Published: 20th August 2003
Note: On 22nd March 2004 this document has been superseded by Handling Votings and Membership (II). Please refer to the new document for up-to-date information.
When a vote is called, each member can vote "yes", "no" or "abstain". In the case of a tie, the issue is considered unresolved until a compromise can be reached and a positive re-vote is achieved. If more than half of the voting members choose to abstain, the vote is also considered unresolved.
Outside of the Group, individual voting shall be anonymous. Published results would appear as:
4 yes, 1 no, 1 abstention
Examples (for a 7 member group):
7 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain Pass 2 yes, 4 no, 1 abstain Fail 3 yes, 3 no, 1 abstain Unresolved (Fail) 2 yes, 1 no, 4 abstain Unresolved (Fail)Any member can call a vote, but it must be seconded by one other member before the vote can begin. The voting period will begin the following midnight (UTC). Each voting period lasts four days. Votes that haven't been cast by the end of the voting period default to "abstain".
Membership is essentially for life. A member can resign whenever they like or can be voted out of the Group by a majority vote of the other members.
Proposing a new member works the same way. The maximum size of the Group shall be limited to nine members to keep things manageable.