Sorry, but this was really intended to go to the list, rather than
just one individual. The reply function currently only seems to be
replying to the one person.
gerald lists wrote:
I saw that you have registered the domain name
"wikimedia.ca".
I thought that you might be involved (or want to be involved) in the
formation of a nonprofit "Wikimedia Canada".
I'm trying to put together an ad-hoc group to start the legal part. Would
you be interested in being part of this group?
It's good to see people taking an occasional interest in this idea.
Last year I started a series of pages related to the by-laws, hoping
that it would get some sort of response. I made a point of starting
with the membership section of the by-laws because I knew that it would
be one of the most difficult ones. Putting the ideas into a language
resembling legalese is not difficult, but knowing what ideas people want
to put into the by-laws is.
I have no problem with the Foundation's policy that a national chapter
should be membership based, but just who will be a member for legal
purposes still needs to be defined. In some respects there is a
romantic attraction to having every Canadian who contributes to either
the English or French Wikipedia treated as a member, but that would be
totally impractical. Membership can be based on making a positive
statement that one wants to become a member, perhaps accompanied by a
membership fee; this would also need to be accompanied by a section
about when memberships terminate.
Another possibility is to have a smaller membership that is co-equal
with its board of directors. This would create a situation comparable
to the one used by WMF now. Unlike WMF I know of no provision in
Canadian law that would allow for a corporation without members as is
allowed by Florida law.
It has been a while since since I last set up a federal corporation, but
I expect that the cost of doing so should not exceed $500. There is no
requirement that the incorporation be done by a lawyer, except for
facilitating a name search and reservation.
Ec