Startup/Organization
From Metagovernment - Government of, by, and for all the people
This page describes an institutional organization (such as a non-profit corporation or a cooperative) which may be formed to perform institutional functions of the Metagovernment, and possibly the Metascore project. Current organizational functions are performed ad hoc by individuals and/or by the Startup committee. See adhocracy.
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Reasons to form an organization
The following reasons have been given for starting an organization.
- Administer passwords, software, and hardware
- Remove dependence on any particular individuals
- To avoid possible corruption
- To remove single points of failure
- Collect and manage funds
- Provide a point of focus for other organizations to interact with
Type and location
It would seem likely that this organization should not be affiliated with any existing nation. It needs to be determined if we must choose a particular nation in which to organize. It seems that this is the case, in which case, we need to choose a nation in which to form. The nation in which we form may have an impact on the kind of organization we can form.
Possible host nations
Potential nations in which to organize include:
- Switzerland - Some major international organizations, such as Care International, are based in Geneva. There may be legal reasons that these organizations choose Switzerland.
- United States - Ed is based here, so this would be easiest for him. But the laws of the United States are complex and intrusive, and it may not be the best location for this organization.
- United Kingdom - At this moment, the UK is heavily represented in the Startup Committee, so it may be easiest to form there.
Non-geographic organization
Instead of trying to organize as an institution in any particular location, we could attempt to incorporate as an online-only organization, with no physical presence. Clearly this would have murky, radical legal issues, and would likely make dealings with financial institutions and other commercial entities difficult. Nonetheless, this idea bears further investigation.
Reasons not to form an organization
The Metagovernment is not simply a non-profit organization; it is an attempt at a new form of governance. Using an old governance structure suited for a charity may not be appropriate for protogovernmental body.
Having a board of directors may violate the spirit of open source governance. If we can develop Metascore quickly enough, cannot it be our sole form of governance?
Money
If we need to collect money (for building a server farm, for example), we still can do so without a formal organization.
- Third-party structure - The Software Freedom Conservancy provides member projects with free financial and administrative services.
- Ad hoc donations - People can contribute by simply paying for what is necessary. For example, if we wanted to place an ad in a newspaper promoting the project, one individual (or an ad hoc group of individuals) could simply buy the ad themselves.
Unresolved issue
This still leaves at least one major question unanswered: how can Metascore software be administered without being subject to corruption? See Metascore#Distribution_model for some suggestions.
External links
For further reading, these sites may be useful:
- NGOs on GlobalPolicy.org
- Non-profit organization on Wikipedia
