RationalWiki:RationalWiki Foundation/2012 07 06 minutes

''Here follow the minutes of the July 6, 2012 meeting of the Board of Trustees. ListenerX, recording secretary.''

Meeting was called to order at 01:05 UTC. Present were Nutty Roux, ListenerX, Reckless Noise Symphony, Tmtoulouse, and WaitingforGodot.

Reckless Noise Symphony introduced a motion that the minutes of the previous meeting be approved. Motion was carried 3 to 0 with two abstentions.

Reckless Noise Symphony introduced a motion that this meeting's agenda be approved. Motion was carried unanimously (5 to 0).

Tmtoulouse gave a report of the Foundation's finances. Take-away items were:


 * The Foundation currently has $1800 in its bank accounts.
 * The Foundation can expect to raise $1500–$2000 at each fundraiser.
 * The fundraisers are bringing in enough money that they can be held semi-annually instead of quarterly.
 * The Foundation was previously spending $30 per month on a server to host RationalWikiWiki and the bots. These have now been shifted to other servers that cost $5 per month.

Nutty Roux reported that the Foundation anticipates having to spend approximately $600 in the coming year on expenses associated with government filings, including some filings related to the Foundation's 501(c)3 non-profit status.

Human entered the meeting at 01:15 UTC.

There was a discussion of expanding the goals and scope of the Foundation beyond its original task of administering RationalWiki into other skeptic-related ventures not necessarily related to the Wiki. It was anticipated that this will require "re-branding" the Foundation and recognizing that "the Wiki does not own the foundation; the foundation owns the Wiki."

Specific ideas floated include:


 * Going after pseudoscience-promoting members of the press more aggressively, possibly by conducting interviews or contacting their editors/superiors.
 * Providing resources targeted at raising the general quality of online skeptic videos. Tmtoulouse reported that a "meta-video" advertising the Foundation in this capacity is presently in production and nearing completion.
 * A Foundation presence at skeptics' conferences (later, when sufficient funding is available).

Human introduced a motion to authorize the opening of developer accounts with the Apple Store and Google Play, in the Foundation's name and using Foundation funds, for the purpose of distributing mobile apps. Motion was carried 5 to 1. The opposing vote was provisional, over an issue that was later resolved.

Tmtoulouse raised the issue of the recent troubles with the voting extension. He stated that approximately 10% of the votes cast in the recent moderator elections were from the same users voting multiple times. He also stated that it would be inadvisable to carry out the next elections to the Board of Trustees using this same voting system. There was a discussion of possible alternatives, including creating an open membership for the Foundation and having the Board elected by this membership.

Human introduced a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion was carried unanimously.

Meeting was adjourned at 02:09 UTC.