[IndiChix] Structure of LinuxChix_India.

[Vid Ayer]

Hello Folks,

[cc'ing Volunteers list,...sorry, got busy and forgot to send a report
on the BoF]

Since the LCIN BOF at foss.in last <strike>month</strike> year, we
have surged ahead with a lot of grrls taking active interest and
helping us grow. Upon returning home from Bangalore they are taking
things (like local meet-ups)  further in the respective cities they
live in. We will evolve steadily but first, Cheers to each person for
taking LCIN* thus far :)

*http://www.linuxchix.org.in

Two important points which could not be discussed in-depth at the BoF
due to lack of time are :

- LCIN domain and structure vis-a-vis the main organisation, and
- should we get registered legally in India,... etc.

In a way that was good because we would have excluded those unable to
make it to the event which is a shame in a community setup.  So lets
discuss this where everyone can participate, on the list.

1] Domain :
We currently use linuxchix.org.in, which Vaibhav had generously been
helping us out with for the last 2 years. (Thanks Vaibhav:)).  We
appreciate and value the help (technical and otherwise) we get from
all folks but this is still a chapter of the international woman's
group and an independent one at that, as in community driven, not
corporate run. So for the most part its a conflict of purpose and
confusing thing to have a man holding the above domain. Mirroring the
parent organisation we should ideally keep the indian domain with some
local Indian grrls and definitely one of the Tres'chix in the loop,
just in case we local 'uns decide to go MIA one fine day.
What do you all think ? Thoughts/criticisms/suggestions welcome.

2] Register LCIN legally in India:

This came up at the BoF while mentioning that few 'chix had
contributed wholly for the T-shirts and the hurdles we face with
organising events, and swag finalogistics (which is a necessary
marketing evil). Since we are not registered we cannot approach
companies to sponsor us. Although I am confident that we as a group
will manage to do enough good work, inspiring firms to back us
financially, its a catch22 situation and a bit thorny because the
parent org is not yet registered.

Most importantly, it has legal questions and overheads for LCIN, the
lowest common denominator being "commitment from l'chix locally", as
in being active and/or present physically atleast once a year for the
meeting, filing tax returns, others....  all of which can be done only
if enough chix are active (irrespective of the city you live in) and
want to make a difference by contributing their bit to FLOSS.  Right
now I am not sure how many Indichix will be willing to take up these
extra burdens and unless there is enough consensus, it does not seem
practical to go ahead on this issue.  Ofcourse it goes without saying
that the LCIN decision making will be done by grrls only.

Please feel free to discuss this on either of the mailing list to:
* ensure open and transparent-ness, for today and tomorrow.
* less ambiguity about how stuff works around here.

Thanks for reading.
Vid
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