Membership Committee governance

Adopted by membership committee Nov 24, 2023

The primary purpose of the Membership Committee is to ensure that the membership status of all members of the AlmaLinux foundation is kept current and that new applications are reviewed in a timely manner. 

Formation of the Committee 

• The committee will always have an odd number of participants, numbering not less than three and not more than 15.
• If the committee will ever not have an odd number of participants, a temporary member may be appointed from the list of current members in good standing by the Committee Chair, or by consensus from the existing Committee members,  until another member may be confirmed by the Board of Directors.
• Participants are nominated (by themselves or by a board member), and are appointed with consensus by the Board of Directors
• The committee will have no less than one, and no more than three members from the Board of Directors as members.
• The committee will choose by consensus one member to serve as “chair” every 3 months. The same member may serve as chair for multiple terms.
• Committee members will be asked to re-confirm committee membership annually.
• Non-participant Committee members may be removed from the committee by recommendation from the committee and with consensus from the Board of Directors
• If the Membership Committee cannot meet the minimum 3-member requirement, membership management and decisions will be made by the Board of Directors.

Operation of the Committee

• The committee will meet regularly, no less than once a month, as long as there are membership applications to consider. 
• Committee members will review the applications that have been submitted ahead of the commencement of the meeting, to help keep the meeting time productive.
• The committee will make decisions to grant or or decline member applications by consensus. If no consensus can be reached, the application is referred to the Board for a decision. 
• Chair of the Committee will ensure that decisions are communicated to the applicants within 10 business days

Procedure for each membership class

Individuals or Organizations may one or more of the four membership classes below. 

Contributor Membership

• Applicant completes online form requesting membership. Application will include: 
  • personal details and consent to process, store and use them
  • proof of non-trivial contribution
• Committee members review applications in advance and communicate confirmation (or its lack) to the chair
• At regular Membership Committee meetings, the Chair roll-calls list of applicants and seeks consent to grant membership, or refer the application to the board for decision
  • Contributors will be asked to re-confirm eligibility for membership every two years
  • Committee will send out a request to re-confirm eligibility at 6 months, 3 months, and 2 weeks prior to the expiration of membership
  • Re-confirming Contributor members will still need to be confirmed by the membership committee

Mirror Membership

• Applicant completes an online form requesting membership. Application will include:
  • Technical details related to the mirror(s) that you are providing,
  • personal details and consent to process, store, and use them
• Membership Committee or Infrastructure SIG validates membership claim
• Membership Committee grants membership
• Annually reconfirmed as valid members in collaboration with the Infrastructure SIG

Sponsor Membership

• Validate staff-supplied credentials and proof of payment
• Sponsor members reviewed and asked to renew 3 months prior to end of the membership

Alumnus Membership

Any existing member whose membership lapses for any reason will be considered for Alumnus membership.

• Sponsor and Mirror members are not eligible to move to Alumnus status
• When Contributors decline to re-confirm eligibility for membership, they automatically gain Alumnus status.
• Members may opt-out of being moved to Alumnus status (opt-out). Failure to respond to enquiry around removal is considered consent to be listed as an Alumnus unless the Membership Committee or Board of Directors chooses to rule otherwise.

Procedure for updating the Membership Committee Governance

In the event that the membership committee governance requires updates, the updates will be proposed to the Board of Directors, and the board will review the updated governance at a board meeting.

Adopted Nov 24th, 2023