Date:Sat, 12 Jul 2003 12:36:55 +0200
From:Jan 
To:TT Inc <TT-Inc@YahooGroups.com>
Subject:[tt-inc] TT Inc. Options (long)

            As the future of the Troubled Times Inc. is up for discussion in the next
            board meeting, it is vital that all board members have thought this through,
            so that there may be a serious discussion where all options are considered
            carefully. TT Inc. members are also invited to voice their opinion on this
            matter, so that the board may know their viewpoints before the upcoming
            board meeting.

            As Troubled Times Inc. now stands, there are 3 possible options:
            1, Continue as before, keeping the close ties to ZetaTalk;
            2, Continue operation autonomous from ZetaTalk, refocusing and restate our
               charter, mission and objectives; or
            3, Terminate the Inc.

            With respect to both alternative 1 and 2, the main question will be how such
            an operation may be secured financially and operationally.

            For the last year, the only active projects have been booklet distribution
            and the acreage / seed project, with some minor activity on short-wave. The
            server project never succeeded in establishing a fail-over solution, and
            after the main server broke down, the Inc. has no operational server.
            Donations have been steadily decreasing, and available funds likewise.

            The bylaws state that the Inc. is independent of the so called volunteer
            group, yet that group is supposed to screen the candidates for Inc member-
            ship through their list contributions, the Inc. has funded web wrapping
            activities etc. I refer to my previous posting concerning the relationship
            and ownership issues between the two.

            All contributions to the Inc. as well as any solutions discussions on the TT
            Forum have ceased. The Troubled Times "What's New" page, covering February
            16 to May 19, has only been updated with the highly questionable sightings
            and rotation slowing information. (All the February 16 "What's New" seem to
            be missing from the server, though.) The decisions on what to publish or not
            on the TT web pages are done exclusively and solely by the ZetaTalk owner.

            Some aspects that needs to be considered before deciding on which option to
            go for:


            Alternative 1, Continue as before:
              Pros:
                * Easiest way out;
                * No legal problems and/or fees (unless challenged);
                * All assets kept by current users.

              Cons:
                * Low on cash, no or little new funding;
                * No activity on TT lists except TT Watch, still discussing Planet X;
                * Seen as a ZetaTalk affiliate, with the same low credibility.

              Challenges:
                * Fund raising, donations;
                * Re-establish credibility;
                * Re-initiate activity.

              TT Inc. vs. s.c. volunteer group:
                * Troubled Times web content will still be without any defined ownership
                  and probably continue as an integral part of ZetaTalk.


             Alternative 2, Refocus and continue, autonomous from ZetaTalk:
               Pros:
                 * Can build on current established base, including web content and lists;
                 * No or small legal challenges and/or fees (unless challenged);
                 * All assets can be kept by the Inc., potentially moved to new users;
                 * May be able to rebuild credibility.

               Cons:
                 * Low on cash, no or little new funding;
                 * No activity on TT lists except TT Watch, still discussing Planet X.

               Challenges:
                 * Fund raising, donations;
                 * Gain control over so called volunteer group, web content and groups;
                 * Repair down TT server, establish technical team and ownership;
                 * Separate TT web content from ZetaTalk content, clean & update the web
                   content;
                 * Establish Internet presence;
                 * Initiate new, refocused activity.

               TT Inc. vs. s.c. volunteer group:
                 * Ownership and control over Troubled Times web content and lists
                   must be established, and all TT web content must be removed from the
                   ZetaTalk web site.


             Alternative 3, Terminate the Inc.
               Pros:
                 * May be seen as the right thing to do after the failed predictions.

               Cons:
                 * Some legal fees may be expected;
                 * All assets will have to be donated to another non-profit organization.

               Challenges:
                 * Termination not defined in the Bylaws.

               TT Inc. vs. s.c. volunteer group:
                 * Ownership and control over Troubled Times web content and lists must
                   still be considered by the Board.
                   - If ownership and control is established, the web content should be
                     deleted from the ZetaTalk site and the lists terminated.
                   - If ownership and control is not established, ZetaTalk will probably
                     continue to use the web content as today.

             I kindly request this mail (or a later, revised version, depending on any
             input received) linked off of the Agenda for the next board meeting.

                Regards,
                   Jan