XBMC.org and it's company

Bulkzooi Wrote:2> How can I become a member?

You have to do an initiation. First rule of XBMC. Don't talk about XBMC.

Seriously though, just submit code (i.e, patches) if you're a regular enough contributor you'll be a part of the team. There's not a formal process that I am aware of.

redtapemedia Wrote:You have to do an initiation. First rule of XBMC. Don't talk about XBMC.

Seriously though, just submit code (i.e, patches) if you're a regular enough contributor you'll be a part of the team. There's not a formal process that I am aware of.

I think you talk about team XBMC. Normally, in XBMC Foundation statutes most of such info. should be covered.

Desubscribing. Too painful to watch.

Unless you have a specific skill to offer like legal or accounting or something there is no way anyone who is not a member of the team will be put onto the foundation members. It is chosen from team members because they have a idea of what the project is all about and have its best interest at heart.
If you believe you have a specific skill that you think we need and are willing to give it for free then fire off an email to 1 of the emails here http://xbmc.org/about/contact/ I would suggest the last one

And can someone show me directions to the Bylaws or statutes of the XBMC Foundation?

Good lord.

bulkzooi, are you confusing a foundation with a corporation? A foundation does not require bylaws or statutes to operate. In fact, the word foundation is so loosely defined that one should probably make no presumptions about it at all. You would be best served by asking more basic questions like whether the XBMC Foundation is a non-profit organization (it is), whether it is a 501©(3) organization (to my knowledge, it is not), and whether it is a private or a community foundation (tricky, but I assume we can say private).

Generally speaking, though, while these are all nice things to be posted on an "about us" page, they aren't required. XBMC is not for profit and is not a publicly traded company. As such, most of the info required by statute to be revealed by a corp. to everyone and his brother does not have to be revealed by a non-profit organization. Indeed, most of the rules typically required by statute to apply to a corporation, LLP, or LLC do not apply to this organization.

Which is a good thing, because I'm guessing most of the coders involved in this project have no idea what the answers to any of your questions are.

Your best hope remains speaking with jmarshall, as previously mentioned, and, if he doesn't know the answer, getting authorization from the foundation board to speak with the XBMC Foundation attorney who set up the foundation in the first place.

Edit: On second thought, XBMC might be set up as a community foundation. Long story short, unless you are the IRS absolutely none of this should matter to you.

The XBMC foundation is a US-based non-profit (we do in fact have 501©(3) status).

Expect a news post and further details to be on the website in the near future. No ETA on that - it'll be there when it's done. If the US is anything like NZ, I suspect you can probably discover copies of the articles of incorporation and the like should you wish to from the appropriate US authority in the mean time.

To be clear: There is no need or desire for any of this stuff to be secret - indeed, it is our goal to be as open and transparent as possible - it's one of the reasons we started the foundation in the first place. Unfortunately, setting up the foundation has taken a LONG time and a LOT of effort (it's been almost 2 years and we still don't have a bank account...) I think you'll agree that it's best to ensure everything is completely in order prior to announcing it in an official manner.

Cheers,
Jonathan

natethomas Wrote:bulkzooi, are you confusing a foundation with a corporation? A foundation does not require bylaws or statutes to operate. In fact, the word foundation is so loosely defined that one should probably make no presumptions about it at all. You would be best served by asking more basic questions like whether the XBMC Foundation is a non-profit organization (it is), whether it is a 501©(3) organization (to my knowledge, it is not), and whether it is a private or a community foundation (tricky, but I assume we can say private).

Generally speaking, though, while these are all nice things to be posted on an "about us" page, they aren't required. XBMC is not for profit and is not a publicly traded company. As such, most of the info required by statute to be revealed by a corp. to everyone and his brother does not have to be revealed by a non-profit organization. Indeed, most of the rules typically required by statute to apply to a corporation, LLP, or LLC do not apply to this organization.

Which is a good thing, because I'm guessing most of the coders involved in this project have no idea what the answers to any of your questions are.

Your best hope remains speaking with jmarshall, as previously mentioned, and, if he doesn't know the answer, getting authorization from the foundation board to speak with the XBMC Foundation attorney who set up the foundation in the first place.

Edit: On second thought, XBMC might be set up as a community foundation. Long story short, unless you are the IRS absolutely none of this should matter to you.

I am not familiar with a community Foundation and indeed it's difficult for me to gather useful information about Foundations in general. But like I explained before, to me it's very important to know some basic backgrounds.

It's not really my business but why is knowing all this so important for you?
You seem shady