[Board] Three issues to vote on

[Sean Egan]

Hi board,

I've decided we should start getting down to some official business.
I've written three proposals for us to vote on. I tried to sound nice
and offiicial, but they're doubtlessly incomplete and vague :) I'll
get better at this.

Barring any objections to the process, e-mail voting will end 12:00AM
EST on November 28, 2006. This is approximately one week. The
Secretary will record the votes as received via e-mail. Provided a
quorum of 4 directors have submitted votes by the deadline, these
measures will be enacted by majority vote.


Credit Card Processing Proposal

This proposal is submitted for a vote to the board of directors of
Instant Messaging Freedom, Inc.

Abstract

Article II of the by-laws of Instant Messaging Freedom, Inc., lists as
on of the corporation's purposes:

To solicit, collect and otherwise raise money and to expend such funds
in furtherance of the goals and activities of the Corporation;

To facilitate this goal, it is proposed that Instant Messaging
Freedom, Inc. accept donations on its webpage, http://pidgin.im, by
opening an account with Pinnacle Processing Group in Seattle, WA.

Proposal

I have been assured that the rates we've been offered are unspeakably
competitive; they are being offered pretty much at-cost. In addition
to unavoidable Visa and Mastercard fees, each transaction will cost
$0.10 plus .05%.

Additionally, there is a $10 monthly fee and an additional $5 minimum
(if the processing company doesn't make $5 off the monthly
per-transaction fees, they bill us up to that).

Alternatives

The $10-$15 monthly fee may be problematic to this plan; the low rates
may be irrelevant if we do not have enough volume in transactions to
cover the monthly minimum fees.

Other serivces, notably PayPal and Google Checkouts, do not have
minimum fees and have users donate through their own sites (on PayPal,
at least, you can upgrade to have the donation page on pidgin.im, for
a $20/mo fee). These services impose higher per-transaction fees.

I propose that, since we're likely to generate a large volume of
donations in our first few months, before tapering down, and the
cancellation fee with Pinnacle Processing Group is waived, that we
take advantage of the lower per-transaction fees for as long as it is
cost-feasible, by opening an account with Pinnacle Processing Group.




Incidental Expenses Proposal

This proposal is submitted for a vote to the board of directors of
Instant Messaging Freedom, Inc.

Abstract

Orders and resolutions of the board often result in incidental
expenses unforseen in the original proposal, including office supplies
such as envelopes and postage. It is proposed that officers be duly
authorized to charge such expenses to the Corporation.

Proposal

The board shall authorize incidental expenses not to exceed $20 to be
charged as needed by officers of the corporation to enact orders and
resolutions of the board of directors. These incidental charges shall
include office supplies such as paper, envelopes, and postage.
Directors who make such charges are required to report their charges
to the Treasurer, who will record the expense and reimburse the
officer as appropriate.






Adium Proposal

This proposal is submitted for a vote to the board of directors of
Instant Messaging Freedom, Inc.

Abstract

As stated in Article II of the corporation's by-laws, it is the
purpose of Instant Messaging Freedom, Inc. to foster and promote the
development of free and open-source software.

Adium X is widely considered the best free IM client for OS X, and
they are a major contributor to Gaim. As Adium would benefit from
organization under Instant Messaging Freedom, Inc., that its lead
developer is on our board of directors, and that Adium is already
using the corporation's tax exempt status, it is proposed that they be
invited to join.

Proposal

We shall invite Adium to become a project of Instant Messaging
Freedom, Inc. If they accept, they shall be able to use the
corporation as needed for the following reasons (and others):
- Instant Messaging Freedom, Inc. will be able to raise funds for
Adium. A fund will be created, devoted to Adium. Money raised on the
Adium webpage will be deposited to this fund, and those funds will be
used solely to promote Adium development
- Instant Messaging Freedom, Inc. will be the legal entity responsible
for Adium development, providing limited liability for Adium
developers

Apart from fiscal matters, the day-to-day operations of Adium
development will not be affected by this change. That control will
remain in the hands of the current Adium developers.