Poseidon Bylaws

Please read the announcements we have made so far as we proceed with the project. The following announcements constitute Poseidon's charter. If you UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT them, then the only thing left is to officially become a team member.

Along with your acceptance letter, please send a SHORT resume to become public and be placed with the others we currently have. You will be placed in the Poseidon mailing list and your name will be added to the "Crew List" on the Poseidon Web page. After the official acceptance you should start your work in the group you have selected.

ONE: Poseidon / signatures, 03/12/1995

Poseidon is going to be a success. We predict we will have a good number of volunteers to help us with the project. However, we must also make sure that we properly organize and manage the project and that we properly communicate with each other and the outside world.

Express freely your ideas at Poseidon. If you want to place an announcement at HELLAS or any other list requesting volunteers or some material, you must present this request to one of the three project Captains for clearance. Furthermore, only team officers should make announcements on behalf of their section.

Finally, make sure that when you are making an announcement that you sign the posting with your affiliation to the project.

TWO: Official language / removal from crew list , 03/12/1995

1. These announcements will become the by-laws of the POSEIDON. The official language of POSEIDON is the English language unless a Poseidon member does not have command of the language. In this case he/she will be responsible to communicate his/her ideas to the non Greek speaking members.
2. Every Poseidon member is a volunteer and takes the obligation of contributing to the project according to his/her time and experience. In the case that a member becomes inactive and a passive observer, he/she must remove himself/herself from the project and will be replaced with another volunteer which will continue with the same effort. Poseidon is going to be a project in which all will actively participate; we should not allow it to become the burden of a few people.

THREE: Progress report , 03/14/1995

1. Poseidon will sail through the Hellenic maritime past like a ship with three captains. In other words, the political system of POSEIDON will be an oligarchy. The three captains of Poseidon will make all of the final decisions.
2. On a semi-monthly basis and starting after the group assignments, all the team officer will post a progress report to Poseidon, a copy of their research and whatever material is necessary to keep the Poseidon crew up to date.
3. On a semi-monthly basis and starting after the group assignments, all the officers (Liaisons, marketing, secretary etc.) will post to Poseidon a progress report.
4. Whichever Poseidon committee member does not comply with the above will receive a public posting of this announcement at Poseidon. This posting will be considered a notice of violation of his duties.

FOUR: Language and Politics , 03/21/1995

It is relatively common in various lists to read language which sometimes offends certain subscribers. This practice will not be allowed during our voyage. The language of Poseidon must meet everyones standards and we must make a special effort to avoid any kind of offensive language.

Poseidon is a non-profit and non-political project. We must avoid at any cost any political involvement of a sovereign State. We do not want Poseidon to end up as a propaganda tool. We can request help from officials of any government or agency as long as there are no obligations or conditions imposed that are contrary to the nature of Poseidon.

FIVE: New applicants , 04/03/95

The Poseidon Captains will initially screen new applicants and then post their resume to Poseidon for approval. If no objection is received within 24 hours the applicant will be accepted. The officer in charge of the specific section for which the applicant applies has the right to reject the applicant if he/she thinks he/she is not suitable.

SIX: Hellenic electronic center, 04/03/95

Poseidon announces the creation of a team responsible for the HELLENIC ELECTRONIC CENTER. The job of the committee will be to find the right location for the center, to prepare a budget (hardware - connection - maintenance) and to start working on the rules and regulations of the center.

SEVEN: Poseidon and politics / commerce , 04/14/1995

Poseidon is a non-profit and a non-political organization. Therefore:

1. No commercial group and/or company will be allowed to affiliate with Poseidon for the purpose of monetary gains.
2. No political group, national or international, will be allowed to affiliate with Poseidon directly or indirectly for the purpose of promoting its cause.
3. Any attempt to utilize Poseidon for commercial and/or political gains, will be considered as a gross violation of Poseidon's charter

EIGHT: scholarly responsibility, academic freedom, and copyright , 06/28/1995

1. Researchers are responsible for conducting careful analysis meeting high levels of scholarly standards to the best of their ability. Whenever material of other authors is used, these authors should be meticulously quoted in the bibliography. Poseidon should not publish exaggerations and inaccuracies. If some part of the text is inaccurate, the author has to amend it. Otherwise the captains have the right to intervene to make corrections. These corrections can take place at any time, even after the text is published.

2. Researchers are free to pick their topic and tools of research. One condition is that the topic and content of the final piece is directly relevant to Poseidon's subject and does not conflict with the project's main objectives. The authors must be ready to accept scholarly criticism when such criticism is due. Outright sensorship is possible if a section's language and content is incongruent with the bylaws.

3. The authors agree to automatically transfer copyright of their work to Poseidon. Such transfer occurs automatically when the author submits any communication (essay, proposal, comment, graphics, idea, plan) to at least one other member of Poseidon. The rationale is that Poseidon must be free to publish the research material without any legal constraints from the authors. In addition, if an author suddenly leaves the project after doing a great deal of work, another crew member will be able to build on the research material.

NINE: Internal and external communications, 06/28/1995

1. Any communications that deal with the day-to-day work of the team are considered internal. Internal communications can often be freewheeling to facilitate the creative effort. Any internal communication is considered confidential and all crew members will avoid giving such communication to people outside Poseidon. A member publishing internal material to the outside world in a way that offends and harms other members and the project will be dropped from the project.

2. Any communications with individuals and institutions outside Poseidon is considered external. Each crew member has the right to reproduce any external communication already approved and published and use it for promotional purpose of Poseidon. In such case the member becomes automatically a representative of the project to the world. If a member prepares a creative communication for publication, this communication must go through a clearance committee which will be nominated by the Captains. When a member communicates with the media, he must consult with the Press officer of Poseidon. The purpose of this requirement is to safeguard the project's image to the world.

3. In the near future, a time table and an official opening of Poseidon will be announced. Until such time, no one is allowed to release any URL's that have not been announced as public . These URL's will be considered "under construction" and "restricted" until the official opening day.

TEN: Personal Conflicts and Resolution, 09/04/1995

1. Disagreements have cost Poseidon some good people through mostly trivial disputes. To protect Poseidon's human resources, and to save time for real work, we want to clarify the relationship among members and anticipate some problems.

2. We are all working towards one common goal: to finish the project Hellas and the Sea. Because of the nature of e-mail, and because the problems we encounter daily add to the pressure we are all under, misunderstandings will often arise. People's feelings will be hurt. Words will often be exchanged that we might wish to take back.

3. At this point, pride might dictate a way out, and that way out might be to resign. In our view, resigning hurts the project and the people involved in the dispute. The person quitting is not able to influence the project further, except in a negative way. Poseidon is set back because the issue is not resolved to the satisfaction of all, and bad feelings will linger long after.

4. We strongly urge people who might think of quitting to take a step back. First, take the dispute to private mail, and hash it out among yourselves. If you resolve the issue, bring the solution back to Poseidon. Failing to resolve it, lay out the issues and ask the human resources officer for mediation.