User:Peter Schmitt/Charter

Draft as of end Jan.11 http://en.citizendium.org/wiki?title=CZ:Charter_drafting&oldid=100618058

This draft document shall serve as the basis for public discussion. It represents a consensus amongst the drafters, which may have different individual opinions on some aspects of this Charter.

General comments

• I essentially agree with the Mission statement if the indented material is meant as comment

and is not part of the Charter proper. (Some comments on details are inserted.)

• Another (minor) point: The subsections should be separate (not part of the Mission statement).

• The Charter text will need final editing to unify language (will,shall,must, etc.) and formatting.

• My previous attempt is not quite up-to-date but contains some alternative formulations and slightly different structure.

Mission statement

The Citizendium is a collaborative effort to collect, structure, and update knowledge and to render it conveniently accessible to the public for free. It is created by volunteers — henceforth Citizens — who contribute under their real names and agree to a social covenant centered around trust.

Comment

I still do not understand why "encyclopedia" and "well-written" (or equivalent) are avoided.

Membership

Everyone can contribute. Real names and civil behavior are required. Expertise is valued.

• Citizendium membership is open to anyone.

We believe that everyone has knowledge to share, regardless of educational attainment, professional experience, or any other factor.

• All members register and contribute to the project under their real names.

This energizes the creation of a vibrant community and encourages civil behavior.

Comment

"energizes", "vibrant" -- a question of style

Comment/Suggestion

Registration implies accepting CZ fundamental principles

• The Citizendium community recognizes the special role that subject matter experts play in assuring that the site’s contents meet these standards.

Comment

formulation not clear "these standards" -- what standards?

We recognize two important types of expertise: broad knowledge and deep knowledge. Experts with broad knowledge of one or more domains of knowledge help us ensure that the topics of our articles are presented in the scientific, philosophical, cultural and methodological contexts in which professionals discuss them. Experts with deep knowledge of specific topics help us make sure that we have all of the relevant facts and that we present them correctly. Many people have both types of knowledge. Official recognition of expertise shall be based on guidelines established by the Editorial Council.

• Contributors must act responsibly and in a civil manner.

Derogatory or offensive commentary is impermissible: inappropriate material shall be removed at the discretion of the constabulary.

Style

Content shall provide and be embedded in relevant context. We strive for presentation to be comprehensive, neutral and objective. No advocacy.

• All entries at Citizendium should engage their subjects comprehensively, neutrally and objectively to the greatest degree possible

Comment

only "should" ? I do not want to be insistent, but I (again) suggest the term "honest"

Comprehensiveness entails providing full explanations of all facets of a subject that experts judge significant. Furthermore, each topic should be represented as a complex whole rather than a simple conglomeration of its parts: a good Citizendium entry will illustrate how different aspects of its topic fit together and highlight applications and connections to other topics. It will also be neutral, which means it will not align with any one position if there is controversy amongst experts concerning some aspect of its topic. Instead, it will remain objective, describing each relevant position without skewing the presentation toward the personal beliefs or positions of the author(s). In short, entries should present the big picture, including all relevant perspectives, and should be carefully crafted and bias-free. Citizendium is not a place for advocacy or for advertisement.

• Unnecessarily complicated presentation should be avoided.

Comment

Perhaps this is a suitable place to insert "well-written" (or similar)

Citizendium material is intended for the general public and should be constructed so as to maximize accessibility. The basic content provided at the Citizendium is intended for an audience with completed secondary education. More specialized material is welcome but it should be presented without unnecessary jargon and should be contextualized through prominent links to entries that explain background information and related non-specialist material.

Comment

In my opinion, culture (society or country) dependent definitions (secondary education) should be avoided

• As far as possible, special needs of visually or otherwise impaired users and of responsibly exercized automated access will be taken into account.

Citizendium encourages contributions on all topics, albeit with sensitivity towards appropriateness and avoiding sensationalism. Exceptionally, Editors and Constables have the authority to intervene at their discretion if article content appears to be inconsistent with criminal or civil law or if content is discriminatory or slanderous against persons or groups of persons on the basis of religion, religious belief, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender. Such decisions are subject to Citizendium's appeal process.

Content development

In collaboration we trust. Criticism is welcome. Integration with teaching and research is encouraged.

• Citizendium is a multimedial collaborative project, open to constructive contributions by any Citizen to any of its content at any time.

We trust members of the Citizendium community to act in good faith and we encourage them to be bold in contributing to the project but we also require professional behavior. This entails acceptance of guidance from experts and from the wider Citizendium community as well as the obligation to remain civil and constructive even in cases of dispute.

• The collaborative environment in which we develop our articles is an important part of the Citizendium community.

Comment

This is a rather "empty" statement. In this form it should be removed.

Just like other user-generated websites, we rely on the contributions of many different people spread out around the world, working at different times and in different ways. Some of these contributions are very small while others are quite extensive. Some reflect many years of professional experience while others are made by people who are just beginning to learn about a topic. All are important for the project. Cooperation and sensitivity to others are therefore very important and disruptive behavior is not tolerated.

• Citizendium encourages all members to submit constructive criticism on all of its material.

Where appropriate, we encourage members to simply fix any mistakes they find as they browse the site but we insist that potentially controversial changes (such as the deletion of a large block of text or the reorientation of text describing a contentious topic) be discussed ahead of time with any other contributors who are also at work on the article and, if possible, with an appropriate editor. If a dispute arises, we defer to expertise.

Comment

"be bold" -- what does it say? One need not be anxious -- everything can be repaired. Even large deletions. So why mention them explicitly. Being bold can mean a large deletion with perfectly good intentions. And minor changes could be malicious.

Suggestion

In reaction to comments by Milton in the forum ("fixing mistakes may introduce errors") I suggest changes to this text:

"Just as Citizens should be careful when adding new material, they are expected to be careful when changing articles in order to improve them. The talk pages serve as a means to discuss problems in advance or explain changes. However, Citizens need not be (overly) reluctant to contribute — even boldly — to the project because any accidental mistake can be repaired."

• Experts guide the development of Citizendium entries in a transparent manner.

Authors are encouraged to seek out the guidance of subject matter experts and experts are encouraged to offer advice whenever they are comfortable doing so. Experts and non-experts should work together as partners in the development of balanced articles; overbearing behavior by either party is unconstructive and unacceptable.

• Integration of the Citizendium with teaching and research is encouraged as long as it adheres to the principles of this charter.

Personnel and governance

• Comment

  Is there a "nicer" section title?

The Citizendium is devoted to transparent and fair governance at a minimum of bureaucracy. Special roles will not be created without excellent reason.

• Suggestion

  This could be the place for a "all Citizens are equal" statement.

• Remark/Suggestion

  Technical matters and know-how are nowhere mentioned (software maintainance)

Governance involves three areas of activity: Content Non-editorial operations Behavior and dispute resolution

Content

Authors

Any Citizen can act as an Author, contribute or modify content, unless blocked from specific articles or topics by an Editor or Constable. Blocks may be appealed through the Dispute Resolution procedure.

Pseudonyms may not be used. Within a month after the entry into force of this charter, all existing pseudonym accounts shall be closed by the Constabulary, and the respective user pages protected. The Citizens concerned may reapply under their real name.

Comment

This does not belong into the Charter. It is a "transition rule"

Editors

Editors are Citizens who — because of their recognized expertise in specific areas — are responsible for the scope and quality of the content presented by the Citizendium. Specifically, in their areas of expertise, they are entitled (1) to make decisions about specific questions or disputes concerning particular articles, and (2) to approve high-quality articles.

Comment

I do not like the wording (style) "Specifically," "(1)", "specific questions", "particular articles", "(2)"

The criteria for granting or revoking Editorship are to be defined by the Editorial Council.

Comment

"are to be"? The Charter hopefully will last ... "Editorship is granted and revoked <according to (rules/criteria/guidelines) set> by the EC."

Registration of new Editors

To streamline the CZ:Editor Application Review Procedure, applications for Editorship shall be processed in two steps. First, an applicant will be registered as an Author, so s/he can immediately start editing. Secondly, the application for Editorship will be reviewed by the Editorial Personnel Administrators (to be appointed by the Editorial Council) who will strive to make a decision within one week. CZ:Editorial Council Resolution 0012 shall be extended such that these new Editors will be categorized as New Editors during the first three months after registration or until their first contribution to the project.

Comment

This does not belong here -- this is (at most) interim guidance.

Editorial Council

An Editorial Council will be responsible for guiding content and establishing policy. It shall consist of nine active Citizens, with five seats reserved for Editors. The remaining four seats are reserved for Authors that are not Editors. A quorum shall consist of five members.

Members of the Editorial Council may not simultaneously serve on the Management Committee or be Constables. They may, however, be Task Managers. The members of the Editorial Council will be elected by vote of active Citizens, with two-year terms renewable once consecutively. The Editorial Council will appoint one of its members as the Editorial Lead, who will represent the Citizendium externally on matters of content.

• Comment

  Mentioning Task Managers explicitly is not necessary. (If at all, they should have a separate section independent of EC and MC.)

• Suggestion

  Move election rules to a section covering all voting.

• Comment

  Of course, the EC may (and probably will) appoint a chair, but this need not be included here. The EC Lead should be combined with the MC Lead to a single external representative.

During deliberations on a matter covered by specific workgroups, the Chief Editor of that Workgroup, or another member, may be part of a quorum if that individual is not a Council member. If, however, the matter under discussion involves a dispute with such an Editor, that Editor may state positions to the Council but not vote on them unless already a member.

• Comment

  Not suitable for the Charter -- too detailed. Moreover, an involved member should not be voting.

Workgroups

The Editorial Council may create and reorganize workgroups to arrange areas of content, and to encourage collaboration among Authors and Editors in areas of expertise. Workgroup members will build top-level articles and knowledge structures for the articles in a discipline.

The Editorial Council shall elaborate a strategy and policy on topic-specific collaboration, chiefly based on CZ:Workgroups and some accepted ontology or other knowledge categorization scheme. In addition to subject specific Workgroups, there shall be a General Workgroup with jurisdiction over general issues of style and content, and for articles of very wide scope. There may be, in addition, interdisciplinary or specialized Subgroups. In addition, there may be Area Groups, as for (e.g., Science or Science & Technology) to deal with broad issues affecting many but not all workgroups (e.g., units of measurement).

When there are disputes on content issues, assuming there are multiple Editors in a workgroup, they will attempt to resolve the dispute. Failing agreement, the matter will be taken to the Ombudsman, and then to the Editorial Council.

• Comment

  Should be deleted completely, it is much too detailed for the Charter, and the content is not at all clear. See User talk:Peter Schmitt/Charter#Workgroup for more details.

If it is thought that Workgroups need to be mentioned in the Charter, something like the following is sufficient:

"The Editorial Council shall elaborate a strategy and policy on topic-specific and task-specific collaboration. To this end, it shall create workgroups in order to arrange and organize collaboration in specific fields of content or for specific tasks."

Task Managers

The Editorial Council may appoint individuals, not necessarily Editors or members of the Editorial Council, to task-specific roles, such as dealing with the various people and organizations involved in Approving a high-quality article, in reviewing the credentials of Editor applicants, etc.

Comment

Why not simply say: "The EC may appoint Citizens to task-specific roles." (with or without examples added).

• Combine with section of MC (if at all)
• But could well be completely left out - the Councils certainly may do this without a section in the Charter.
• Technical (software issues) have also to be accounted for.

Editor-in-Chief

An Editor-in-Chief shall be appointed, with a term of office of four years renewable once, by simple majority of each of the Editorial Council and Management Committee. The functions of this office shall be:

1. to ensure day-to-day smooth functioning of the Citizendium;
2. to facilitate the practical implementation of the Citizendium editorial policy as defined by its governing institutions;
3. to make interim editorial decisions (in consultation with other editors); and
4. to carry out any other tasks as required by this Charter or decisions of the governing bodies.

• Comment

  We should be realistic -- who will (be able to) accept this office even for a much shorter period?

• On the other hand, so far only the making of "interim editorial decisions" is a concrete task. (Other intermediate decisions are made by Constables.)

These decisions, however, could also be made by the first available member of the EC. (Minimum of bureaucracy!)

• If there is such an office the appointment has to be by election.

• Suggestion

  Replace by Ambassador (replacing EC and MC "Leads") -- see User talk:Peter Schmitt/Charter#EiC

• Remark

  In case an EiC (or 'Managing Editor (or Acting Editor) ?) is installed, he also should be the "Ambassador".

Non-content operations

Management Committee

A Management Committee shall be responsible for matters concerned with the non-editorial policies of Citizendium, such as finance, external alliances, communications, administration, and behavior. To this end, it may appoint Administrators and Task Managers whose activities it will oversee. It will also appoint Constables and oversee their activities.

• Comment

  No need to mention Task Managers (and additional Administrators).

  Question

  Shouldn't Constables be elected, too?

The Management Committee shall consist of seven Citizens, who may not simultaneously serve on the Editorial Council. They may, however, be Constables or Task Managers. A quorum shall consist of four members. The members of the Management Committee shall be elected by vote of active Citizens and Authors, with two-year renewable terms. The Management Committee will appoint one of its members as the Management Lead, who will represent the Citizendium externally on all matters except content.

• Suggestion

  Move election rules to a separate section for all votings.

  Comment

  Combine MC Lead with EC Lead to a single representative. (Whether the MC appoints a chair need not be determined by the Charter.)

The Committee, with advice from legal and audit advisers, will designate those members that can enter into contracts or expend funds on behalf of the Citizendium. Substantial expenditures will require more than one signature.

External partners

The Citizendium invites collaboration with non-Citizen partners on any matters relevant to the project's mission, provided that such collaboration does not conflict with this Charter.

The Management Council shall elaborate a strategy and policy on collaboration with external partners, paying particular attention to fostering the collaboration with instructors by way of Eduzendium, and with external experts or professional organizations for the purposes of providing or reviewing content at the Citizendium.

Comment

The second sentence should be a comment (as in the Mission statement) and not be part of the Charter.

Task Managers

Like the Editorial Council, the Management Committee may appoint individuals, not necessarily members of that Editorial Committee, to task-specific roles, such software testing and development supervision, preliminary media contacts, etc.

Comment

The same as with the EC -- only one section for both (it at all) is necessary.

Consultants

The Management Committee may, within the financial rules, consult with professionals such as attorneys and accountants.

Administration

The Citizendium's administration handles the legal, financial and technical operations necessary for the project to fulfill its mission. It may include contractors or employees, under the policy direction of the Management Committee, who eventually may be directed, on a routine basis, by an employee such as an Executive Director.

Comment

The second sentence needs fixing, I think. Something like:

"It may include contractors or employees who eventually may be directed - under the policy direction of the Management Committee - by an employee such as an Executive Director."

Behavior and dispute resolution

Constabulary

• Comment

  I'd like a name of the same "type" as EC and MC (Administrative Council?) to indicate that the three bodies act on the same level.

The Constabulary shall be charged with upholding the Citizendium's rules of behavior as determined by community policy, covering all Citizens including those with official positions (such as the Ombudsman or the Editor-in-Chief).

• Comment

  Instead of stating (somewhat hiding) this here it is better to state somewhere (At the beginning of Governance. Or in the Mission statement?): "All Citizen have equal rights unless acting in an official role." (or with this content)

The Constabulary's authority is restricted to matters of behavior and they shall not intervene in matters of content.

Constabulary tools include: advice and instruction on wiki or through Citizen email, removal of offensive text, and warning and banning of users according to written guidelines. The enforcement of these rules is to be carried out with reasonable pragmatism and leniency without prejudice as to Citizen status or position and only in those situations where the applicability of existing rules is clear. The Constabulary may develop additional tools and will publish and monitor the appropriate use of said tools. Decisions of constables may be appealed through the appropriate adjudication process as determined by the Management Council.

• Comment

  These tools do not belong into the Charter text (at most as a comment). Only banning (permanently blocking) has to be mentioned, but probably not here.

Ombudsman

An Ombudsman shall be appointed, charged with the task of assisting in dispute resolution, as laid down in this Charter. The role of Ombudsman shall be vested in a Citizen with substantial Citizendium experience and widely respected judgement, who may appoint up to two other Citizens (Assistant Ombudsmen) to support his/her work; their appointment and termination of duties is at the personal discretion of the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman will be elected by simple majority vote of each of the Editorial Council and Management Council, for a term of 4 years. An Ombudsman may be recalled by a supermajority (75%) of each of the Editorial and Management Councils.

• Suggestion

  move election rules to section for all votings

  Comments

• 4 years?
• "as laid down in this Charter" is automatically implied

Dispute resolution

Disputes will be settled at the lowest possible level, such as by bringing in peer Editors or Constables. Next, the Ombudsman will be contacted for non-binding mediation. Should that fail, the matter will go to the appropriate body — the Editorial Board/Council for content matters and the Management Council for behavioral and administrative matters. As a last resort, both Councils may appoint members to an arbitration panel, for final arbitration as defined below.

In the event of a dispute that cannot be resolved at a level below that of the Editorial Council or the Management Committee, appeals boards may be constituted on an ad hoc basis. They will consist of three members nominated by the Editorial Council and three members nominated by the Management Committee, who shall not have been involved in the specific dispute. An Ombudsman will preside; that official shall direct the Board and will be non-voting other than to possess a tie-breaking vote. Should no Ombudsman be available who is not a party to the matter, the Councils shall appoint a special presider from the Citizenry.

• Question

  "An" Ombudsman will preside - Should "no Ombudsman be available" who is not party

• This not consistent: There is only one Ombudsman, according to the rules he will be involved early: is he then "party"?
• Can helpers appointed by the Ombudsman be "non party" if the Ombudsman is considered to be partial?

Electorate

All Authors are entitled to vote on the adoption or modification of this charter.

• Comment

  Initial adoption of the Charter does not belong into the Charter (it is interim). By the way, it is already a section of "Final Clause".

but the amendment section (below) belongs here (though modified, in my opinion)

• Suggestion

  Collect all election and voting matters here. (Maybe under a different header.)

i.e., EC, (EiC), etc.

• Important

  Make provisions for officials who become unavailable for siginificant period

License

The content of the Citizendium will always be free to use, reuse, and redistribute.

Content originating at the Citizendium is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

• Comment

  The concrete license should not be decided by the charter -- needs may change. (Perhaps: Suggested by EC/MC and accepted by vote.)

Content that originated elsewhere may also be incorporated into the Citizendium if such reuse is permitted by the copyright owners or copyright status.

• Comment

  Remove, this is collaboration, not a license issue. ("if permitted" is a triviality.)

• Suggestion

  Add here (or maybe elsewhere):

Because of the collaborative effort, no individual credit to contributions shall be given, but the history of all pages, including user pages shall be permanently available.

Legal status

The Citizendium will be owned and controlled by the Citizendium Foundation, a non-profit organization.

Languages

The official language of the Citizendium shall be English. Branches in other languages require approval by the Management Committee and shall have the same legal status as the English language Citizendium (see Legal status above).

• Simplify to

  ... and have to accept the spirit and the fundamental principles of the Citizendium as defined by an approved translation of this Charter.

The branches shall establish a close collaboration with each other on all issues, both of content and administration.

• Remove: the following three sentences:

Non-English Citizendiums shall construct their governance in accordance with this charter or a translation approved by the Management Committee.

Branch language Editorial Councils, including the English language Citizendium Editorial Council, shall be empowered to develop policy regarding non-native language content on their native language Citizendiums.

Consistent with the Citizendium's respect for expertise, the Editorial Council of any branch language version may request the Editorial Councils of other language versions to revise, add, or remove content in the former branch's native language.

All user pages shall be in the native language for that version of Citizendium.

• Comment

  Is such a restriction as below necessary? I do not think so. (Are user pages here required to be (completely) in English?

• To forbid foreign languages would hinder inter-language cooperation.

No branch or non-English version of Citizendium shall be permitted at later times to adopt policy that contravenes this charter

• Comment

  This is eseentially a repetition - remove.

Final clause

• Comment

  This section is not part of the Charter and shall be removed after its regulations have been carried out.

Ratification

If this Charter has been ratified by two thirds or more of the votes validly cast in a referendum for this purpose, it shall be certified by the Editor-in-Chief within a week after the closing of the referendum.

For future amendments, a certifying official or officials shall be agreed upon by the joint Management Committee and Editorial Council.

• Comment

  Amendment belongs into the Charter, not into the Final Clause.

Entry into force

This Charter shall enter into force on the day following ratification.

Interim guidance for the transition period

As long as the administrative prerequisites for implementing the charter are not entirely fulfilled, the rules listed in this section shall provide interim guidance to the Editorial Council, Management Council, and other bodies. Such material may be modified by those bodies by their normal procedures, without a full Charter amendment.

Editorial Council and Management Committee

For both bodies, the intention is to elect half of the members each year, so of the first group, a number corresponding to the quorum will be selected, by lot or personal agreement, to serve one-year terms.

The Editorial Council shall vote on each of the resolutions of the previous Editorial Council whether they should continue to be in force or not.

• Comment

  Too special. The EC should review all existing guidelines and either accept, modify, or revoke them in due course of time (possibly some after a referendum).

Future amendments

This Charter shall be open to amendment at any time subsequent to its ratification. The Management Council is hereby vested with the power to act upon proposals for amendment originating from any Citizen or Citizendium institution. The process of Amendment requires the Management Council initially to consult with Citizens (including via the Forum) and subsequently to draft an appropriate amended text. The decision to accept the amended text will be taken by popular vote of the Citizenry, and requires a two-thirds majority of votes validly cast.

• Comment

  Should be moved (from interim) into the Charter, but be with procedural details removed.

If there should be an EiC or equivalent, then he is ideally suited to manage amendments.