The time has come. After many months of discussion, we believe the negotiations between
tfes.org and
theflatearthsociety.org have reached a point of conclusion, and we would like now to present our reunification proposal. The support (or lack thereof) presented in this thread will determine whether or not we proceed. Please see the proposal below:
Reunification Proposal
Author: pizaaplanet
Version: 1
Assuming the approval of our members, we would like to reunite the two societies under the following conditions:
- The Forums
The two societies' forums will be merged by way of tfes.org inheriting theflatearthsociety.org's database. The resultant forum will remain under the current administration, moderation and rules of tfes.org. The web server, codebase, and technical solutions used will be those of tfes.org. Wilmore and Daniel will also have administrative privileges in the forum, but their role in running the forum will be advisory at most, and likely simply ceremonial. The administrators of tfes.org will be the decision-making organ for all things related to the forum. The reunited forum's URL will be forum.theflatearthsociety.org, but redirects will be maintained for forum.tfes.org and theflatearthsociety.org/forum for the foreseeable future. No content from either forum should be lost. - The Front Page and Library
The current front page and Flat Earth Library of theflatearthsociety.org will be used. This will be primarily maintained by Daniel, and will be located on the server of his choosing. At least one tfes.org administrator will be permitted to be a co-admin of the front page. Non-administrative members will be able to apply for accounts, should they wish to submit periodic content (news stories, articles, images, etc.). - The Wiki
The current Wiki of tfes.org will be used. - The Society
- President/VP - Daniel will be the President of the reunited society. Lord Wilmore will be the Vice President. These positions are at Daniel's discretion.
- The Zetetic Council - A democratically-elected body of 5 members will be electable yearly. They will be officially recognised as such within the Society and will therefore be expected to act as its legitimate representatives. Their exact remit and structure of the council will be established post-reunification (and pre-election) through a general agreement of all members of the Society and forum regulars (unless they deem that such a body is unnecessary). In principle, they will be a decision-making organ of the society wherever possible (e.g. not in charge of membership and merchandise - see below). Daniel will retain veto power over the ZC's decisions.
- A necessary consequence of this development will be the dissolution of the current Zetetic Council of tfes.org.
- There will be no restrictions on current councillors partaking in the elections for the new council.
- Membership - Daniel remains in control of the membership register of theflatearthsociety.org, which will continue to be used in the reunified society. The current membership rules (free associate membership with an optional "Friend of the Flat Earth" membership package sold at no profit) will be carried over to the reunified society.
- Merchandise - This remains within Daniel's remit and will likely operate as it does currently on theflatearthsociety.org, under the condition that it will be performed at no profit. After reunification, we may investigate alternative pathways (e.g. Zazzle/CafePress), should there be significant demand for such a development.
- The Logo - The logo of theflatearthsociety.org will be used at the time of reunification
Version history:
# | Description | Date | Author |
1: | Initial version | 27/12/2014 | pizaaplanet |
What happens now?As agreed previously, it is now the time for our community to discuss the proposal and suggest modifications. Everyone's input is welcome. Please post your comments below. We (tfes.org administrators) will avoid getting too involved in the discussion proper so as to avoid skewing it, but we will happily respond to any questions. We will also notify Daniel and Wilmore about this thread, so they may be able to answer questions directed at them, should they choose to do so.
The discussion/suggestions period will last for
no less than 7 days since the time of this post. At that point, assuming we've reached a sensible consensus, the final version of the proposal would be put to a vote. Provisionally, I would like to suggest that all members who registered and made 50 posts prior to this post. These rules are open for suggestions and amendments on the same conditions as the rest of the proposal.
Thank you for reading, and thanks for flying Flat Earth.
~pizaaplanet