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''This draft document is Matt's condensation of previous work and input from Citizens across the globe.''
''This draft document is Matt's condensation of previous work and input from Citizens across the globe.''


==Mission statement==
=Mission statement=
The Citizendium is a collaborative effort to create a convenient structure to collect and continually update the world's knowledgebase and make it accessible to the public for free.  It is created by volunteers — henceforth Citizens — who contribute under their real names and agree to a social covenant centered around trust.
The Citizendium is a collaborative effort to create a convenient structure to collect, organize and develop the world's knowledgebase and make it accessible to the public for free.  It is created by volunteers — henceforth Citizens — who contribute under their real names and agree to a social covenant centered around trust.


===Article 1===
====Membership====
====Membership====


*Citizendium membership is open to anyone.  
#Citizendium membership is open to anyone.  
 
#All members register and contribute to the project under their real names.   
*All members register and contribute to the project under their real names.   
#The Citizendium community encourages subject matter experts to play a special role in assuring that the site’s contents meet the highest quality standards.   
 
#Contributors must act responsibly and in a civil manner.
*The Citizendium community allows subject matter experts to play a special role in assuring that the site’s contents meet the highest quality standards.   
 
*Contributors must act responsibly and in a civil manner.


====Style====
====Style====
*All entries at Citizendium should engage their subjects comprehensively, neutrally and objectively to the greatest degree possible.  
#All entries at Citizendium should engage their subjects comprehensively, neutrally and objectively to the greatest degree possible.  
 
#Unnecessarily complicated presentation should be avoided.   
*Unnecessarily complicated presentation should be avoided.   
#As far as possible, special needs of visually or otherwise impaired users and of responsibly exercized automated access will be taken into account.
 
*As far as possible, special needs of visually or otherwise impaired users and of responsibly exercized automated access will be taken into account.


====Content development====
====Content development====
*Citizendium is open to constructive contributions by any Citizen to any of its content at any time.  
#Citizendium is open to constructive contributions by any Citizen to any of its content at any time.  
 
#Citizendium encourages all members to submit constructive criticism on all of its material.  
*Citizendium encourages all members to submit constructive criticism on all of its material.  
#Experts guide the development of Citizendium entries in a transparent manner.  
 
#Integration of the Citizendium with teaching and research is encouraged as long as it adheres to the principles of this charter.
*Experts guide the development of Citizendium entries in a transparent manner.  
#Once written, content within articles becomes the property of Citizendium.
 
*Integration of the Citizendium with teaching and research is encouraged as long as it adheres to the principles of this charter.
 
*Once written, content within articles becomes the property of Citizendium.
 
==Personnel and governance==
The Citizendium is devoted to transparent and fair governance at a minimum of bureaucracy. Special roles will not be created without excellent reason.


===Content related personnel===
===Article 2===
====Authors====
====Organizational structure====
#The Citizendium is devoted to transparent and fair governance at a minimum of bureaucracy. Special roles will not be created without excellent reason.


All Citizens are considered Authors.
=====Citizen particpation=====


Authors are given the right to contribute or modify content to any article at any time.
#All Citizens of Citizendium shall be Authors and some shall be also designated as Editors


Authors may have their right removed to modify content or participate on discussion pages on a particular article, subject articles or all articles as a result of misconduct as determined by the specific rules of behavior developed by the community.
======Authors======


Authors in good standing have the right to vote in community wide elections.
#All Citizens are considered Authors.
#Authors are given the right to contribute or modify content to any article at any time.
#Authors may have their right removed to modify content or participate on discussion pages on a particular article, subject articles or all articles as a result of misconduct as determined by the specific rules of behavior developed by the community.
#Authors in good standing have the right to vote in community wide elections.


====Editors====
======Editors======


Editors are Authors that have a demonstrated field of expertise, either by education or experience, as determined and granted by the Editorial Council.
#Editors are Authors that have a demonstrated field of expertise, either by education or experience, as determined and granted by the Editorial Council.
#Editors have the right to:
##make decisions about the scope and quality of the content in articles within their workgroup.
##to make decisions about specific questions or disputes concerning that content.
##to recommend approval of high quality articles that meet their expectations for the article's subject.
#Editors may exercise their editorial rights only on articles within their workgroup.
#Editors may abdicate their editorial rights at any time.
#Editors may have their editorial rights removed only by the Editorial Council.
#Editors in good standing have the right to vote in community wide elections.


Editors are responsible for the scope and quality of the content in their areas of expertise. They have the right:
=====Governmental bodies=====
*to make decisions about specific questions or disputes concerning content
*to recommend approval of high quality articles that meet their expectations for the article's subject.


Editors may exercise their editorial rights only on articles within their workgroup.
======Editorial Council======


Editors may act as Authors anywhere else at any time.
#An Editorial Council will be responsible for guiding content and establishing content policy. 
#The Editorial Council shall consist of nine active Citizens, with five seats reserved for Editors. The remaining four seats are reserved for Authors that are not Editors. 
#For voting purposes, a quorum shall consist of five members.
#Members of the Editorial Council may not simultaneously serve on the Management Committee or be Constables. 
#Members of the Editorial Council will be elected by secret ballot vote of eligible Citizens, with two-year terms renewable once consecutively.


Editors may abdicate their editorial rights at any time.
======Management Committee======


Editors may have their rights removed only by the Editorial Council.
#A Management Committee shall be responsible for matters concerned with the non-content policies of Citizendium.
#The Management Committee shall consist of seven Citizens, who may not simultaneously serve on the Editorial Council.  A quorum shall consist of four members. 
#The members of the Management Committee shall be elected by secret ballot vote of active Citizens and Authors, with two-year renewable terms. 
#The Management Committee may appoint Administrators and Task Managers whose activities it will oversee.
#The Management Committee will appoint Constables and confer with the constabulary on matters of constable activity.
#The Management Committee is responsible for developing behavior guidelines and will publish and monitor the appropriate enforcement of those guidelines.  


Editors in good standing have the right to vote in community wide elections.


====Editorial Council====
======Constabulary======


An Editorial Council will be responsible for guiding content and establishing policy.
#The Constabulary shall be charged with enforcing the Citizendium's rules of behavior as determined by community policy.
#Constables shall not act on matters of content.


The Editorial Council shall consist of nine active Citizens, with five seats reserved for Editors. The remaining four seats are reserved for Authors that are not Editors. 
======Editor-in-Chief======


For voting purposes, a quorum shall consist of five members.  
#The Editor in Chief is responsible for facilitating coordinated efforts for the day to day operations of Citizendium.
#An Editor-in-Chief shall be elected, with a term of office of one year renewable four times, by simple majority of each of the Editorial Council and Management Committee. 
#The functions of this office shall be:
:#to ensure day-to-day smooth functioning of the Citizendium;
:#to facilitate the practical implementation of the Citizendium editorial policy as defined by its governing institutions;
:#to make interim editorial decisions (in the absence of editors); and
:#to carry out any other tasks as required by this Charter or decisions of the governing bodies.
#The Editor in Chief may appoint Task Managers to fulfill duties that are under his purview.
#The Editor in Chief may restrict a Citizen's access to an article, or group of articles, temporarily or permanently.
#The Editor in Chief cannot block or a ban of a Citizen.
#Editor in Chief decisions may be appealed through the Ombudsman to the Editorial Council for content issues.


Members of the Editorial Council may not simultaneously serve on the Management Committee or be Constables.
======Ombudsman======
#An Ombudsman will be charged with the task of assisting in dispute resolution, as laid down in this Charter.
#The Ombudsman shall act only as a fascilitator of dispute resolution and cannot make decisions based on content or behavior.
#The Ombudsman will be elected by simple majority vote of each of the Editorial Council and Management Council, for a term of one year, renewable 4 times.
#The Ombudsman may appoint Task Managers.


Members of the Editorial Council will be elected by secret ballot vote of eligible Citizens, with two-year terms renewable once consecutively. 
=====Vacating office=====


=====Workgroups=====
#An elected office shall be considered vacant if:
Workgroups will be created to arrange areas of content, and to encourage collaboration among Authors and Editors in areas of expertise.
:#the Citizen has not made and edit in three months.
 
:#has not responded to three consecutive email requests over a two week period.
The Editorial Council shall oversee workgroup
:#has not participated in three consecutive votes in their appointed role.
#Vacancies can be filled with interim candidates using the same procedure normally used to fill that position.
#Interim official's only fill that role for the remainder of the original candidate's tenure.
#Any official may be recalled by a supermajority (75%) of each of the Editorial and Management Councils.


====Miscellaneous management designations====
=====Task Managers=====
=====Task Managers=====


The Editorial Council, by majority vote, may appoint or remove any Citizen to or from any task-specific roles.
#Task Managers are Citizens who have been given specific duties by a specific committee, council, or other official personnel that has that particular duty under its purview.
 
#A Task Manager is answerable to the committee, council, or official that appointed them.
=====Editor-in-Chief=====
#A Task Manager cannot work outside the purview of the official or body that appointed them.
 
#The committee or office that appointed a specific Task Manager is responsible for the actions of that Task Manger.
An Editor-in-Chief shall be elected, with a term of office of one year renewable four times, by simple majority of each of the Editorial Council and Management Committee. 
 
The functions of this office shall be:
*to ensure day-to-day smooth functioning of the Citizendium;
*to facilitate the practical implementation of the Citizendium editorial policy as defined by its governing institutions;
*to make interim editorial decisions (in consultation with other editors); and
*to carry out any other tasks as required by this Charter or decisions of the governing bodies.
 
The Editor in Chief may appoint Task Managers to fulfill duties that are under his purview.
 
The Editor in Chief may request from the Constabulary, but cannot perform, a block or a ban of a Citizen or restrict a Citizen's activity.
 
===Non-content related personnel===
====Management Committee====
 
A Management Committee shall be responsible for matters concerned with the non-content policies of Citizendium.
 
The Management Committee shall consist of seven Citizens, who may not simultaneously serve on the Editorial Council.  A quorum shall consist of four members. 
 
The members of the Management Committee shall be elected by secret ballot vote of active Citizens and Authors, with two-year renewable terms. 
 
The Management Committee may appoint Administrators and Task Managers whose activities it will oversee.
 
The Management Committee will appoint Constables and confer with the Chief Constable on matters of constable activity.
 
The Management Committee is responsible for developing behavior guidelines and will publish and monitor the appropriate enforcement of those guidelines.
 
=====Task Managers=====
 
Task Managers are Citizens who have been given specific duties as determined by the Management Committee, Editorial Committee, Editor in Chief, or Constabulary.
 
Task Managers are responsible to the committee or office that appointed them.
 
The committee or office that appointed a specific Task Manager is responsible for the actions of that Task Manger.


=====Consultants=====
=====Consultants=====


The Management Committee may, within the financial rules, consult with professionals such as attorneys and accountants.
#The Management Committee may, within the financial rules, consult with professionals such as attorneys and accountants.


=====Administration=====
=====Administration=====


The Citizendium's administration handles the legal, financial and technical operations necessary for the project to fulfill its mission. It may include contractors or employees, under the policy direction of the Management Committee, who eventually may be directed, on a routine basis, by an employee such as an Executive Director.
#The Citizendium's administration handles the legal, financial and technical operations necessary for the project to fulfill its mission. It may include contractors or employees, under the policy direction of the Management Committee, who eventually may be directed, on a routine basis, by an employee such as an Executive Director.


===Other personnel===
=====External partners=====
=====External partners=====
The Citizendium invites collaboration with non-Citizen partners on any matters relevant to the project's mission, provided that such collaboration does not conflict with this Charter. The Management Council shall elaborate a strategy and policy on collaboration with external partners, paying particular attention to fostering the collaboration with instructors by way of [[CZ:Eduzendium|Eduzendium]], and with external experts or professional organizations for the purposes of providing or reviewing content at the Citizendium.
#The Citizendium invites collaboration with non-Citizen partners on any matters relevant to the project's mission, provided that such collaboration does not conflict with this Charter.  
 
#The Editorial Council shall determine policy on collaboration with external partners concerning content related matters, including, but not limited to [[CZ:Eduzendium|Eduzendium]].
===Behavior and dispute resolution===
 
 
====Constabulary====
 
The Constabulary shall be charged with enforcing the Citizendium's rules of behavior as determined by community policy.
 
=====Chief Constable=====
 
The Chief Constable shall be responsible for:
*the daily operations of the constabulary.
*conferring with the Management Committee on matters of behavior.
*conferring with the Ombudsman on matters of appeal.
*training constables.
*Monitoring constable behavior.
*disciplining constables.
 
A Chief Constable shall be appointed by the Management Committee to a two year term, renewable once.
 
The Chief Constable may be removed by a supermajority vote (75%) of each of the Editorial and Management committees.
 
=====Constables=====
 
Constables are Citizens that are charged with enforcing Citizendium's behavior guidelines.
 
Constables are chosen according to need by the Management Committee.
 
====Ombudsman====
An Ombudsman will be charged with the task of assisting in dispute resolution, as laid down in this Charter. 
 
The Ombudsman will be elected by simple majority vote of each of the Editorial Council and Management Council, for a term of one year, renewable 4 times.
 
The Ombudsman may appoint Task Managers.
 
An Ombudsman may be recalled by a supermajority (75%) of each of the Editorial and Management Councils.
 
==Content resolution==
 
The Editorial Council shall be responsible for content development and determining the process of decision for developing such content.  In cases of disagreement, the workgroup editors or the Editor in Chief are charged with making an initial decision.  If disagreement persists, the Ombudsman will coordinate the gathering of content and bring the matter to the Editorial Council where final decision can be deliberated.
 
Editorial Council decisions concerning content can be appealed only if the Ombudsman considers that a threshold of new evidence has been met.
 
==Behavior resolution==
 
The Management Committee will develop and maintain guidelines of acceptable behavior for its Citizens.
 
The Constabulary shall apply the rules of behavior fairly and equally to all Citizens, including those with official positions.
 
Constabulary tools include:
*advice and instruction on wiki or through Citizen email.
*removal of offensive text, and warning and banning of users according to written guidelines. 
 
Decisions of constables may be appealed through the appropriate adjudication process as determined by the Management Council.
 
===Electorate===
All Authors are entitled to vote on the adoption or modification of this charter.
 
==License==
 
The content of the Citizendium will always be free to use, reuse, and redistribute. Content originating at the Citizendium is available under a [[CZ:Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0|Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported]] license. Content that originated elsewhere may also be incorporated into the Citizendium if such reuse is permitted by the copyright owners or copyright status.


==Legal status==
===Article 3===
The Citizendium will be owned and controlled by the Citizendium Foundation, a non-profit organization.
====Behavior and dispute resolution====
=====Content dispute resolution=====


==Languages==
#In cases of disagreement, article editors are charged with making an initial binding decision. If there are no editors available to make the decision, the Editor in Chief will temporarily make the binding content decision.  If disagreement persists, the Ombudsman will coordinate the gathering of content and bring the matter to the Editorial Council where final decision can be deliberated and reached.
#Editorial Council decisions concerning content can be appealed only if the Ombudsman considers that a threshold of new evidence has been met.


The official language of the Citizendium shall be English.  Branches in other languages require approval by the Management Committee and shall have the same legal status as the English language Citizendium (see [[CZ:Charter drafting#Legal status|Legal status above]]).  Non-English Citizendiums shall construct their governance in accordance with this charter or a translation approved by the Management Committee.
=====Behavior resolution=====


Branch language Editorial Councils, including the English language Citizendium Editorial Council, shall be empowered to develop policy regarding non-native language content on their native language Citizendiums.
#The Management Committee will develop and maintain guidelines of acceptable behavior for its Citizens.
#The Constabulary shall apply the rules of behavior fairly and equally to all Citizens, including those with official positions.
#Constabulary tools include:
:#advice and instruction on wiki or through Citizen email.
:#removal of offensive text, and warning and banning of users according to written guidelines. 
#Decisions of constables may be appealed through the Ombudsman to the Management Committee.


Consistent with the Citizendium's respect for expertise, the Editorial Council of any branch language version may request the Editorial Councils of other language versions to revise, add, or remove content in the former branch's native language.
===Article 4===
====Electorate====
#All Authors are entitled to vote on the adoption or modification of this charter.


All user pages shall be in the native language for that version of Citizendium.
====License====


No branch or non-English version of Citizendium shall be permitted at later times to adopt policy that contravenes this charter
#The content of the Citizendium will always be free to use, reuse, and redistribute. Content originating at the Citizendium is available under a [[CZ:Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0|Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported]] license. Content that originated elsewhere may also be incorporated into the Citizendium if such reuse is permitted by the copyright owners or copyright status.


==Final clause==
====Legal status====
===Ratification===
#The Citizendium will be owned and controlled by the Citizendium Foundation, a non-profit organization.
If this Charter has been ratified by two thirds or more of the votes validly cast in a referendum for this purpose, it shall be certified by the Editor-in-Chief within a week after the closing of the referendum.  For future amendments, a certifying official or officials shall be agreed upon by the joint Management Committee and Editorial Council.


===Entry into force===
====Languages====
This Charter shall enter into force on the day following ratification.


===Interim guidance for the transition period===
#The official language of the Citizendium shall be English.  Branches in other languages require approval by the Management Committee and shall have the same legal status as the English language Citizendium (see [[CZ:Charter drafting#Legal status|Legal status above]]).  Non-English Citizendiums shall construct their governance in accordance with this charter or a translation approved by the Management Committee.
#Branch language Editorial Councils, including the English language Citizendium Editorial Council, shall be empowered to develop policy regarding non-native language content on their native language Citizendiums. 
#Consistent with the Citizendium's respect for expertise, the Editorial Council of any branch language version may request the Editorial Councils of other language versions to revise, add, or remove content in the former branch's native language.
#All user pages shall be in the native language for that version of Citizendium.
#No branch or non-English version of Citizendium shall be permitted at later times to adopt policy that contravenes this charter


As long as the administrative prerequisites for implementing the charter are not entirely fulfilled, the rules listed in this section shall provide interim guidance to the Editorial Council, Management Council, and other bodies. Such material may be modified by those bodies by their normal procedures, without a full Charter amendment.
===Article 5===
====Ratification====
#If this Charter has been ratified by two thirds or more of the votes validly cast in a referendum for this purpose, it shall be certified by the Editor-in-Chief within a week after the closing of the referendum.  For future amendments, a certifying official or officials shall be agreed upon by the joint Management Committee and Editorial Council.


====Editorial Council and Management Committee====
====Entry into force====
For both bodies, the intention is to elect half of the members each year, so of the first group, a number corresponding to the quorum will be selected, by lot or personal agreement, to serve one-year terms.
#This Charter shall enter into force on the day following ratification.
:The Editorial Council shall vote on each of the [[CZ:Editorial Council Resolutions Complete List|resolutions of the previous Editorial Council]] whether they should continue to be in force or not.


===Future amendments===
====Future amendments====
This Charter shall be open to amendment at any time subsequent to its ratification. The Management Council is hereby vested with the power to act upon proposals for amendment originating from any Citizen or Citizendium institution. The process of Amendment requires the Management Council initially to consult with Citizens (including via the Forum) and subsequently to draft an appropriate amended text. The decision to accept the amended text will be taken by popular vote of the Citizenry, and requires a two-thirds majority of votes validly cast.
#This Charter shall be open to amendment at any time subsequent to its ratification. The Management Council is hereby vested with the power to act upon proposals for amendment originating from any Citizen or Citizendium institution. The process of Amendment requires the Management Council initially to consult with Citizens (including via the Forum) and subsequently to draft an appropriate amended text. The decision to accept the amended text will be taken by popular vote of the Citizenry, and requires a two-thirds majority of votes validly cast.

Latest revision as of 02:38, 22 November 2023


The account of this former contributor was not re-activated after the server upgrade of March 2022.


This draft document is Matt's condensation of previous work and input from Citizens across the globe.

Mission statement

The Citizendium is a collaborative effort to create a convenient structure to collect, organize and develop the world's knowledgebase and make it accessible to the public for free. It is created by volunteers — henceforth Citizens — who contribute under their real names and agree to a social covenant centered around trust.

Article 1

Membership

  1. Citizendium membership is open to anyone.
  2. All members register and contribute to the project under their real names.
  3. The Citizendium community encourages subject matter experts to play a special role in assuring that the site’s contents meet the highest quality standards.
  4. Contributors must act responsibly and in a civil manner.

Style

  1. All entries at Citizendium should engage their subjects comprehensively, neutrally and objectively to the greatest degree possible.
  2. Unnecessarily complicated presentation should be avoided.
  3. As far as possible, special needs of visually or otherwise impaired users and of responsibly exercized automated access will be taken into account.

Content development

  1. Citizendium is open to constructive contributions by any Citizen to any of its content at any time.
  2. Citizendium encourages all members to submit constructive criticism on all of its material.
  3. Experts guide the development of Citizendium entries in a transparent manner.
  4. Integration of the Citizendium with teaching and research is encouraged as long as it adheres to the principles of this charter.
  5. Once written, content within articles becomes the property of Citizendium.

Article 2

Organizational structure

  1. The Citizendium is devoted to transparent and fair governance at a minimum of bureaucracy. Special roles will not be created without excellent reason.
Citizen particpation
  1. All Citizens of Citizendium shall be Authors and some shall be also designated as Editors
Authors
  1. All Citizens are considered Authors.
  2. Authors are given the right to contribute or modify content to any article at any time.
  3. Authors may have their right removed to modify content or participate on discussion pages on a particular article, subject articles or all articles as a result of misconduct as determined by the specific rules of behavior developed by the community.
  4. Authors in good standing have the right to vote in community wide elections.
Editors
  1. Editors are Authors that have a demonstrated field of expertise, either by education or experience, as determined and granted by the Editorial Council.
  2. Editors have the right to:
    1. make decisions about the scope and quality of the content in articles within their workgroup.
    2. to make decisions about specific questions or disputes concerning that content.
    3. to recommend approval of high quality articles that meet their expectations for the article's subject.
  3. Editors may exercise their editorial rights only on articles within their workgroup.
  4. Editors may abdicate their editorial rights at any time.
  5. Editors may have their editorial rights removed only by the Editorial Council.
  6. Editors in good standing have the right to vote in community wide elections.
Governmental bodies
Editorial Council
  1. An Editorial Council will be responsible for guiding content and establishing content policy.
  2. The Editorial Council shall consist of nine active Citizens, with five seats reserved for Editors. The remaining four seats are reserved for Authors that are not Editors.
  3. For voting purposes, a quorum shall consist of five members.
  4. Members of the Editorial Council may not simultaneously serve on the Management Committee or be Constables.
  5. Members of the Editorial Council will be elected by secret ballot vote of eligible Citizens, with two-year terms renewable once consecutively.
Management Committee
  1. A Management Committee shall be responsible for matters concerned with the non-content policies of Citizendium.
  2. The Management Committee shall consist of seven Citizens, who may not simultaneously serve on the Editorial Council. A quorum shall consist of four members.
  3. The members of the Management Committee shall be elected by secret ballot vote of active Citizens and Authors, with two-year renewable terms.
  4. The Management Committee may appoint Administrators and Task Managers whose activities it will oversee.
  5. The Management Committee will appoint Constables and confer with the constabulary on matters of constable activity.
  6. The Management Committee is responsible for developing behavior guidelines and will publish and monitor the appropriate enforcement of those guidelines.


Constabulary
  1. The Constabulary shall be charged with enforcing the Citizendium's rules of behavior as determined by community policy.
  2. Constables shall not act on matters of content.
Editor-in-Chief
  1. The Editor in Chief is responsible for facilitating coordinated efforts for the day to day operations of Citizendium.
  2. An Editor-in-Chief shall be elected, with a term of office of one year renewable four times, by simple majority of each of the Editorial Council and Management Committee.
  3. The functions of this office shall be:
  1. to ensure day-to-day smooth functioning of the Citizendium;
  2. to facilitate the practical implementation of the Citizendium editorial policy as defined by its governing institutions;
  3. to make interim editorial decisions (in the absence of editors); and
  4. to carry out any other tasks as required by this Charter or decisions of the governing bodies.
  1. The Editor in Chief may appoint Task Managers to fulfill duties that are under his purview.
  2. The Editor in Chief may restrict a Citizen's access to an article, or group of articles, temporarily or permanently.
  3. The Editor in Chief cannot block or a ban of a Citizen.
  4. Editor in Chief decisions may be appealed through the Ombudsman to the Editorial Council for content issues.
Ombudsman
  1. An Ombudsman will be charged with the task of assisting in dispute resolution, as laid down in this Charter.
  2. The Ombudsman shall act only as a fascilitator of dispute resolution and cannot make decisions based on content or behavior.
  3. The Ombudsman will be elected by simple majority vote of each of the Editorial Council and Management Council, for a term of one year, renewable 4 times.
  4. The Ombudsman may appoint Task Managers.
Vacating office
  1. An elected office shall be considered vacant if:
  1. the Citizen has not made and edit in three months.
  2. has not responded to three consecutive email requests over a two week period.
  3. has not participated in three consecutive votes in their appointed role.
  1. Vacancies can be filled with interim candidates using the same procedure normally used to fill that position.
  2. Interim official's only fill that role for the remainder of the original candidate's tenure.
  3. Any official may be recalled by a supermajority (75%) of each of the Editorial and Management Councils.

Miscellaneous management designations

Task Managers
  1. Task Managers are Citizens who have been given specific duties by a specific committee, council, or other official personnel that has that particular duty under its purview.
  2. A Task Manager is answerable to the committee, council, or official that appointed them.
  3. A Task Manager cannot work outside the purview of the official or body that appointed them.
  4. The committee or office that appointed a specific Task Manager is responsible for the actions of that Task Manger.
Consultants
  1. The Management Committee may, within the financial rules, consult with professionals such as attorneys and accountants.
Administration
  1. The Citizendium's administration handles the legal, financial and technical operations necessary for the project to fulfill its mission. It may include contractors or employees, under the policy direction of the Management Committee, who eventually may be directed, on a routine basis, by an employee such as an Executive Director.
External partners
  1. The Citizendium invites collaboration with non-Citizen partners on any matters relevant to the project's mission, provided that such collaboration does not conflict with this Charter.
  2. The Editorial Council shall determine policy on collaboration with external partners concerning content related matters, including, but not limited to Eduzendium.

Article 3

Behavior and dispute resolution

Content dispute resolution
  1. In cases of disagreement, article editors are charged with making an initial binding decision. If there are no editors available to make the decision, the Editor in Chief will temporarily make the binding content decision. If disagreement persists, the Ombudsman will coordinate the gathering of content and bring the matter to the Editorial Council where final decision can be deliberated and reached.
  2. Editorial Council decisions concerning content can be appealed only if the Ombudsman considers that a threshold of new evidence has been met.
Behavior resolution
  1. The Management Committee will develop and maintain guidelines of acceptable behavior for its Citizens.
  2. The Constabulary shall apply the rules of behavior fairly and equally to all Citizens, including those with official positions.
  3. Constabulary tools include:
  1. advice and instruction on wiki or through Citizen email.
  2. removal of offensive text, and warning and banning of users according to written guidelines.
  1. Decisions of constables may be appealed through the Ombudsman to the Management Committee.

Article 4

Electorate

  1. All Authors are entitled to vote on the adoption or modification of this charter.

License

  1. The content of the Citizendium will always be free to use, reuse, and redistribute. Content originating at the Citizendium is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Content that originated elsewhere may also be incorporated into the Citizendium if such reuse is permitted by the copyright owners or copyright status.

Legal status

  1. The Citizendium will be owned and controlled by the Citizendium Foundation, a non-profit organization.

Languages

  1. The official language of the Citizendium shall be English. Branches in other languages require approval by the Management Committee and shall have the same legal status as the English language Citizendium (see Legal status above). Non-English Citizendiums shall construct their governance in accordance with this charter or a translation approved by the Management Committee.
  2. Branch language Editorial Councils, including the English language Citizendium Editorial Council, shall be empowered to develop policy regarding non-native language content on their native language Citizendiums.
  3. Consistent with the Citizendium's respect for expertise, the Editorial Council of any branch language version may request the Editorial Councils of other language versions to revise, add, or remove content in the former branch's native language.
  4. All user pages shall be in the native language for that version of Citizendium.
  5. No branch or non-English version of Citizendium shall be permitted at later times to adopt policy that contravenes this charter

Article 5

Ratification

  1. If this Charter has been ratified by two thirds or more of the votes validly cast in a referendum for this purpose, it shall be certified by the Editor-in-Chief within a week after the closing of the referendum. For future amendments, a certifying official or officials shall be agreed upon by the joint Management Committee and Editorial Council.

Entry into force

  1. This Charter shall enter into force on the day following ratification.

Future amendments

  1. This Charter shall be open to amendment at any time subsequent to its ratification. The Management Council is hereby vested with the power to act upon proposals for amendment originating from any Citizen or Citizendium institution. The process of Amendment requires the Management Council initially to consult with Citizens (including via the Forum) and subsequently to draft an appropriate amended text. The decision to accept the amended text will be taken by popular vote of the Citizenry, and requires a two-thirds majority of votes validly cast.