SolidCoin Foundation
From SolidCoin Wiki
Draft Charter for the Solid Coin Foundation
Draft 0.01 (15 November 2011)
This document describes the purpose, basic structure and operational policies of a proposed SOLID COIN foundation. Although certain issues are not addressed fully, the core functions of the foundation are defined and procedures for them are described. This document includes broad mission level statements and operational provisions. We are in the process of creating The SOLID COIN CONSTITUTION and By-Laws that will incorporate this charter, cast in stone our fundamental beliefs, and give us the flexibility to amend implementation items.
A ChangeLog and author's list are at the end of this document.
Preface: Why a SOLID COIN Foundation?
SOLID COIN is a digital currency, which anyone can own and spend anonymously. SOLID COINS are a media for free trade of goods and services.
Three fundamental features of SOLID COIN ensure this goal is achieved.
Price stability
SOLID COIN is designed to be stable in relation to goods and services traded with SOLID COINS, as well as in relation to fiat currencies as long as they are stable themselves. Hence the SOLID COIN community believes that a tightly regulated emission of SOLID COINS in absolutely required to follow the economic activity. The SOLIC COIN network has balancing mechanisms ensuring adequate coin supply according to the demand. However the model utilised by balancing mechanism make require adjustment with time to follow developments in computation-per-watt progress. SOLID COIN Foundation performs such adjustments to the source code of the SOLID COIN software as well as other promotes other aspects of SOLID COIN software development.
Security
SolidCoin takes a basic human trait found in many communities and systems. The more investment someone puts into a system, the more they want to protect that community or system.
Democracy
Mission Statement The SOLID COIN Foundation will work to further the goal of the SOLID COIN project: to create a secure p2p currency, governed by people and for the good of SOLID COIN community.
To achieve this goal, the Foundation will coordinate releases of SOLID COIN software The Foundation will act as an official voice for the SOLID COIN community, providing a means of communication with the press and with commercial and noncommercial organizations interested in SOLID COIN project. The foundation may produce educational materials and documentation to help the public learn about SOLID COIN. In addition, it may sponsor SOLID COIN-related technical conferences, and represent SOLID COIN at relevant conferences sponsored by others and promote the use and development of SOLID COIN software.
I. Principles of the SOLID COIN Foundation
Open and Public
The foundation should not be exclusionary or elitist. Every owner of SOLID COINS, however small number of SOLID COINS he or she poses, must have the opportunity to participate in determining the direction and actions of the project. This principle has real, concrete meaning for the foundation: All discussions must be publicly viewable, any person must have the opportunity to contribute to the decision-making process, and every SOLID COIN contributor must have the direct ability to influence the decisions which are made. The foundation must be democratic and friendly to those responsible for making SOLID COIN what it is.
Independence
The foundation must act in the best interests of SOLID COIN, independent of influence from outside organizations and corporations. No single entity should have the ability to direct SOLID COIN to its own ends.
II. Tasks of the Foundation
Releasing SOLID COIN, defining SOLID COIN
The foundation bears the responsibility of coordinating each subsequent release of SOLID COIN. For each release, this will include setting a schedule...
Public Image and Voice
……………
Corporate and Organizational Point of Contact
Companies and other organizations which want to communicate with the SOLID COIN project should be able to use the foundation as their first point of contact. The foundation will be responsible for helping these organizations understand the SOLID COIN project and become involved. The foundation will be vested with the power to represent SOLID COIN in these conversations. The foundation will also act as a forum for discussions between the organizations and companies which have an interest in SOLID COIN. There will be a subgroup of the foundation which will include members from these organizations to make this possible.
Direction and Vision
The SOLID COIN foundation will provide a sense of leadership and cohesive direction to the SOLID COIN project. As SOLID COIN evolves, other duties which are appropriate and necessary for the foundation to undertake will emerge. Before the board of directors of the foundation takes on any major new duties, it shall consult with the broader SOLID COIN community.
CPF Receipt and Disbursement
DETAILS ON HOW CPF IS WORKING, WHERE THE MONEZ IS COMING FROM AND WHO WILL SPEND IT.
III. Basic Structure and Operation of the Foundation
The foundation will be global in scope, but incorporated in the zet to be decided country. Affiliated foundations, created for the purpose of promoting SOLID COIN, supporting developers or disbursement of funds, may be created in many countries or geographic areas.
The SOLID COIN foundation is divided into three bodies: the Membership, the Board of Directors, and the Advisory Board.
Membership
WHO CAN BE A MEMBER, HOW CAN ONE BECOME A MEMBER…. The membership will have two responsibilities: electing the Board of Directors, and issuing popular referenda on any issue under the jurisdiction of the foundation, at any time.
Board of Directors
The board is the primary decision-making body of the SOLID COIN foundation. It is responsible for ratifying all decisions the SOLID COIN foundation makes. These decisions can be overturned by referendum.
The board will be made up of a small, limited number of people, elected by the membership. New seats on the board may be made available as the project grows, subject to approval by the board or referendum of the membership.
No single organization or company will be allowed to control more than 40% of the board seats, regardless of election results. In the event that individuals affiliated with a corporation or organization hold more than 40% of the seats, affiliates from that corporation will be required to resign until 40% is no longer held. Individuals affiliated with a company or organization are people who are employees, officers, or members of the board of directors of an organization; or have a significant consulting relationship; or own at least 1% of the equity or debt, or derivatives thereof, of a company.
Notwithstanding the above, members of the board of directors shall act on behalf of all members of the SOLID COIN Foundation in the best interest of the SOLID COIN project.
Advisory Board
The Advisory Board is made up of companies and organizations which have a desire to participate in advising the foundation. The Advisory Board will have no decision-making ability. The Advisory Board is a place for its members to have open discussions about their SOLID COIN-related strategies. Membership in the forum is open to all companies and groups who are interested in contributing to the SOLID COIN project, subject to the approval of the board of directors.
IV. Board Meetings, Voting, Referendum and Election
Board Meetings & Votes
Voting sessions of the board of directors will be formal, performed either in-person, telephonically, via e-mail, or on IRC. This can be cryptographically authenticated with a registry of public keys. A simple majority is required to approve any measure. Often, decisions will be reached by consensus.
Minutes shall be kept for all meetings of the board of directors. Votes on all topics will be recorded and attributed. All of these records will be archived and made publicly available immediately. Minutes on the monetary policy of the SOLID COIN Foundation will be released 1 month after the meeting on monetary policy have taken place.
On certain occasions, conversations within the SOLID COIN Foundation will be confidential. On those occasions, notes from meetings etc. may be edited to maintain confidentiality. We will work to keep confidential conversations down to a minimum.
Referendum
MECHANISM TO ISSUE A REFERENDUM
To be accepted, a request for a referendum must be endorsed by 10% of the Membership. The maximum number of valid endorsements from Members affiliated (as defined above) with any one corporation or organization shall be 5%.
DETAILS ON THE VOTING SYSTEM
Elections and Board Size
Elections for the board of directors will be regularly held every year. Candidates for election must be members of the SOLID COIN Foundation and shall nominate themselves. Members may vote for a number of candidates equal to the number of board slots that are available (in other words, if there are 10 slots on the board of directors, then each member may vote for up to 10 candidates). The board shall be composed of those candidates who receive the highest number of votes. The board of directors may be recalled by referendum, using the process described above. If the board of directors is recalled by referendum, new elections shall be held immediately. Between elections, board vacancies or new board slots shall be filled by appointment by the board of directors.
The board of directors shall have at least 7 members and no more than 15 members. Prior to each election, the board of directors shall determine the number of board seats for the next year. The initial board of directors shall be composed of XXXX members. If more than half of the elected candidates are affiliated with one company (as defined above), elections returns shall be adjusted as follows. Individuals who are affiliated with the company which has an excess of representatives shall be removed based on the number of votes they received until such individuals no longer hold a majority of the seats on the board. Other candidates shall replace them, based on the number of votes they received. (In other words, if there are 10 board seats and 6 people from company X were elected, than the one person from that company who received the fewest number of votes will be replaced by the candidate who received the 11th highest number of votes).
V. Release Engineering / Defining SOLID COIN
The board of directors will be responsible for authorizing the release of a new version of SOLID COIN.
Operational management of the release may be handled by a board-appointed committee or individual, made up of general Members and/or directors. The membership will be able to affect all these decisions primarily by participating in the discussions which lead up to them. In extreme cases, a referendum can be used.
VI. The SOLID COIN protection fund
One of the primary purposes of the SOLID COIN foundation is to allow outsiders to contribute financially to the continued development of SOLID COIN. These outsiders will make donations to the project, which will be disbursed by the board, under the advice of the membership.
VII. Bootstrapping the SOLID COIN Foundation
The membership will be populated with all the consenting members of the SOLID COIN-hackers mailing list, people holding CVS accounts, and anyone else who speaks out and wants to join when asked.
A committee shall be established by the current SOLID COIN Steering Committee to manage the membership list, add new members and oversee the elections.
The first elections may be held prior to the incorporation of the Foundation but shall be held no later than 90 days from the incorporation of the SOLID COIN Foundation. If the Foundation is incorporated prior to the first elections, the SOLID COIN Steering Committee shall appoint on interim board of directors.
VIII. Authors
This document was put together from contributions by many people (see alphabetical list). This document is maintained by the SOLID COIN Foundation
Modified from draft 0.61 (23 October 2000) of the charter for the GNOME Foundation available at http://foundation.gnome.org/about/charter/
Foxit
RealSolid