a duly
elected Board.
Section
17. It is illegal to willfully publish, or transfer to another
medium, the membership roster of EEDN. Any officer or member of
the Tech Crew, current or past, who does so shall be prosecuted
to the fullest extent of the Law.
Article
2 - Rules and Regulations
A.
Concerning Admission of New Members
Section
1. Upon request for subscription to the discussion List, a subscriber
is required to fill out an up-to-date profile form.
Section
2. Each new applicant for membership in EEDN will be required
to provide his or her legal name, a complete mailing address,
and a phone number for verification and authentication of the
information supplied in the personal profile. Additional information
on an applicant's professional background and interest may be
requested to help the List with programming. However, providing
the additional information is not required for membership.
Section
3. The Postmaster shall present her or his recommendation for
admission to the executive officers for their approval. Any potential
member who feels that the application was denied unfairly may
appeal to the Trustees whose decision is final.
Section
4. Personal information provided to EEDN shall be kept confidential
in accordance with the law. However, the BOD is not legally responsible
for any inadvertent release of such information.
B.
Concerning Suspensions and Expulsions of Subscribers
Section
1. A subscriber who violates the terms contained in this Charter
and Bylaws shall be suspended for a prescribed time (at least
a week) subsequent to a written warning from the BOD.
Section
2. An egregious first-time violation or repeated offenses will
result in expulsion. The expulsion shall be accompanied with a
clear statement of explanation issued by the BOD.
Section
3. Falsifying a profile and posting product advertisements for
private financial benefits are among the serious offenses that
would result in automatic expulsion.
Section
4. The Postmaster may put violators on a read-only or non-post
status, pending the decision of the BOD, for expellable offences
that are explicitly enumerated in the Bylaws. For less clear-cut
violations, non-post status, suspension or expulsion requires
approval by the BOD.
Section
5. Suspended or expelled members have the right to appeal in writing
to the BOD. The BOD shall reconsider the matter and render the
final decision with an explanation. If a serious question arises
as to the legality of the BOD's decision, the matter shall be
decided by the combined vote of the members of both boards at
a meeting called by the Chair of the BOT for this purpose.
Section
6. All warnings, suspensions and expulsions shall be posted in
the List at the same time the offending member is notified.
C.
Concerning Aliases and Multiple Addresses
Section
1. Members shall be permitted to use an alias. However, subscribers
must append the following to their aliases in order to keep their
posting privilege: (al).
Section
2. Multiple e-mail addresses are not permitted per registrant
nor are organizations allowed to be de jure members of the List.
The BOD may allow the use of two addresses in cases where the
use of Ethiopic script is desired, or in other exceptional cases.
D.
Concerning Requests to Suspend Mail or to Leave the List
Section
1. The Tech Crew shall not handle requests for suspending mail
temporarily. Members are expected to accomplish this task themselves
by following the simple instructions that are available in the
EEDN Website.
Section
2. While members may "unsubscribe" permanently, requests
to have their names expunged from the roster shall be handled
by the Tech crew at its earliest convenience.
Article 3 - Amendments and Dissolution
Section
1. The Charter, as a constitution of EEDN, shall be amended with
a vote of two-thirds of Full Members.
Section
2. The Bylaws, as the internal administrative rules of EEDN, may
be amended by a simple majority of Full Members.
Section
3. The draft of any proposed amendment to the articles of the
Charter or the Bylaws or both must be signed by at least five
Full Members and circulated at least two weeks prior to the vote.
Section
4. EEDN shall be assumed to exist in perpetuity. EEDN may be dissolved
by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the Full Members. In the event
of a dissolution of EEDN, the board shall transfer the net assets
to an Ethiopian charitable organization or an educational institution.
Article
4 - Attachments
Section
1. Application Form for New Members.
Section
2. Working Policy Guidelines for the Board.(not available at this
time) and Postmasters
| 1 |
Cross-posting of Articles - Amendment
Definitions:
Public = any material available to anyone with access to the internet
Private = any material that is limited by subscription access to members.
Cross-posting = redistribution of material
a) Anything public (ie. related to Ethiopia) can be cross-posted into EEDN.
b) Any private posting in EEDN remains private.
c) Routine cross-posting of widely available public material in not permitted.
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| 2 |
Cross posting of Ethiopian government's political, economic and social propaganda, from whatever source is prohibited, unless done to expose, critique or show negative impact on citizens.
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| 3 |
Article 2 Section 5 of the EEDN Charter (visit reference: opens a new browser window) provides that all exchanges of views must be constructive and conducted with utmost respect and civility as befits a democratic forum and the best of Ethiopian culture. Members are free to comment, provide rebuttal and engage in constructive criticism of articles posted by a member. However, the use of offensive and obscene languages, harassing, insulting or personally attacking the author is prohibited.
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| 4 |
Any member who violates the rules will be given a warning by the Postmaster and will be put on no post status for one week. For second offense a member will be suspended from posting and reading messages for one full month. The EEDN Board shall cancel the membership of the violator on his/her third offense. The member whose membership has been canceled on a third offense will have no recourse to appeal his/her case to the general membership.
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| 5 |
Insult is defined as affront, abuse, offense, name-calling rudeness, slur and slight. For example: Calling someone stupid, idiot, and denigrating his/her ethnicity, religion, educational and social background and gender shall constitute insult. Based on such criteria, the Board may use its own discretion to interpret what constitutes insult to warn, put on no post status and cancel the membership of the offending party.
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| 6 |
The EEDN Board will advise all subscribers to membership to read and agree to abide by EEDN's Rules and Regulations as stated in the Charter and act in a responsible manner before they have access to EEDN.
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| 7 |
Candidates for Trustees and Board members must have been EEDN members on good standing for at least three years, paid the minimum $25 annual maintenance fee and known to the general membership.
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| 8 |
If a nomination has been seconded by another paid member, it is accepted. However, a nominee can be rejected by four (4) voting members. Should that occur, the nominee can withdraw their name or it will automatically be removed after one (1) day.
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| 9 |
Aliases cannot be used on EEDN. Members that don't show their actual name on their e-mail addresses have the responsibility of signing their submissions with the name that is filled out in the EEDN profile.
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| 10 |
One person per one EEDN subscription is allowed on the medium. |
| 11 |
The EEDN Charter and Rules will be translated into Amharic and be made available on http://www.eedn.org
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Amended:
7 December 2002; Original: 1991; 2000.
