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Minnesota Regional Network
Bylaws
September 23, 1987
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 2
September 23, 1987
Article I. Organization Name
1.0 The name of the organization is the
MINNESOTA REGIONAL NETWORK
or
MRnet.
Article II. Purpose
2.0 The membership of the MINNESOTA REGIONAL NETWORK has
joined together to:
2.0.1 Promote connectivity to support the educational,
research, or development endeavors by its members
and their clients.
2.0.2 Pursue connections to other networks as deemed
appropriate by its members.
2.0.3 Provide a forum for discussion of networking
issues and concerns.
Article III. Membership
3.0 General: MRnet shall be made up of Member Institutions,
where memberships granted to those applying institutions
whose proposed use of MRnet is approved by the MRnet
Member Institutions.
3.1 Criterion for membership: A company, organization, or
institution which subscribes to the purpose stated in
Article II.
3.2 Applications for membership:
3.2.1 An Institution applying for membership must
submit an application to the Secretary of the
Executive Committee who shall process all
applications in accordance with MRNet policies
and applicable Bylaws. The application must
adequately show the Institution's ability to meet
all requirements stated in section 3.3.
3.2.2 Applications for membership are to be reviewed at
duly convened meetings of the Executive and
Technical/Operations Committees. The Executive
Committee will submit its recommendations to the
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 3
September 23, 1987
entire MRnet membership. The Executive Committee
shall also set a deadline for Institutional
discussion and voting on approval of the
application. The deadline must be at least
thirty days and not exceed six months.
3.2.3 An applicant shall become a member upon receiving
a two-thirds (2/3) majority approval from the
Institutional Members, with any Institutions
abstaining counted as affirmative votes. A
minute containing the vote and any pertinent
discussion shall be generated by the Secretary
and sent to the applying institution.
3.3 Requirements for membership:
3.3.1 Network usage strategy: Institutions applying for
membership must submit plans describing their
intended usage of MRnet, and how this usage
relates to the purpose of MRnet as described in
Article II.
3.3.2 Proposal for regional network connection:
Applicants must submit plans to provide hardware,
communications facilities, and software for
linking to the MRnet physical network.
3.3.3 Naming of representatives: Applications must
name Institutional and Technical Representatives.
These persons will be point contacts for any
distribution of MRnet business.
3.3.3.1 Institutional: This person is
responsible for communicating policy
concerns to the Member Institution, and
provide MRnet with his or her
Institution's position on issues of
importance. This person is responsible
for the Institution's vote when called
for by the Chair of the Executive
Committee.
3.3.3.2 Technical: This person is responsible
for providing support to the
Institution's network link,
disseminating MRnet information to
end-users, and reporting on the status
of networking at the Member Institution.
3.3.4 Institutional support: The Institution must
state that it will provide the manpower and
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 4
September 23, 1987
equipment necessary to maintain an adequate link
to MRnet. Institutions are responsible for their
own internal networks and for support of their
own user community.
3.3.5 Network support: The Institution must be able to
provide limited support of Network
trouble-shooting, error correction, gateway
maintenance, and other duties pertaining to
running MRnet efficiently.
3.3.6 Limitation of liability: An officer of each
Institution shall sign an agreement to hold
MRnet, its officers, and its members harmless
from any liability arising from lost profits,
loss of opportunity, or any other loss which may
result from the use of, or lack of use of, MRnet.
3.4 Rights of membership:
3.4.1 Use of MRnet: Member Institutions may send and
receive data on MRnet's physical network for the
purposes stated in Article II.
3.4.2 Use of gateways/links to other networks: Members
may use the MRnet network to gain access to all
other networks with which it connects, directly
or indirectly. Any use of such networks is
subject to the rules and Bylaws of all
intermediate networks and gateways.
3.4.4 MRnet voting: As required by the Bylaws or
requested by the Chair of the Executive
Committee, when a vote is called, each Member
Institution is allowed one (1) vote, for which
the Institutional Representative is responsible.
3.4.5 Elected office: Institutional and Technical
Representatives from Member Institutions shall
have the right to hold elected office.
3.5 Membership dues:
3.5.1 Upon two-thirds (2/3) approval by Institutional
vote, with abstentions counting as affirmative
votes, MRnet may impose a dues structure on its
Institutional Members, to defray the costs of
MRnet business as identified in the annual
budget.
3.5.2 Membership dues are payable in full on the first
day of each fiscal year for existing Members.
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 5
September 23, 1987
Membership dues for new members are due when they
are accepted, on a pro-rated basis.
3.6 Membership responsibilities:
3.6.1 Each Member Institution, when using MRnet, must
abide by all rules and Bylaws in force at that
time. They must also abide by all cooperative
agreements as defined by the Executive Committee
in conjunction with other network organizations.
3.6.2 Each Member Institution must provide local
network trouble- shooting support as best as it
is able.
3.6.3 Each Member Institution must support MRnet in its
end-user services, daily operations,
trouble-shooting, and technical management.
3.7 Termination of membership:
3.7.1 Voluntary: An Institution may terminate
membership at any time; however, they must
fulfill all obligations to MRnet and assist in
the transfer of these obligations to another
institution.
3.7.2 Involuntary: If a Member Institution does not
act in accordance with standing MRnet rules or
Bylaws, or abuses its right of network use, the
Executive Committee shall send a letter of
warning to its Institutional Representative. If
the abuses persist, the Committee shall then
recommend disqualification of the Institution's
membership, and if warranted, disconnect the
Institution's physical link to MRnet.
3.7.2.1 An Institutional vote will be called to
formally terminate the membership, with
a two-thirds vote of the entire
Membership required to revoke
membership. A deadline must be set that
will be at least 30 days and not later
than 6 months. A minute containing the
vote and any pertinent discussion shall
be generated by the Secretary and sent
to the warned institution.
3.7.3 In the event of either a voluntary or involuntary
termination, the terminating Member has no claim
to assets held by MRnet.
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 6
September 23, 1987
Article IV. Structure
4.0 General: The activities of MRnet shall be administered
by the Executive Committee, as advised by one standing
committee, the Technical/Operations Committee.
4.1 Executive Committee:
4.1.1 The Executive Committee is responsible for the
efficient administration of MRnet, as put forth
in Article V.
4.1.2 The Executive Committee is composed of a Chair,
Vice Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary.
4.2 Technical/Operations Committee:
4.2.1 The Technical/Operations Committee shall be
chaired by the Vice Chair of the Executive
Committee.
4.2.2 The Technical/Operations Committee shall consist
of the Technical Representatives from all Member
Institutions.
4.2.3 The Technical/Operations Committee is responsible
for advising and assisting the Executive
Committee in managing the technical aspects of
MRnet and providing review of proposed changes of
the physical network topology.
4.3 Other committees:
4.3.1 The Executive Committee may recommend the
formation of additional committees, either ad hoc
or standing, and determine the charge of such
committees.
4.3.2 Ad hoc committees must have either a specific
purpose or a date of termination associated with
their formation.
4.3.3 Standing committees must be approved by amendment
to these Bylaws.
Article V. MRnet Executive Committee
5.0 General:
5.0.1 The Executive Committee shall meet with regular
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 7
September 23, 1987
frequency to oversee MRnet business.
5.0.2 Quorum: At all meetings of the Executive
Committee at least two-thirds (2/3) of the
Committee's voting members must be present to act
on MRnet business.
5.1 Elected officers:
5.1.1 Four voting Executive Committee officers shall be
elected from Member Institution's Institutional
and Technical Representatives. These officers
will be elected as the Chair, Vice Chair,
Secretary and Treasurer.
5.1.2 The term of office for an elected officer shall
be one year, renewable by election.
5.1.3 Each term of office shall begin January 1.
5.1.4 In the event the Chair is not able to attend an
Executive Board meeting, the Vice Chair shall act
as chairman of the meeting.
5.2 Other committees:
5.2.1 Standing committees may be assigned a voting seat
on the Executive Committee, as part of their
charter. Such a change in the Executive
Committee structure requires an amendment to
these Bylaws.
5.2.2 Ad hoc and standing committees may be invited by
the Executive Committee to select a non-voting
representative to attend Committee meetings.
5.3 Responsibilities of the Executive Committee:
5.3.1 The Committee shall represent the Membership with
respect to MRnet activities and purposes set
forth in these Bylaws, and in written policies of
MRnet.
5.3.2 The Executive Committee shall establish
committees and groups necessary to implement
decisions and policies.
5.3.3 The Executive Committee shall create an annual
budget based on a July 1 through June 30 fiscal
year, and administer funds, as described by
Article IX.
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 8
September 23, 1987
5.3.4 The Executive Committee shall receive, review,
and determine the disposition of applications for
establishing Institutional Membership.
5.3.5 The Executive Committee shall establish
procedures for the orderly operation of MRnet,
its physical plant, use of funds, and information
exchange.
5.3.6 The Executive committee shall make nominations
and hold elections for vacancies on the MRnet
Executive Committee as required by Article VI.
5.3.7 The Executive Committee shall interpret these
Bylaws.
5.3.8 The Executive Committee shall seek to establish a
Network Information Center to inform members and
interested parties of MRnet activities.
5.3.9 The Executive Committee shall perform all other
duties which customarily pertain to the
administration of a regional wide-area network.
5.4 Responsibilities of the Chair:
5.4.1 The Chair shall be responsible for presiding over
Executive Committee and general business
meetings.
5.4.2 The Chair shall act as official representative of
MRnet in dealings with other network
associations, institutions, and agencies.
5.4.3 The Chair shall provide for the discharge of
necessary duties of absent members of the
Executive Committee.
5.4.4 The Chair shall be responsible, with the
Treasurer, for the treasury.
5.4.5 The Chair shall oversee all activities of the
Executive Committee.
5.4.6 The Chair is responsible for organizing and
coordinating general meetings.
5.5 Responsibilities of the Vice Chair:
5.5.1 The Vice Chair shall substitute for the Chair in
his or her absence.
5.5.2 The Vice Chair shall preside over meetings of the
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 9
September 23, 1987
Technical/Operations Committee.
5.5.3 With the Secretary, the Vice Chair shall oversee
the Network Information Center.
5.5.4 The Vice Chair is responsible for insuring the
network is functioning efficiently and standards
are being followed.
5.6 Responsibilities of the Treasurer:
5.6.1 The Treasurer shall maintain financial records,
distribute funds properly authorized by the
Executive Committee and assure compliance with
terms and conditions of any outside funding.
5.6.2 The Treasurer shall consign with the Chair all
financial and contractual obligations.
5.6.3 With the Chair, the Treasurer is responsible for
the Treasury.
5.7 Responsibilities of the Secretary:
5.7.1 The Secretary shall take and distribute minutes
of Executive Committee meetings.
5.7.2 The Secretary shall receive and distribute all
inquiries made to the Executive Committee. This
role includes acting as the MRnet News Group
Moderator.
5.7.3 With the Vice Chair, the Secretary shall oversee
the Network Information Center.
5.7.4 The Secretary shall insure that all Bylaws are
being followed.
5.7.5 The Secretary is responsible to oversee all
elections.
Article VI. Executive Committee Officer Elections
6.0 Nominations:
6.0.1 All MRnet Institutional and Technical
Representatives shall be eligible to make
nominations or be nominated for election to the
Executive Committee.
6.0.2 Nominations shall be opened on or prior to
October 1, at which time the Executive Committee
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 10
September 23, 1987
shall present to the Membership a slate of at
least one nominee for each vacant office and
shall at that time call for additional
nominations.
6.0.3 Nominations must be submitted in writing to the
Secretary.
6.0.4 Nominations shall close November 1.
6.1 Elections:
6.1.1 General elections shall be held annually for all
elected positions on December 1. The Secretary
of the Executive Committee shall distribute
ballots to all Representatives no later than
November 7. Ballots must be returned to the
Secretary before December 2.
6.1.2 The ballots of all elections will be counted
within on week following the close of voting. No
ballots will be counted if received after
December 1. All candidates for office will be
informed immediately of the results of the
election by the Secretary of the Executive
Committee.
6.1.3 Term of office shall begin January 1. All terms
of office shall be one year, except for the first
election.
6.1.4 The First Election: To allow for officer
elections as soon as possible after the
ratification of these Bylaws, the term of office
for the first election shall be adjusted so it
will conclude on December 31, and shall be no
shorter than 6 months.
6.1.5 Special elections: The Chair of the Executive
Committee shall call special elections as
determined necessary by the Executive Committee.
Article VII. Meetings
7.0 General meetings:
7.0.1 MRnet shall hold at least two meetings a year
which will be in conjunction with an open
business meeting.
7.0.2 At least one month notice shall be sent to all
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 11
September 23, 1987
Representatives.
7.1 Executive Committee meetings:
7.1.1 There shall be at least four Executive Committee
meetings a year. These meetings should be
supplemented with communications within the
Committee during the interim.
7.1.2 Executive Committee meetings are open to all
Institutional and Technical Representatives and
guests of the Executive Committee.
Representatives shall be notified in advance of
meeting dates and locations.
7.1.3 The Chair may call emergency meetings.
7.2 Standing committee meetings: The standing committees
shall meet at least four times a year. In addition, the
Executive Committee may call for emergency meetings of a
standing committee.
Article VIII. Amendments
8.0 General:
8.0.1 A ballot on an amendment to MRnet Bylaws may be
initiated either by the Executive Committee or by
petition of one-third (1/3) of the Institutional
Members.
8.0.2 All Member Institutions must have the opportunity
to vote on amendments. The Secretary shall
prepare and send to each Institutional
Representative a statement of the proposed
amendments and a ballot, along with a specified
due date. The due date shall be at least thirty
days from the time of delivery, but not more than
six months.
8.1 Ratification:
8.1.1 Amendments to these Bylaws must be approved by an
affirmative vote of two-thirds of the entire
Membership.
8.1.2 All ballots must be returned to the Secretary.
Any ballot not received within the specified date
shall be considered an affirmative vote on all
proposed amendments.
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 12
September 23, 1987
Article IX. Financial Structure
9.0 General:
9.0.1 MRnet will initially operate as a not-for-profit
organization. MRnet intends to incorporate as a
Minnesota not-for-profit corporation.
9.0.2 Sources for funding may include membership dues,
grants, cooperative agreements with other
networks, and "payment-in-kind" services.
9.0.3 All MRnet resources are available without charge
to its Members, and to the members of networks
affiliated with MRnet, except for annual
membership dues.
9.0.4 Any MRnet expenditure above $1,000 requires the
unanimous approval of the Executive Committee,
with notification to Members.
9.0.5 MRnet can only authorize the expenditure of funds
in hand.
Article X. Network Standards
10.0 General:
10.0.1 MRnet shall adopt a set of standards to insure
effective use of the network.
10.0.2 The Executive Committee is responsible for the
implementation and monitoring of all network
standards.
10.1 Topology:
10.1.1 The physical topology will consist of a central
hub with communications lines to Member sites.
10.1.2 This hub shall exist in the Minneapolis/St. Paul
area, preferably at a Member site.
10.1.3 The recommended manner of connection is one spoke
per Institution. Institutions may share a spoke
upon mutual agreement.
10.1.4 The MRnet physical network is considered to be
only the hub and any other equipment acquired by
MRnet used to carry network traffic. MRnet is
not responsible for the physical links to the hub
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 13
September 23, 1987
by its Members.
10.2 MRnet protocols:
10.2.1 The selected protocol for data communications
shall be IP (Internet Protocol). Unless approved
by the Executive Committee, no other protocol
shall be transmitted on the physical plant of
MRnet. Member Institutions are responsible for
filtering all non-IP traffic before it reaches
the MRnet physical network.
10.2.2 Member Institutions must coordinate their
Internet Domain Names, Autonomous Systems, and
Domain Name Servers with the Executive Committee.
10.2.3 MRnet will strive to maintain network protocols
consistent with the state of the art, national
standards, and if required, any national networks
to which access is required.
10.2.4 The Executive Committee shall bring to a vote
before all Member Institutions any changes to
MRnet standard protocols, as recommended by the
Executive Committee and the Technical/Operations
Committee. Unanimous approval is required for
passage.
10.3 Routing traffic onto the MRnet physical network:
10.3.1 Member Institutions are responsible for insuring
the correct routing of data onto the MRnet
network.
10.3.2 Any flagrant contamination of the MRnet network,
such as data packets incorrectly routed or
non-standard protocols, by a Member Institution
may be grounds for immediate disconnection from
the physical network.
10.4 Gateways to other networks:
10.4.1 NSFnet: MRnet shall strive to maintain a
connection with NSFnet. This will include
adherence to NSFnet connection policies on
regional networks and maintaining adequate
funding for a connection to NSFnet.
10.4.2 BITNET: MRnet shall seek to maintain a path to
BITNET.
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 14
September 23, 1987
10.4.3 Other gateways: Any gateway or direct link to a
regional, national, or international network must
have the following steps completed before it is
approved:
10.4.3.1 The Technical/Operations Committee must
determine the shared cost/commitment of
such a link.
10.4.3.2 The Executive Committee must reach an
agreement with the other network
organization concerning the technical
and fiscal ramifications of the link.
10.4.3.3 Member Institutions must approve the
link unanimously.
10.4.4 Upgrades or changes to outside links must be
approved using the steps in section 11.4.3.
10.4.5 Institutions with a link or gateway to an outside
network may choose to share their link with
MRnet. Except for "payment-in-kind", the Member
may not expect payment for MRnet use of their
link.
Article XI. Security
11.0 General:
11.0.1 MRnet makes no claims to be a secure network, and
is not liable in any way for breaches of security
where a MRnet network link was the point of
access.
11.0.2 MRnet, its officers, and its members shall not be
held liable for any damages that may occur from
security breaches at Member Institutions.
11.0.3 The Executive Board will take into account and
may move to censure any Member Institution, when
it is determined a lack of security at the
Institution is the cause for security breaches at
a Member Institution or a member of an affiliated
network.
11.0.4 It is the responsibility of each Member
Institution and the management of the host
systems at that Institution to provide adequate
data security against compromise from any source,
including access from the MRnet network.
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 15
September 23, 1987
11.0.5 MRnet security concerns are to be brought before
the Executive Committee and shall be documented
and distributed to the Technical Representatives
of the Member Institutions.
Article XII. Creation of MRnet and Charter Members
12.0 General:
12.0.1 MRnet exists with the approval of these Bylaws by
representatives of the Institutions attending the
September 23, 1987 organizational meeting.
12.1 Charter Members:
12.1.1 Charter Members are defined as those institutions
whose representatives approved these Bylaws on
September 23, 1987.
12.1.2 Charter Members have all rights and
responsibilities of members, subject to
Institutional approval.
12.1.3 Charter Memberships expire on March 31, 1988.
Charter Members which comply with the
requirements of Article III on or before March
31, 1988 will remain Members.
12.2 First Year Dues:
12.2.1 Annual membership dues for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1988 are $500.00 and will not be
pro-rated for Charter Members or new Members.
(End of Bylaws)
Minnesota Regional Network Bylaws 16
September 23, 1987
Bylaws ratified on September 23, 1987 by representatives
from the following Institutions:
Carleton College
Control Data Corporation
Cray Research
ETA Systems
Mayo Foundation
Minnesota Supercomputer Center, Inc.
St. Olaf College
University of Minnesota
3M Corporation