<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Aaron,<div><br><div><div>On Mar 24, 2010, at 2:37 PM, Aaron @ the CAID wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">I understand.  I just found your nonprofit online and was interested in its<br>mission:  " We're a non-profit organization whose goal is to support free<br>instant messaging software."  Since we are a nonprofit that uses instant<br>messaging software to conduct some of our board business, I found this to be<br>an interesting mission for another nonprofit to have.  That is why I posed<br>the question for the group.  I thought it should be something for an<br>organization with such a mission to consider.  I was hoping for a healthy</span></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">discussion on the topic. </span></blockquote><div><br></div><div>There was no context to your statement/question, so it sounded like you were telling us (IM Freedom) that we needed to make a change to <i>our</i> bylaws.</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "> The bylaws of an organization that supports<br>instant messaging software should at least include a clause that states one<br>way or the other if board meetings can be conducted using instant messaging<br>software.  I sent a message today to our lawyer to see if we should include<br>such a clause in our bylaws, since we do conduct meetings using such<br>software. If anything, including such language in the organization's bylaws<br>would recognize instant messaging software as a valid form of communicating<br>during a board meeting.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br><br>Michigan law (where our nonprofit is incorporated) states that " Unless<br>otherwise restricted by any provisions of the articles of incorporation or<br>bylaws, the board of directors may hold a meeting of shareholders or members<br>conducted solely by means of remote communication."  Isn't instant messaging<br>a form of remote communication?<br></span></blockquote></div><br></div><div>I'm not a lawyer, but this seems clear cut: If there isn't an explicit restriction against it, there's nothing preventing the use of instant messaging for a board meeting.  Why would there be a need for explicitly allowing it if it's already included?</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers,</div><div>Evan</div></body></html>