CZ:Governance: Difference between revisions

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Citizendium is governed by rules set forth in its [[CZ:Charter|Charter]]. All Citizendium officials and councils derive their authority from this document, which specifies the powers granted to each. The charter also provides general guidance on matters such as the conduct of appeals as well as the frequency and nature of Citizendium elections. Citizendium's basic governance structure is defined in [[CZ:Charter#Article_24|Article 24]] of the charter:
[[Citizendium]] is governed by its [[CZ:Policies|policy document]], which are the only binding rules. Previous rules and policies remain as guidance to be consulted, followed, improved upon or ignored, depending on the community.


<blockquote>The Citizendium shall be devoted to transparent and fair governance with a minimum of bureaucracy. It shall have two governing councils: Management Council, Editorial Council, and three ancillary positions: Managing Editor, Constabulary, Ombudsman.
See [[CZ:Personnel|Personnel]] for staff lists. Currently, the Technical Staff perform all functions, including moderating behavior.
</blockquote>
{{TOC|right}}
 
Following is a brief description of Citizendium's instruments of governance.
 
==The Management Council==
 
The [[CZ:Management_Council|Management Council]] is responsible for the technical, legal, financial and behavioral aspects of Citizendium. The charter provides specific details of these responsibilities and outlines how the Management Council should manage them. The Management Council issues rules in its areas of responsibility through motions passed and noted on its [[CZ:Management_Council_Passed_Motions|Passed Motions page]]. The Management Council conducts its deliberations on several fora, including its [http://forum.citizendium.org/index.php/board,88.0.html Public Council Discussions board] and its [http://forum.citizendium.org/index.php/board,93.0.html Community Input board]. The Management Council also conducts some of its business on private boards when that is necessary to protect sensitive information.
 
The Management Council authorizes subsidiary teams to implement its policies and ensure the wiki and other Citizendium computing assets operate properly.
 
===Constables===
 
Constables (corporately identified as members of the [[CZ:Constabulary|Constabulary]]) maintain order in all online interactions between citizens occuring on Citizendium assets. They also manage the registration process and perform duties requiring sysop and bureaucrat permissions on the wiki. The Constables are somewhat unusual in that they are specifically established by the charter and some of their duties are set forth in [[CZ:Charter#Article_27|Article 27]], [[CZ:Charter#Article_33|Article 33]], [[CZ:Charter#Article_34|Article 34]], and [[CZ:Charter#Article_38|Article 38]].


===Technical Staff===
===Technical Staff===


Technical staff are responsible for ensuring all Citizendium computing assets operate properly. They perform routine system administration functions, fix software bugs, sometimes engage in software development on Citizendium's computing applications, and maintain Citizendium's servers.
[[CZ:Technical Team|Technical staff]] are responsible for ensuring all Citizendium computing assets operate properly. They perform routine system administration functions, fix software bugs, sometimes engage in software development on Citizendium's computing applications, and maintain Citizendium's servers.


==The Editorial Council==
{{TTmembers}}
===Treasurer===
The Treasurer is responsible for Citizendium's finances. The holder (currently [[User:Mark Widmer|Mark Widmer]]) also administers donations and can be tasked with various other duties. The post was [http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/CZ:Management_Council_Motions_Passed#2011-021.2C_28_April_2011 created in 2011].


The [[CZ:Editorial_Council|Editorial Council]] is responsible for wiki content. As for the Management Council, the charter provides general guidance on its powers and responsibilities. The Editorial Council issues rules in its areas of responsibility through motions passed and noted on its [[CZ:Editorial_Council#Regulations_decided_upon_by_the_Council.2C_in_chronological_order|Regulations Page]].The Editorial Council conducts its business on the [http://ec.citizendium.org/wiki/Editorial_Council_Main_Page Editorial Council Wiki].
*[[CZ:Financial report|Financial report]]
*[[CZ:Donate|Please donate]]!


==The Ombudsman==
==Elections==
 
Citizendium currently has no binding requirement to hold elections unless its members decide otherwise. The results of past Citizendium elections are noted on the [[CZ:Elections|Elections page]].
The [[CZ:Ombudsman|Ombudsman]] has duties and responsibilities specified in [[CZ:Charter#Article_39|Article 39]] of the Charter. Specificially;
<blockquote>
# The role of the Ombudsman is a) to offer guidance on existing policy and its interpretation to help resolve disputes b) to advise the Councils and c) settle disputes, including imposing interim solutions pending relevant policy decisions. Throughout, the Ombudsman's guidance is expected to be in accord with the established principles and policies of Citizendium, and particularly with the Charter. The Ombudsman is available to mediate any dispute.
# "The Ombudsman mediates a dispute when requested by all involved parties or when requested by the Chief Constable. Agreements worked out through mediation shall be binding but may be appealed.</blockquote>
 
The [[CZ:Combined Councils|Combined Councils]], i.e. the Management and Editorial Councils, put forward a nominee for Ombudman, whose candidature is then put to community vote.
 
==The Managing Editor==


The [[CZ:Managing_Editor|Managing Editor]] has duties and responsibilities specified in [[CZ:Charter#Article_36|Article 36]] of the charter. Specificially, the Managing Editor has the following duties;
==Previous governance==
<blockquote>
Citizendium was initially run by the Editor-in-Chief, [[User:Larry Sanger|Larry Sanger]], with the help of volunteers. The first formal governance structure was an [[:Category:CZ Editorial Council Members|Editorial Council]], which ultimately gave way to a two-Council governance structure once the Charter was established. Governance then comprised the [[CZ:Management Council|Management]] and [[CZ:Editorial Council|Editorial]] Councils, one for administrative matters and the other to oversee content. The first version of the Charter also separately set up the roles of Managing Editor and [[Archive:Ombudsman|Ombudsman]], the latter to decide disputes over articles. The Councils were merged into a single governing body, with the Managing Editor a non-voting member, in 2013. In 2014, the office of Ombudsman was abolished and its duties merged into the role of Managing Editor. In 2015, the Managing Editor became a voting member of the Council.
#to ensure  by means of executive decisions that the principles and policies of the Citizendium are effectively and coherently observed; such decisions shall be based on established policy where defined;
#to make interim decisions on behalf of the Editorial and Management Councils when established policy does not provide guidance; these decisions shall be overridden by the establishment of relevant policy;
#to represent the Citizendium in its relations with external bodies, such as the mass media, and academic or non-academic institutions.</blockquote>
 
==Elections==


Regularly scheduled elections are held twice a year. Roughly half of the Management Council seats are vacated on July 1 of every year. An election in June selects citizens to fill these seats. Roughly half of the Editorial Council seats are vacated on January 1 of every year. An election in December of the previous year selects citizens to fill these seats. All open seats on both councils are filled in regularly scheduled elections. In addition, if one or more council seats becomes vacant within (roughly) 90 days after a regularly scheduled election, a special election is executed to fill those seats.
In November 2016, the Citizendium community decided to reduce all then-current rules and Charter articles to the status of guidance only, and establish a single ten-point set of [[CZ:Policies|policies]] to run the project. Previous rules and the Charter may be used as a working framework but contributors are only bound to follow the policy document.


The results of past Citizendium elections are noted on the [[CZ:Elections|Elections page]]
{{Organization}}
[[Category:Policies]]

Latest revision as of 07:18, 15 March 2022

Citizendium is governed by its policy document, which are the only binding rules. Previous rules and policies remain as guidance to be consulted, followed, improved upon or ignored, depending on the community.

See Personnel for staff lists. Currently, the Technical Staff perform all functions, including moderating behavior.

Technical Staff

Technical staff are responsible for ensuring all Citizendium computing assets operate properly. They perform routine system administration functions, fix software bugs, sometimes engage in software development on Citizendium's computing applications, and maintain Citizendium's servers.

Former tech staff:

  • Joshua Sadule (in 2020 if not earlier; on the server side of things; exited Mar. 2022)
  • Francisco Reyes (since March 27th, 2015; exited Mar. 2022; still advises some)

Treasurer

The Treasurer is responsible for Citizendium's finances. The holder (currently Mark Widmer) also administers donations and can be tasked with various other duties. The post was created in 2011.

Elections

Citizendium currently has no binding requirement to hold elections unless its members decide otherwise. The results of past Citizendium elections are noted on the Elections page.

Previous governance

Citizendium was initially run by the Editor-in-Chief, Larry Sanger, with the help of volunteers. The first formal governance structure was an Editorial Council, which ultimately gave way to a two-Council governance structure once the Charter was established. Governance then comprised the Management and Editorial Councils, one for administrative matters and the other to oversee content. The first version of the Charter also separately set up the roles of Managing Editor and Ombudsman, the latter to decide disputes over articles. The Councils were merged into a single governing body, with the Managing Editor a non-voting member, in 2013. In 2014, the office of Ombudsman was abolished and its duties merged into the role of Managing Editor. In 2015, the Managing Editor became a voting member of the Council.

In November 2016, the Citizendium community decided to reduce all then-current rules and Charter articles to the status of guidance only, and establish a single ten-point set of policies to run the project. Previous rules and the Charter may be used as a working framework but contributors are only bound to follow the policy document.


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