• Constitution of the Open and Free Technology Community
  • Mission Statement
  • Staff Roles
    • Network Representatives
    • Network Operators
    • Network Operations Committee
    • Network Ombudsman
    • Network Operations Committee Chair
    • Sponsors
    • Advisors
    • Vote Counters
  • Elections
    • Eligibility of Voting Staff
    • Announcement of Elections
    • Election Dates
    • Vote Counting
    • Structure of Elections
  • Governance
    • NOC Vote
    • Meetings
    • Discipline Procedures
  • Membership Changes Between Elections
    • Inactivity
    • Replacement of NOC Members, Chair, or Ombudsman
    • Dismissal
    • Impeachment
    • Resignations
  • Network Policies
  • Amendments

Constitution of the Open and Free Technology Community

This document was last updated at Sat Jul 12 06:35:20 UTC 2025.

The following document defines the administrative structure, membership, and governance processes of the Open and Free Technology Community.

Mission Statement

The Open and Free Technology Community (henceforth “OFTC” or “the Network”) was founded at the end of 2001 by a group of experienced members of the Open Source and Free Software communities aiming to provide these communities with better communication, development, and support infrastructure. Our goal is to provide stable services to members of the community in any part of the world, while listening closely to their needs and desires.

Staff Roles

Service in the Network’s staff is a voluntary responsibility.

No position in the Network’s community is subject to any membership fee. Likewise, no position is entitled to remuneration.

Staff positions are filled by invitation, and members of the Network’s community may submit applications nominating themselves for consideration.

The following outlines all staff positions.

Network Representatives

The Network Representatives (henceforth “NetReps”) are the volunteers responsible for assisting the users of the network.

NetReps are responsible for:

• Representing the Network in accordance with the Network Policies.
• Helping any and all users of the Network in their use of the Network, in any way possible, without prejudice.

This role is the entry-level position for individual volunteers. It may also be held by any voting member who has relinquished active status, or who does not wish to hold the responsibilities of a Network Operator.

NetReps are voting members.

Network Operators

The Network Operators (henceforth “NetOps”) assume the same responsibilities as NetReps. These members are entrusted with additional responsibilities through promotion by a NOC vote.

NetOps are additionally responsible for :

• Enabling the work of NetReps where situations are escalated to them.
• Maintaining the software and other utilities of the Network.
• Managing access to the Network in accordance with the Network Policies.
• Providing transparency to other staff for actions taken.

NetOps are voting members.

Network Operations Committee

The Network Operations Committee (henceforth “NOC”) are a subset of all NetReps and NetOps. These members are selected in the annual election from any aforementioned member of staff.

NOC members are additionally responsible for:

• Consulting with other members of staff about the function of the Network.
• Governance of the network through the content of the Network Policies.
• Evaluating the qualification of active or inactive staff.
• Appointing the Network Operations Committee Chair and the Network Ombudsman.
• Deciding the appointment, resignation, and non-Election promotion of staff members.
• Considering reprimands at the recommendation of the Network Ombudsman.

The NOC should at all times have a membership of at least seven (7) active members.

Network Ombudsman

The Network Ombudsman (henceforth “the Ombudsman”) is an appointed role within the NOC.

The Ombudsman is additionally responsible for:

• Receiving complaints from the Network’s users or any other member of staff.
• Investigating the circumstances of a complaint brought to them.
• Issuing advice about conduct to any individual, subset of staff, or staff as a whole.
• Initiating reprimands as they deem appropriate.
• Encouraging transparency within staff.

Network Operations Committee Chair

The Network Operations Committee Chair (henceforth “the Chair”) is an appointed role within the NOC.

The Chair is responsible for:

• Calling and chairing NOC meetings.
• Initiating NOC votes, or delegating that responsibility to other NOC members as appropriate.
• Communicating decisions of the NOC, or delegating that responsibility to other NOC members as appropriate.
• Announcing annual elections, appointing vote counters, and communicating the outcome of elections.

Sponsors

Sponsors are the individuals and organizations that volunteer to maintain the hardware, connectivity, and operating system installation upon which the Network’s communications software and other necessary utilities are run.

Sponsors are appointed and retired by a NOC vote.

Individuals who represent Sponsors may hold other roles that are voting member roles, but the role of Sponsor itself does not convey the right to participate in elections.

Advisors

Advisors are members of the Network community whose expertise and advice is valuable to staff, who would otherwise be welcomed as voting members of staff, but do not wish to take on the responsibilities involved.

Advisors are appointed and retired by a NOC vote. They are not voting members, and are not subject to activity evaluations.

Vote Counters

Vote counters (henceforth “Counters”) are a temporary non-voting position appointed only for the duration of the annual election. They must not, for the duration of the election, hold any role that is a voting member.

Counters are responsible for:

• Receiving the ballots for the election.
• Calculating the results of all valid ballots.
• Communicating the results to staff.

Elections

Eligibility of Voting Staff

Staff are eligible to vote in an election if they are active, and hold a role that is specified as a voting member.

All voters shall also be candidates.

Announcement of Elections

Elections will be announced by the Chair on the 1st of the month in which an election is going to take place.

Election Dates

Elections shall begin on the 8th and end on the 20th of every October.

Vote Counting

The Chair shall enlist the services of the Counters. There should be a minimum of two and a maximum of three Counters.

The Counters shall receive the ballots and evaluate them for validity. Should a received ballot be invalid, the voter shall be advised and given an opportunity to re-submit.

Once a majority of the Counters agree, the Chair shall instruct the Counters to coordinate an announcement to all staff.

Structure of Elections

Elections must be held in a digital medium which allows all active staff members to participate, if they so choose.

• Any outstanding issues which need to be voted on shall be listed on the ballot.
• Each voter is assigned a ballot of all candidates.
• Each voter must nominate exactly eight (8) candidates to be the next NOC. A ballot with more or less than eight (8) nominations will be deemed invalid.
• The members with the first (1st) through to eighth (8th) rankings according to popularity shall be the NOC, even if this results in a NOC with a membership greater than eight (8).
• Each voter shall be allowed to nominate one (1) member to be removed. If more than 50% of the received ballots list a person to be removed, that person will be removed.
• The NOC must immediately appoint the Chair and the Ombudsman from elected members of the NOC by majority consensus, guided by popularity.

Governance

The Network is governed according to the following.

NOC Vote

The NOC shall make decisions through a simple majority vote using any method which is accessible to all NOC members. A simple majority of NOC members must participate for quorum to be achieved.

The voting window must be at least seventy two (72) hours and must not exceed twenty one (21) days.

Meetings

Meetings are to be held on an ad hoc basis and are not mandatory.

Should a meeting be called for the purposes of a binding vote, that meeting should be arranged at a time and date which best suits the availability of the staff expected to attend. No such meeting should be scheduled less than fourteen (14) days in advance.

Discipline Procedures

Ombudsman’s advice and reprimands are a tools for correcting the future conduct of staff. They may be issued for:

• Violating any part of this Constitution.
• Violating any part of the Network Policy.
• Misuse of any privileges granted to members of staff.
• Bringing the Network into disrepute.

Reprimands are reserved for situations where the Ombudsman judges that an escalation beyond their advice is required.

When a reprimand is issued, the Ombudsman may also recommend additional actions be taken which are proportionate and necessary to the circumstances, and must include consideration of all prior advice or reprimands.

These recommendations may include a partial revocation of the staff member’s access or privileges, suspension, or dismissal. Recommendations may be vetoed through a NOC vote. The NOC may also vote to approve alternative consequences.

Advice and recommendations from the Ombudsman must be made available to all staff so that all may learn from them. At the discretion of the NOC, identities may be anonymized unless the individual holds an elected position.

Any reprimand issued against an elected member shall automatically trigger the impeachment process.

Membership Changes Between Elections

Elections are a tool for calibrating the governance structure of the Network with the rest of the membership. However should circumstances change, the Network must be able to adapt.

Inactivity

An active member of staff is a voting member who has actively participated in communications about the operation of the Network in the previous sixty (60) days on any medium through which coordination of maintenance and governance of the Network is typically performed.

Activity and inactivity is evaluated by the NOC with the following guidance and the outcome is communicated by the Chair.

Staff who are not active are considered inactive, and must be notified that they have become inactive. Should they resume activity prior to dismissal, they may regain their prior access without needing a NOC vote.

Should activity be observed to only resume for the purposes of avoiding inactivity, and should this be a consecutive occurrence, the NOC may optionally vote to qualify the individual as inactive.

If a staff member with access privileges is inactive for sixty (60) days their access level should be demoted, and they must be notified.

If a NetRep is inactive for another sixty (60) days, they should be considered as resigned.

Replacement of NOC Members, Chair, or Ombudsman

Should the departure of NOC members for whatever reason result in a membership of less than eight (8), the next runners-up in the previous election shall assume membership in the NOC to bring its membership to eight (8).

Should these prospective replacements be tied and should that tie exceed the number of positions vacant, the NOC should select from these candidates based on who is most active. If no such member is active, current voting members may be appointed by a NOC vote.

Should the Chair or Ombudsman depart their position for whatever reason, after ensuring that the NOC has a membership of at least eight (8), the NOC must vote on their replacement.

Dismissal

Any member holding a non-elected position may be dismissed by a NOC vote, following a recommendation from the Ombudsman.

Dismissed members are not eligible to re-join staff without the unanimous consent of all active voting members.

A member of staff who is dismissed shall have their privileges and access removed.

Impeachment

Impeachment is available in the event that the Chair, the Ombudsman, an Advisor, a Sponsor, or any member of the NOC is performing poorly or in a manner detrimental to the network. Every member in a Staff role has the duty to request an impeachment if they sincerely believe that the circumstances require it.

A vote of no confidence can be initiated as a reprimand by the Ombudsman, or against any aforementioned member through a NOC vote requested by any other member of staff.

Following a staff-public discussion, the vote of no confidence must get the votes of all active staff and NOC members. In order for an impeachment to take place, a minimum of two thirds (2/3) of all active staff and a minimum of two thirds (2/3) of all NOC members must vote to remove that member.

An impeached member will be stripped of all positions and dismissed.

An impeachment vote must be complete within seven (7) days of the original call for a vote of no confidence.

Resignations

Staff may actively resign their individual positions and be demoted, or resign from the Network’s staff altogether. They may also passively resign through inactivity.

A resigned member who leaves staff is eligible for consideration to re-join staff, subject to a NOC vote.

A member of staff who resigns or is demoted shall have their privileges and access removed accordingly.

Network Policies

In addition to this Constitution, there also exists a Network Policy document. The purpose of this document is to decide the day-to-day operations of the Network. It shall not conflict with any articles in this Constitution. Should a conflict arise, this document shall prevail.

Any Policy enacted in the Network Policy document shall have the same weight as any article in this Constitution. The Network Policy document may be altered by any NOC vote.

Amendments

Amendment proposals for this document must be approved by a NOC vote.

Amendments must then pass a simple majority vote of active voting members of staff to be installed.