Well said John..

3K members please read and register to OpenMpe.Org

It's your future

-----Original Message-----
From: OpenMPE Support Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
John Burke
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2004 1:03 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: OpenMPE members please take note of what your Board of
Directors is doing


If you are a member of OpenMPE, you should read carefully the minutes from
the February 26 Board meeting:
http://openmpe.org/minutes/Minutes20040226.html

Reading between the lines, it would appear that the Board is in the process
of negotiating a formal NDA with HP to replace the informal, non-binding NDA
that has been in place. Furthermore, the Board amended the bylaws at the
2/26 meeting to bind any new directors to any and all agreements signed by
the current Board.

Since 4 of the 9 Board seats are up for election this month, I call on the
Board to lay aside any negotiations until a new Board is formed. Openness
should be an issue discussed by the candidates, not stifled by the current
Board. [BTW, the bylaws are unclear as to when the terms of the directors
actually expire. The bylaws could be read to indicate the terms expired on
March 1, or will expire on March 31, or some time in between.]

This rush to make the Board's negotiations with HP even more secretive than
in the past was prompted by a Board member going public in December with his
and the Board's frustrations over the pace of negotiations with HP - in
defiance of an apparently unpublished resolution of the Board prohibiting
such publication.

What little leverage OpenMPE has with HP is public opinion. Signing this
away without extracting some concession(s) from HP would be derelict.

This Board has a history of secretive negotiations, poor communication with
the membership and lack of follow through on its own resolutions (a reading
of the published Board minutes from the past year makes this apparent).

Volunteerism is difficult under any circumstances. I know and understand the
costs from personal experience. The unusual circumstances surrounding the HP
3000 community make volunteer work on OpenMPE particularly difficult - most
everyone is in a career-threatening position. I am not targeting any
particular director or directors, I just think the Board could do a better
job.

In the past, I've stayed mostly on the sidelines with respect to OpenMPE for
personal and professional reasons. However, I have decided I cannot afford
to stay on the sidelines any longer because this is something I am
passionate about. I am a candidate for one of the four Board positions
opening up. My pledge to members is to work for increased transparency in
the dealings of the Board, to keep the pressure on HP to make meaningful
progress and to give everything I have to OpenMPE.

In the meantime, please contact the current Board and ask them to postpone
signing any agreements with HP until after a new Board is seated. Thank you.

John Burke
Burke Consulting
Tel: 916-987-0265
e-mail: [log in to unmask]

* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *