content/pages/groupreg.md

   1 Title: Group registration
   2 ---
   3 This page describes group registration and the use of the freenode group contact. Group registration allows your project or organisation to maintain unambiguous contact with the freenode project volunteers and group registration represents an official relationship with freenode.
   4
   5 ### Group registration:
   6
   7 **Represents an official relationship between freenode and your project or organisation.**
   8
   9 > By registering your group, you are indicating that you are maintaining an official presence on the network. If your group is a legal entity, we want to make sure that management has approved your registration.
  10
  11 **Requires no special type or level of participation.**
  12
  13 > You may maintain as little or as much control over your channels as desired. You may cloak your members, employees or participants, or not, as you decide. You may apply to sponsor a server if that is something you wish to do.
  14
  15 **Is accomplished by submitting one or more group registration forms via the Group Management System (GMS).**
  16
  17 > Group contacts represent your project or organisation when dealing with freenode volunteers. Forms may be submitted by the group contact or on behalf of that person ("proxy submittal") with their permission. The group verification process differs depending on the project structure.
  18
  19
  20 ### Two types of group contacts exist for freenode:
  21
  22 #### The Primary contact.
  23 This contact registers to establish that your group intends to create a relationship with freenode. The primary contact should have the authority to make the determination that your group intends to register, with the specifics depending on the type of group:
  24
  25
  26 1. Legal entities.
  27 A primary contact should belong to upper management or the organisation's board. This authority can be delegated further in the case of larger organisations, but it is not recommended; in cases where such delegation occurs, contact with the organisation is often lost and the group registration must subsequently be removed.
  28
  29 2. Informal, project-oriented groups.
  30 Informal groups vary considerably in their internal organisation. If the group is run by a single project leader or developer, that person should submit a group registration form. If the group is run by two equal participants, each should submit a group registration form to make it clear that both wish to have the group registered.
  31 If it is run by a larger core group or by voting across the project, the voting group should make a collective decision to register and should appoint one of their number as primary contact.
  32
  33 #### The secondary contact.
  34 Secondary (or approved) contacts are appointed by the primary contact. A secondary contact may be assigned limited access and/or privileges. They need no special level of authority; delegate whatever level of authority seems appropriate.  We will not expect them to make policy decisions, just to find out the answers to any questions that are raised
  35
  36 ### Group registration provides:
  37
  38 1. Additional channel management capabilities.
  39    Projects and organisations are entitled to own channels bearing their names. Your group contact can request changes in channel ownership in accordance with this policy and can directly request changes to access lists and configuration for any channels you own.
  40
  41 2. Group hostname cloaks.
  42    Cloaks allow your project or organisation to grant official recognition to project participants. Your group contact maintains this cloak list.
  43
  44 3. Problem solving.
  45    When there is a problem with one of your channels or if there is a complaint by a user or a question about policy, we will pass it on to your group contact.
  46
  47
  48 #### Your group contacts:
  49
  50 **Are designated by your project or organisation.**
  51 For example, a group contact might be your IT manager or someone involved with your project infrastructure.
  52
  53 **Can be one person or several.**
  54 You decide who acts as group contact. Each contact can be designated to handle issues pertaining to your entire group, or to a limited set of projects or users. You can designate primary and backup contacts if you wish.
  55
  56 **Acts as your "goto".**
  57 When you need someone to talk to us about a network issue, your group contact is the person.  They are your formal point of contact with our network staff.
  58
  59 **Acts as our "goto".**
  60 We will ask your group contact whenever we have any question about your project or organisational policies as they pertain to participation in the network.
  61
  62
  63 ## freenode Group Advisory Board
  64
  65 In order for freenode to provide the best possible service to the communities we serve, it is important for us to receive feedback from the projects with which we have relationships.
  66
  67 We invite all current (and future) Group Contacts to join GAB, the freenode Group Advisory Board. While we hope to see many Group Contacts involved with GAB in an advisory  capacity, GAB membership is of course optional.
  68
  69 freenode will consult the GAB on matters relating to services given to groups/projects, any addition to, or change of, group specific policy and other relevant issues.
  70
  71 If you are a current Group Contact and wish to get involved with GAB, please contact staff on IRC or email groups at freenode dot net for instructions on how to subscribe to the freenode-groups mailing list and for an invite to the #freenode-gab channel.
  72
  73 Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!
  74
  75 ## Group Management & Community Team
  76 The Group Management & Community Team comprises **Alexander _(tinyhippo)_ Mills**, **Jeremy _(Uptime)_ Utiera**, **Nathan _(nhandler)_ Handler**, **Tom _(tomaw)_ Wesley** and **Christel _(christel)_ Dahlskjaer**, together they will act as your liaisons during the group registration process and throughout your tenure on the freenode network. If you wish to discuss the group registration process, find out if freenode could be a good fit for your project or register your project as a group before the May 2016 launch of GMS, please feel free to drop any of the team members a line on IRC or send us an e-mail to groups at freenode dot net.