Constitution

The signatories to this Constitution, as they deemed appropriate at the time of formation of this Organization, henceforth to be known as the Open Information Collective (“OIC”), do declare the following basic rules and regulations regarding the OIC’s operations.

I. Name and Purpose.

1. This Organization’s official name shall henceforth be the “Open Information Collective”.
2. This Organization may, within the context of this document, be referred to as the “Organization”.
3. The official acronym of this Organization shall be the “OIC”.
4. This Organization is not affiliated with any other organization going under the initials “OIC” but not the previously defined name of the Organization.
5. This Organization’s express purpose shall be to advocate for the freedom of information, the freedom of public records, against the obstruction of requests for information, against the censorship of information, and against the unnecessary blocking of network services by public and private organizations.

II. Membership and Powers.

1. “Unanimous agreement” is henceforth defined as when no party which is eligible to vote on an issue, and which does indeed vote on said issue, casts a negative vote.
2. The “Founding Members” of this Organization shall be Monica Hanson and Amy Parker.
3. The Founding Members, when in unanimous agreement, may override any decision by lower blocks of membership.
   • a. As a necessary condition, the Founding Members thus hold authority to execute all of the powers of the Organization.
   • b. A disagreement between Founding Members on an issue, with no conclusion of resolution, shall be deemed equivalent to if the Founding Members never held the vote/engaged the action.
4. The “Senior Members” of this Organization shall be appointed by the unanimous agreement of the Founding Members.
   • Senior Members shall have previously been established OIC Members, as determined by the Founding Members.
5. The “OIC Members” of this Organization shall be appointed by the Senior Members.
   • a. Any Senior Member may introduce a new OIC Member for consideration.
   • b. If there are no objections within five days, and no other Senior Members move to support the appointment, the OIC Member shall be considered inducted.
   • c. If there are no objections within three days, and two other Senior Members move to support the appointment, the OIC Member shall be considered inducted.
   • d. If there are objections, then a majority vote of the Senior Members, conducted over a time period no less than 7 days, shall be required before the OIC Member can be inducted.
6. Removal of members shall follow the following procedure:
   • a. A Founding Member shall only be removed upon their death, long-term incapacitation, or resignation.
   • b. A Senior Member may be removed in any of the following situations:
     • i. Unanimous agreement by the Founding Members.
     • ii. A majority agreement of present Senior Members, in a vote not to last less than three days, if not opposed by the Founding Members. The Senior Member being removed shall not participate in the vote.
     • iii. A two-thirds agreement of present OIC Members, in a vote not to last less than five days, if not opposed by the Founding Members or by a majority of the Senior Members.
     • iv. Death, long-term incapacitation, or resignation.
   • c. An OIC Member may be removed in any of the following situations:
     • i. Unanimous agreement by Founding Members.
     • ii. A majority agreement of Senior Members in a vote not to last less than three days.
     • iii. By a Senior Member who works with the OIC Member, if there are no objections within 24 hours.
     • iv. A majority agreement of OIC Members in a vote not to last less than five days, and in which at least 20% of OIC Members had voted.
     • v. Death, long-term incapacitation, or resignation.
7. The Senior Members shall, in general, oversee the advocacy activities within the context of the OIC of OIC Members.
8. The other responsibilities of the Senior Members and OIC Members shall be determined by the Founding Members.
   • If not in contradiction with the policies of the Founding Members and this Constitution, Senior Members may, to a limited degree, determine the individual responsibilities of OIC Members whom they personally work with.

III. Voting and Procedure.

1. The Founding Members shall determine the time and procedure for voting, or may delegate such responsibilities for limited contexts to Senior Members.
2. Should any meetings of the OIC or of a subset of it occur, those meetings shall follow the latest revision of Robert’s Rules of Order.

IV. Amendments.

1. All amendments shall directly change this Constitution without appendage.
2. Amendments shall be made by unanimous agreement of the Founding Members.

First agreed to by FM Monica Hanson and FM Amy Parker on February 27, 2023.

Agreed to by OM (now SM) Fain Arquieta, as witnessed by FM Amy Parker, on March 6, 2023.

Agreed to by OM Alex Gonzales, as witnessed by FM Amy Parker, on November 8, 2023.

Agreed to by OM Tanzir Kazi, as witnessed by FM Amy Parker, on November 11, 2023.

Agreed to by OM Tiya Mengesha, as witnessed by FM Amy Parker, on December 15, 2023.