Cg nonmember join
This page describes improved flow for non-Member organizations to join CGs and BGs. See CG 2013 changes.
Notes:
- IJ and Wendy talked and in theory this can work. Ian needs to propose concrete language (cf Member language) to Wendy so that:
- Individual who signs CLA can do so on behalf of others in non-Member org
- Individual can end that org's commitment under CLA
- Individual who signs CLA on behalf of org upgrades previous individual commitments.
The problem
- In many organizations, the person who is authorized to sign a legal agreement is different from the person who actually participants in a group.
- For Member organizations, the AC Representative performs two roles: signing the CLA and assigning individual participants.
- We do not have the same mechanism in place for non-Member organizations.
- As a result, we have serious usability issues:
- The person who signs the agreement ("joins") is shown as participating on behalf of the organization, even though that person might be from a legal team and thus not actually participating.
- The person who is actually participating cannot sign the legal agreement so joins as an individual. We display that that person has made "an individual commitment" but that's inaccurate since the non-Member has made a commitment under which the individual is participating.
- Once an organization has made a commitment, that commitment should apply to all individuals affiliated with the organization. If they were participating as individuals we should adjust our data about their commitment and display it correctly. Currently we have no mechanism in place for that.
- There might be some individuals participating on behalf of a non-Member org and some as individuals in the same group. While that's unlikely, it's possible and is confusing. Our system should ensure we don't arrive in this state.
Key points of model
In the scenarios that follow, NM represents a non-Member organization.
- Anyone affiliated with NM may sign the CLA on behalf of NM.
- W3C does not verify whether individual was authorized; that is the NM organization's responsibility.
- Therefore the form must include the attestation that the individual affirms the individual is authorized to make the commitment.
Join state machine
The following sections describe what happens when someone from NM attempts to join a group. There will be other terms on the join page that all individuals agree to (e.g., participate under the terms of the CG process).
NM has not yet signed CLA
Individual not yet in group
Available actions:
- Sign CLA on behalf of NM but do not list me as participant. (This is the "Lawyer Option") (indicate what will happen in this case to existing participants)
- Sign CLA on behalf of NM and list me as participant. (UI will indicate what will happen in this case to existing participants)
- Request to join as an individual.
Effects if CLA signed on behalf of NM:
- If there are any people affiliated with NM participating as individuals in the group
- Update our representation of their commitment to be "on behalf of NM"
- Notify participants of this change
When join approved (either on behalf of NM or as individual)
- If BG, notify business development re: invoicing.
Individual already in group (has made an individual commitment)
Available actions:
- Change my commitment to be on behalf of NM (indicate what will happen in this case to existing participants)
- Leave the group
Effects if CLA signed on behalf of NM:
- If there are any people affiliated with NM participating as individuals in the group
- Update our representation of their commitment to be "on behalf of NM"
- Notify participants of this change
- If BG, notify business development re: invoicing.
NM has already signed CLA
- For all cases below, we display who signed the CLA for NM and when.
Individual not yet in group
Available actions:
- Join as a representative of NM.
- End NM participation (legal commitment + fee obligation for BG)
Effects if commitment under CLA ended:
- Record end of NM commitment
- Eject any NM participants in the group (includes notification).
- For BG, notify business development team.
Individual already in group
Available actions:
- Leave the group but preserve NM commitment for others.
- End NM participation (legal commitment + fee obligation for BG)
Effects if simple leave:
- Remove individual as participant in group.
- Note that if this is the last person in the group, it still leaves the commitments in place (including invoicing for BGs). This is intentional as there may be a transition period and we don't want to automatically end the NM commitments.
Effects if commitment under CLA ended:
- Record end of NM commitment
- Eject any NM participants in the group (includes notification).
- For BG, notify business development team.