Minutes Online 2009.08.04

From Pirate Party of Canada

Meeting started at 8:00PM EST on August 4th, 2009.

Chair: MrCaptain

Contents 1 TOPIC: Elections 1.1 SUBTOPIC: Voting Methods 2 TOPIC: Tasks Management 3 TOPIC: Website 4 TOPIC: NPC Bylaws 5 TOPIC: Local Meetings 6 TOPIC: Manifesto

TOPIC: Elections

MrCaptain: We have five (5) officer positions available, all members are welcome to run.
MrCaptain: Officer position duties are described here...
MrCaptain: http://wiki.piratepartyofcanada.com/index.php/Party_Officer_Nominations
MrCaptain: We should set a deadline for nominations soon.
MrCaptain: We originally set it for July 31, but that passed and we weren't ready.

MrCaptain: JakeDaynes has the floor.
JakeDaynes: I think that for a nomination deadline, the week after Frosh would be perfect.
JakeDaynes: This would enable any new participants to step up.
MrCaptain: That sounds good, although we should get the not-for-profit corporation registered before then.

MrCaptain: What is VoteBot? Is it just an IRC bot, or something more?
MrCaptain: JSagert has the floor.
JSagert: It's a bot I coded in mIRCscript, nothing more.
JSagert: Do we require voting to be anonymized for positions?
MrCaptain: Let's keep voting anonymous.

MrCaptain: Tyler_Lerang_J has the floor.
Tyler_Lerang_J: This is to a request for anyone on that resides in Halifax, NS.
Tyler_Lerang_J: Please join the IRC channel #Halifax
Tyler_Lerang_J: I would like to start coordinating our chapter in Nova Scotia.
Tyler_Lerang_J: Thank you.

SUBTOPIC: Voting Methods

MrCaptain: How do we want to do it? Electronic means? Mailing?

MrCaptain: JakeDaynes has the floor.
JakeDaynes: I believe that unless we can devise a method of totally secure electronic voting, then traditional paper ballots would be safest, though slow.
MrCaptain: Agreed.

MrCaptain: Odemia has the floor.
Odemia: I agree. If we are going for the hidden ballot method, I think paper is required.
Odemia: Although, if we are willing to vote openly, electronic methods could work.
Odemia: But we also need to address who is allowed to vote.
Odemia: I suggest only those registered in the CRM or who have submitted forms.

MrCaptain: Tyler_Lerang_J has the floor.
Tyler_Lerang_J: Thank you.
Tyler_Lerang_J: I have devised a system that uses both paper and electronic means.
Tyler_Lerang_J: You get a code in the mail;
Tyler_Lerang_J: Go to a website;
Tyler_Lerang_J: Enter the code;
Tyler_Lerang_J: And vote.
Tyler_Lerang_J: I think thats about the only secure way to do it
Tyler_Lerang_J: Give voters random codes, one (1) code per person per vote.
Tyler_Lerang_J: Or we mail out ballots.
MrCaptain: BobJonkman has the floor for remarks.
BobJonkman: What ensures that when we receive the ballot, the site we go to is authentic?
BobJonkman: What ensures that the ballot we receive is authentic?
BobJonkman: E-voting requires end-to-end security, and the PPoC can't ensure that the voter's end is secure.
BobJonkman: Paper ballots have the advantage that they're easily auditable, and there's no proprietary software to audit.
MrCaptain: Tyler_Lerang_J has the floor for remarks.
Tyler_Lerang_J: We should leave this issue open to debate.

MrCaptain: Jacks has the floor.
Jacks: I don't see why we can't use electronic voting.
Jacks: The same problems exist both ways for security, and electronic is faster, cheaper, etc.
Jacks: Ways already exist to do this online, we can use those to our advantage without having to reinvent the wheel, spending money mailing, etc.
steve: Agreed.

MrCaptain: smashagnome has the floor.
smashagnome: Why not use a poll on the forums, only registered users can do it - and it would be anonymous.
smashagnome: You just need to set it to a single vote per user.

MrCaptain: JakeDaynes has the floor.
JakeDaynes: My belief is that if we use Tyler's proposed system, sending codes via email would be best, as opposed to snail mail, in order to cut down on costs and time.
Tyler_Lerang_J: Agreed.

MrCaptain: steve has the floor.
steve: I think that a paper system is open to far more failure points than tested, proven software offered by experienced vendors.
steve: We would otherwise be relying upon individuals that most of us have never met to do the job properly.
steve: What is to prevent the said individuals in the counting room from rigging votes?
steve: Not that I'm saying they would, but perhaps a mistake or miscount is more likely.
steve: It would also not be in a software vendor's interest to use slanted voting systems.
steve: At this point in time, I think the effort and cost required for a paper ballot system is more than is worth it.
steve: We don't even have 250 members yet. When the party grows large, we re-discuss, but for the moment I think electronic would expedite the process.

MrCaptain: smashagnome has the floor.
smashagnome: You seem to be using phpBB for your forums, or something like it.
smashagnome: You easily set it up for polling... no extra cost or issues.
MrCaptain: JakeDaynes has the floor for remarks.
JakeDaynes: Polls on the forums can easily be rigged using multiple accounts.
MrCaptain: robbrit has the floor for remarks.
robbrit: It's Phorum. It has a poll add-on but it's broken.
robbrit: Also it isn't anonymous, and like JakeDaynes put it, it can be rigged easily.
MrCaptain: Tyler_Lerang_J has the floor for remarks.
Tyler_Lerang_J: I proprose the InvisionFree board software as a solution.
Tyler_Lerang_J: Make a groupmask, add the voters.
Tyler_Lerang_J: The voters go to a topic visible only for that groupmask, and they vote.
Tyler_Lerang_J: That way, we can keep a vigil on inactive and secondary accounts.
MrCaptain: smashagnome has the floor for remarks.
smashagnome: You make it transparent by having each paid member allowed into a certain forum where the poll is.
smashagnome: Then if there are 30 members there should be only 30 votes. No more, no less.
smashagnome: and to be frank - do you really think people who are opposed or want to mess with it will go to your site?

MrCaptain: BobJonkman has the floor.
BobJonkman: Has someone checked with Elections Canada for guidelines to e-voting?

MrCaptain: Odemia has the floor.
Odemia: I think we have to assume that people are registered with the party.
Odemia: Unless we actually verify the identity of the person that sends in information, they could flood the ballot box.

MrCaptain: steve has the floor.
steve: I think that multiple faked accounts is a moot argument for e-ballots.
steve: As Odemia pointed out, we have no way to verify membership accounts.
steve: In fact, we could already have someone with multiple accounts.
steve: A paper ballot system would suffer the same flaws.
steve: Multiple mailing addresses, for example.
steve: This is a global issue that is separate from voting, and must be addressed independently.

MrCaptain: robbrit has the floor.
robbrit: For one, haven't actually decided paper vs. electronic yet.
robbrit: Second, I have an idea for voting via paper methods that I'll throw out there.
robbrit: We have a list of everyone who has either registered through the CRM or through the mail-in form.
robbrit: If we do decide to use paper, why not just mail or email everyone instructions and a randomly-generated code, which we would store on our servers, but not linked back to their name.
robbrit: Then, they can either use that code online, or they can mail it back.

MrCaptain: Tyler_Lerang_J has the floor.
Tyler_Lerang_J: If we are so worried about extra accounts;
Tyler_Lerang_J: We could verify the users by IP;
Tyler_Lerang_J: Email or contact the members that filled out the forms;
Tyler_Lerang_J: And ask for accounts, and then you have voters.

MrCaptain: BobJonkman has the floor.
BobJonkman: Paid memberships will go some way to ensure one vote per membership.
BobJonkman: Voting for directors in the NPC is less crucial, but for party leadership we're potentially choosing a future Prime Minister, so proper election procedures are a must.
BobJonkman: Web forums, PHP polls, and IRC votes are not adequate.
BobJonkman: As a serious voter, I don't want to be a member of a party that doesn't take this very seriously.

MrCaptain: Odemia has the floor.
Odemia: Can we start by having a poll right now if we want hidden ballots or not?
Odemia: If not, this is all sort of a mute point.
Odemia: Assuming we want hidden ballots then we should move to decided paper vs electronic.
Odemia: And last, I think we should avoid codes on ballots.
Odemia: Putting sealed ballots in an envelope with a return address is sufficient to maintain anonymity without allowing ballot stuffing.

[VOTE] Do we want hidden ballots? [VOTE]

Tyler_Lerang_J: yay
smashagnome: nay
BobJonkman: yay
shep: nay
Nuitari: nay
Odemia: abstain
steve: yay
JakeDaynes: nay
JSagert: nay
Cyclonis: yay
Jacks: yay

[RESULTS] Five (5) yay; Five (5) nay; One (1) abstained [RESULTS]

MrCaptain: This is a tie... so back to where we were.

MrCaptain: Jacks has the floor.
Jacks: Okay, I would like to propose that we create a committee to look into both sides of this.
Jacks: Check out the price for mailing out ballots;
Jacks: The price for electronic voting systems;
Jacks: And the security of each.
Jacks: We're obviously very divided on this issue, and there's also not a lot of facts going into this discussion on either side.
Jacks: Taking a bit more time to get it right, to me, would be a good call.
JakeDaynes: Agreed.
steve: Agreed.
JSagert: Agreed.
MrCaptain: Ok noted, and I'll put this onto our agenda, since there are people waiting to speak.
Jacks: And, as for a code;
Jacks: It couldn't be written on the ballot, it would have to be a separate sheet of paper.
Jacks: No identification should be on the ballot itself.
MrCaptain: Nuitari has the floor for remarks.
Nuitari: If there are no codes ont he ballot, then photocopying it would make it very easy to stuff a ballot.
Nuitari: For e-voting we could either mail out or email unique codes, a bit like how proxyvotecanada works on their form.
Nuitari: The code can be independent from the actual voter and just serves as a voted/did-not-vote verification.
Nuitari: A basic unique IP address check should still be there for security reasons, but it wouldn't be the only check in place.
Nuitari: We can also delete the code from the CRM after the initial mail out and just keep them in a separate table to have hidden voting if so desired.

MrCaptain: smashagnome has the floor.
smashagnome: What about creating a temporary secondary site that uses aliases instead of names?

MrCaptain: Tyler_Lerang_J has the floor.
Tyler_Lerang_J: Just want to remind people about #Halifax

MrCaptain: robbrit has the floor.
robbrit: For clarification, what I mean about a code, is that there will be one code for each party member.
robbrit: However, we will not link the code with the member.
robbrit: So there will be x party members, and x codes generated.
robbrit: These mailed off at random; the recipient is not recorded.
robbrit: The recipient can then use that code to vote, either electronically or by mail, and then the code is marked as used.
JakeDaynes: Agreed.

MrCaptain: Odemia has the floor.
Odemia: We are just ending up with more solutions than we started with.
Odemia: What are our goals? How anonymous? How secure? An how do we get enough people looking over the process?

MrCaptain: robbrit has the floor.
robbrit: A quick thing to add: if we receive the votes in the mail we can bring the UNOPENED envelopes to a meeting in person.

MrCaptain: BobJonkman has the floor.
BobJonkman: Much research has already been done by Elections Canada.
BobJonkman: I have not yet read it, but I've done enough research of other sources to know that e-voting is a very difficult thing to do well.
BobJonkman: It's expensive too, when all the auditing is accounted for.
BobJonkman: http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?section=loi&document=index&dir=vot&lang=e

MrCaptain: Jacks has the floor.
Jacks: I still think it would be good to look into the options as they stand;
Jacks: Figure out where the break even (in a sense) point is between the options;
Jacks: And with the size of the population.
Jacks: We should come back next meeting, or maybe even discuss it at the next local meetings, and go through a more informed/official vote upon elections.
Odemia: Agreed.

MrCaptain: shep has the floor.
shep: I think that as a Digital Issues party, we need to be seen as leaders in technology.
shep: The other parties can be the followers.
shep: We also can't underestimate the apathy of our target demographic: young voters.
shep: I think that we should offer - at every opportunity, not just for voting - a convenient digital solution.
shep: As for voting specifically, as others have suggested;
shep: We should tie online accounts to information received on the "Declaration Of A Member Of The Party" form, just as the delivery of paper ballots would be.
shep: The voter should then be able to decide how to return their vote - online or offline.

MrCaptain: Okay. I have made a note to appoint a few people to do the aforementioned voting methods research, so let's discuss that quickly.
MrCaptain: Any volunteers say yay.
Nuitari: yay
BobJonkman: yay
Jacks: yay
steve: yay
MrCaptain: You volunteers can do some research into all forms of voting.
MrCaptain: If as shep says we can find a good way to do it, then great.
MrCaptain: Otherwise lets see what else we can do.

MrCaptain: Odemia has the floor. Odemia: Can I just request that their goal should be to come back with 2 or 3 clear voting solutions so that we can have a short discussion and vote on it next time.
JakeDaynes: Agreed.
robbrit: Agreed.
shep: Agreed.
JSagert: Agreed.
Nuitari: Agreed.
BobJonkman: Agreed.
Jacks: Agreed.
MrCaptain: So Jacks, steve, Nuitari and BobJonkman:
MrCaptain: See what you can come up with for the next meeting.

MrCaptain: JSagert has the floor.
JSagert: I move for a recess; meeting to reassemble in 5 minutes at 9:02EST.
MrCaptain: Agreed.
BobJonkman: Agreed.
JakeDaynes: Agreed.

[RECESS - REASSEMBLED AT 9:02EST]

MrCaptain: Meeting is back in session.
MrCaptain: A quick question.
MrCaptain: Who should be allowed vote?
MrCaptain: Anybody who has sent in either their payment or their form?
MrCaptain: Or do they have to send in both?
MrCaptain: Or something else?

MrCaptain: JakeDaynes has the floor.
JakeDaynes: I think that until we have a solid member base that has done both, we should accept from either/or at this point in time.

MrCaptain: Tyler_Lerang_J has the floor.
Tyler_Lerang_J: I think it should be anyone that has forms in.

MrCaptain: Shep has the floor.
shep: I think that voting should only be for those who have officially declared for the party, as it should help boost our official numbers.

MrCaptain: Odemia has the floor.
Odemia: I agree with shep due to the issues with paying for membership.
Odemia: I don't think we can reasonably ask people to have paid at this time.
Odemia: Or anytime in the near future.

MrCaptain: JSagert has the floor.
JSagert: Move to vote if we should accept both unpaid and paid voters.
MrCaptain: shep has the floor for remarks.
shep: Move for two votes:
shep: Can both Paid and Unpaid members vote?
shep: Can both declared and undeclared members vote?

MrCaptain: Jacks has the floor.
Jacks: Just a point of clarification really - is this just for the NPC part, as in the elections that will be soon?
Jacks: Or is this for when the party exists?
MrCaptain: Elections, not so much the NPC.
Jacks: So, all elections for the party?
Jacks: Even after it exists? Because I would classify them as two different things....
MrCaptain: Party yes, Fund we can discuss later.
MrCaptain: Let's discuss this elsewhere.

MrCaptain: BobJonkman has the floor.
BobJonkman: There's a big difference in voting for a party president, treasurer, secretary, andvoting for a party leader.
BobJonkman: Voting for party policy issues is different yet again.
MrCaptain: Good point.

MrCaptain: It's time for the voting.

[VOTE] Should you have to pay to vote? [VOTE]

BobJonkman: nay
shep: nay
JakeDaynes: nay
JSagert: nay
phrozn: nay
Odemia: nay
Nuitari: nay
Tyler_Lerang_J: abstain
steve-mac: yay
Jacks: yay
smashagnome: nay

[RESULTS] Two (2) yay; Eight (8) nay; One (1) abstained [RESULTS]

MrCaptain: So to clarify, this is the pre-registered-party voting.
MrCaptain: Once we have a registered party, we should require that they are full members, which means that they are both paid and have sent their form in.

MrCaptain: Next vote.

[VOTE] Should you have to send in your form to vote? [VOTE]

Odemia: yay
JSagert: yay
shep: yay
JakeDaynes: nay
Nuitari: yay
Tyler_Lerang_J: yay
BobJonkman: yay
steve-mac: abstain

[RESULTS] Six (6) yay; One (1) nay, (1) abstained. [RESULTS]

MrCaptain: JakeDaynes has the floor.

JakeDaynes: I think maybe using an either/or system might work best at this point, so if you have done one or the other you are entitled to vote.
Jacks: Agreed.
steve-mac: Agreed.

MrCaptain: Odemia has the floor.
Odemia: The form is a declaration to Elections Canada that you are a party member.
Odemia: It is also a matter of proving that you are a real person.
Odemia: And now I realize that the CRM does that too.

[VOTE] Should you be able to vote if you have either a) sent your form; or b) sent your payment? [VOTE]

JakeDaynes: yay
shep: nay
BobJonkman: nay
Jacks: yay
steve: yay
Nuitari: yay
Cyclonis: yay
JSagert: yay
Odemia: yay
wasmeee: yay

[RESULTS] 8 yay, 2 nay [RESULTS]

MrCaptain: Resolved that people can vote if they've sent their payment or their form (or both obviously).

TOPIC: Tasks Management

MrCaptain: I think Mantis is a little too much overhead for managing tasks.
MrCaptain: Should we just stick to using a Wiki page?

MrCaptain: Jacks has the floor.
Jacks: Whatever we use on the tech side, I think we need one person overlooking each section to ensure that things are being worked on, or to organize it a bit.
Jacks: With a bit more on that side, the wiki would work fine.
Jacks: It also needs to be updated a little more often, with people knowing what needs to be done and what's already in the works.
MrCaptain: robbrit has the floor for remarks.
robbrit: Yes, that's mainly my job.
robbrit: I was just wondering if people wanted to use something special or were okay with just using the Wiki.
MrCaptain: Jacks has the floor for clarification.
Jacks: Just to clarify my point, I meant for "Promotion" there would be an overseer.
Jacks: And one for each of the overall sections, such as one for "Code and Policy" or something of the sorts.
Odemia: Agreed.
steve: Agreed.
JakeDaynes: Agreed.

MrCaptain: Okay, I think the best way to go for that is to have each officer manage their section.
MrCaptain: ie. CTO manages technical stuff, CMO does marketing, etc.
MrCaptain: Odemia has the floor for remarks.
Odemia: Just commenting on the fact that you said officer.
Odemia: That shows that we need to give officers a mandate through meeting like this;
Odemia: So that they can do their duties with confidence.
MrCaptain: Good point.
MrCaptain: There will be tasks assigned to the party officers listed in our wiki here:
MrCaptain: http://wiki.piratepartyofcanada.com/index.php/Party_Officer_Nominations

TOPIC: Website

MrCaptain: What is the status on the website?
MrCaptain: JSagert has the floor.
JSagert: We have to test out a plugin for localization, most likely xLanguage.
JSagert: I also have the French graphics created.
JSagert: There are a few blank pages which need content.
JSagert: I move to release the English site first, and French content as it is created.

MrCaptain: BobJonkman has the floor.
BobJonkman: There should be only one definitive site for the party (pirateparty.ca).
BobJonkman: But all the public forum discussions are a detriment to the party being taken seriously.
BobJonkman: Blogs, Wiki, forums and other user-generated content should go on a site that's distinctly labelled "These are not the opinions or policy of the party."
steve: Agreed.
Odemia: Agreed.
MrCaptain: Hmm, that's definitely a good point.
MrCaptain: Let's debate elsewhere about what we should do there.

MrCaptain: Any other comments on the website?

MrCaptain: It appears not, so I have one comment about the website.
MrCaptain: JSagert - are you managing the content, or do you need anybody else to help you?
JSagert: I'm merely design/function, I don't really feel too confident creating the content.
JSagert: I can however add the content when it's given to me.

MrCaptain: Ok, let's put out a call for writers.

MrCaptain: Tyler_Lerang_J has the floor.
Tyler_Lerang_J: I volunteer.
Tyler_Lerang_J: I am a writer to an extent.
MrCaptain: Tyler_Lerang_J: Work out the details with JSagert for acquiring Wordpress access.

MrCaptain: Jacks has the floor.
Jacks: I've been trying to fill in some of the blanks when possible, and can continue to do so if needed.
Jacks: But if someone else wants to, that's probably a good call.
Jacks: Also, do we have a contact email for volunteers yet?
Jacks: Or anything along those lines?
Jacks: In my opinion, it would come in handy to encourage people to get involved on the website.

MrCaptain: Odemia has the floor.
Odemia: The Volunteer section of forums is dead.
Odemia: We need to bring it back, or replace it with something else.
Odemia: We should either start posting these tasks in there, or find a new place for this.
Jacks: Agreed.
steve: Agreed.

MrCaptain: Jacks has the floor.
Jacks: Just to follow up with that;
Jacks: We could have someone with an email address such as volunteer@piratepartyofcanada.com or the like, and the same person watching the forums;
Jacks: And they actually could contact the people who want to get involved;
Jacks: And lead them towards a specific thing.
Jacks: (Do they want to design or write? Depending on that, send them to X person.)
MrCaptain: Okay, good plan.

MrCaptain: I just posted in the forums about writers, I'll add topics for the other spots too.

MrCaptain: Odemia has the floor.
Odemia: Sorry. One last thing about volunteers/writers.
Odemia: I would be willing to maintain a section off the front page that would basically mirror the volunteer section.

TOPIC: NPC Bylaws

MrCaptain: Odemia has the floor.
Odemia: The NPC Bylaws are mostly done.
Odemia: There are a few things that are missing;
Odemia: Such as clarification of the the powers of the Board of Directors;
Odemia: Adding a section for officers (which is required).
Odemia: Other than that, we need to review the whole document.
Odemia: If anyone knows a law student who would be willing to proofread it would be helpful.
Odemia: I should be able to finish up the necessary changes within 2 days.
Odemia: From there should just be proofreading.
MrCaptain: JSagert has the floor for remarks.
JSagert: I'm a self-acclaimed grammar & spelling buff, is it okay if I help proofread?
MrCaptain: Anybody who wants to proofread can do as such.
MrCaptain: In fact, I'll be doing it too. The more eyes the better.
MrCaptain: As for law-inclined persons, I'll put a post in the forums, however we'll probably need a bit more effort to find someone.
MrCaptain: The bylaws draft is here:
MrCaptain: http://wiki.piratepartyofcanada.com/index.php/NPC_Bylaws_draft

MrCaptain: Tyler_Lerang_J has the floor.
Tyler_Lerang_J: I want to be the general writer for the Party.
Tyler_Lerang_J: Not writing up bills and such, but biographies, scripts, speeches, etc.
MrCaptain: Okay, let's discuss that more tomorrow.

MrCaptain: Okay, I'm going to skim over the next few topics.

TOPIC: Local Meetings

MrCaptain: If you've decided on the next social meeting date and place;
MrCaptain: Please let robbrit or JakeDaynes know so that they can post the events to Twitter and Facebook.
MrCaptain: These local meetings are quite important since they show that we are real people and not just forum dwellers.

MrCaptain: BobJonkman has the floor.
BobJonkman: We need to reach out to offline people.
BobJonkman: I'm not much good at that. How should that be done?

MrCaptain: Jacks has the floor.
Jacks: For the next local meeting, is there sort of a list topics that should be discussed?
Jacks: Is there anything that we really want to come out of these meetings?
Jacks: I'll be hosting one in Kelowna this time, and it might be nice.
Jacks: For example, should we discuss a national event for September 19th?
Jacks: (To be held locally, of course.)
MrCaptain: Not at the moment, but let's get an agenda going.
MrCaptain: One thing for sure will be to get forms filled out.

MrCaptain: Okay. One more topic tonight.

TOPIC: Manifesto

MrCaptain: We need some people to work on the manifesto.
MrCaptain: We need to make it match our party's goals.
MrCaptain: Are there any volunteers?

MrCaptain: Tyler_Lerang_J has the floor.
Tyler_Lerang_J: Manifesto? Can you please clarify what that is?
MrCaptain: Basically it's our raison-d'être.

MrCaptain: Odemia has the floor.
Odemia: I can shift my focus over to the Manifesto after the completion of the NPC Bylaws.
MrCaptain: Okay, sounds good.
MrCaptain: If you need any help, let robbrit know.

MrCaptain: shep has the floor.
shep: Should our manifesto be presented in video form, or some other type of new media?
shep: As to increase the likelyhood of it being shared online.

MrCaptain: Tyler_Lerang_J has the floor.
Tyler_Lerang_J: This is directed to Odemia.
Tyler_Lerang_J: If you want, I can help work on the Manifesto.
Tyler_Lerang_J: And the bylaws as well.
MrCaptain: Odemia, feel free to respond without asking
Odemia: I fully agree and accept your help.
Tyler_Lerang_J: But if I fully take on Bylaws;
Tyler_Lerang_J: I'm going to be swamped;
Tyler_Lerang_J: Because I am also going to be trying to recruit in and manage Halifax's chapter.
Tyler_Lerang_J: Plus a job, as well.
MrCaptain: Yes, let's not give one person too many tasks.

MrCaptain: The floor is now open for general discussion.

Tyler_Lerang_J: I have one more important thing I want to say.
Tyler_Lerang_J: Once the website is up, I propose we take the media by storm;
Tyler_Lerang_J: For the purpose of advertising of our party and to boost membership.
robbrit: Agreed.
Tyler_Lerang_J: We should go to our local TV stations and newspapers;
Tyler_Lerang_J: And announce that the Pirate Party of Canada is in business.
Jacks: Maybe we should have an actual leader before we go towards tv and media, etc?
Tyler_Lerang_J: The thing is, Jacks, we need to push this.
Tyler_Lerang_J: We only have about 10% of the required 250 members.
Tyler_Lerang_J: We need to boost those numbers;
Tyler_Lerang_J: So that the election can be immediately followed by the official registration of the Party.
Tyler_Lerang_J: OR at least very close to the date.

wasmeee: Do we have an ETA on when the website will be done?
JSagert: This coming Sunday.
wasmeee: Okay, thanks. I'm waiting for the website to be completed before I try to lobby a few more people at UBC to join.
wasmeee: (Unfortunately, my circle of friends is rather small.)

robbrit: For Toronto/Montreal and environs people:
robbrit: http://www.pirateparty.ca/forum/read.php?7,2725

Tyler_Lerang_J: Im going to try typing up at least a base letter for newspaper agencies for us to use.
Tyler_Lerang_J: And if they ask what the occasion is;
Tyler_Lerang_J: We tell them that we are ready.

Odemia: We should also have something written up for the copyright consultations.
Odemia: I have started my own submission for the consultations and would volunteer to help with an official one for the Party.
Odemia: I would like 2 or 3 people to work on this to turn out a top notch submission to put the party name on.
Odemia: We don't have a lot of time, but I think this is a golden opportunity to draw people in.
Odemia: http://wiki.piratepartyofcanada.com/index.php/User:Odemia/Sandbox/Copyright_Consultation_Submission
shep: Great idea.

JSagert: Move for the meeting to be adjourned as of 10PM EST.
JakeDaynes: Seconded.
MrCaptain: Meeting is adjourned.