[volunteers] [Picnic Announce] Reminder: vote by 5PM today on the Linux Picnic (fwd)

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Alvin Oga (alvin at mail.Linux-Consulting.com):

> for those that care ...  that sbay is running the "linux" picnic

Their announcements keep repeating long-discredited claims to justify
the requirement of Sbay membership, too.  (See forward, below.)

On a related note, I've scouted out some nice locations at which the Bay
Area's LUGs may consider reviving the real summer Linux Picnic, and will
be following up on that soon.


----- Forwarded message from rick -----

Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:54:39 -0800
To: baylisa at baylisa.org
Subject: Re: [LinuxPicnic] Linux Picnic voting memberships & 2008
steering committee (fwd)

Quoting Jennifer Davis (sigje at sigje.org):

[snip]

> All the members of the Steering Committee will be considered officers
> of the Linux Picnic.  The corporate By-Laws require officers of SIGs
> to be members of the corporation.  That keeps a strong bond as a legal
> link to protect volunteers under the "Volunteer Protection Act of
> 1997" and any liability insurance that the corporation obtains in the
> future.

Just a brief note that the Federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997, per
analyses by attorneys in that field, really provides _no_ such protection,
being written in far too narrowly scoped a fashion to do so, and...

   ...is unlikely to provide significant protection for volunteers.
   It will not shield volunteers from the time, expense and aggravation
   of defending a lawsuit, even if the Act is ultimately found to bar a
   judgment.  At its worst, the Act may create a guide map for pleading
   within the statutory exceptions and limitations in order to plead
   technically adequate causes of action or defenses, thus surviving
   possible legitimate challenges early in an action and embroiling
   volunteers in expensive and protracted litigation.

That's from Runquist and Associates, a SoCal law firm specialising in
non-profits.  Please see full text at:
http://www.runquist.com/article_vol_protect.htm

Runquist & Assoc. likewise point out that the assertion frequently
heard, e.g., above, that volunteers must be a "member" to fall under the
Act (such as it is), is simply incorrect.

See also:  http://en.tldp.org/HOWTO/User-Group-HOWTO-7.html#ss7.1
(section "Common Misconceptions Debunked").

(I am not an attorney, but did study law while preparing for my CPA
examinations, during my prior professional existence as a staff
accountant and tax preparer.  Accordingly, this post is not intended as
legal advice.  If you need specific legal advice, consult a qualified
lawyer.)

----- End forwarded message -----