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==The Infrastructure Committee==
===Description===
The infrastructure committee is responsible for maintaing the architecture, security, and other foundational aspects of the network.  Throughout this document the members of the infrastructure committee will be referred to as members, IRC operators will be referred to as operators, and server administrators as server admins.

===Membership of Committee===
The infrastructure committee is a group that serves at the pleasure of the lead network administrator.  The lead network administrator is always the chair of the infrastructure committee and may appoint or dismiss members at any time. 

===Quorum===
The committee is considered to have a quorum if at least half of the members plus one additional member are present.  If the lead network administrator is not present, a log must be kept of the meeting and reported to him or her immediately after it is concluded.  The committee is prohibited from engaging in any business without having a quorum.

===Convening===
A meeting will be convened at the request of any member by the lead network administrator, or when the need arises.

==Responsibilities==
The infrastructure committee is directly responsible for both linking as well as network architecture decisions.  There are other decisions that, while they do not full under the formal purview of the infrastructure committee, often involve consulting the infrastructure committee.

===Linking New Servers===
New servers that wish to join the network by linking are processed by the infrastructure committee.  This commences as soon as a link application is submitted to the lead network administrator.  The lead network administrator will certify this application as complete and notify the applicant that their review is pending.  The lead network administrator is charged to convene, as soon as is reasonably possible, the infrastructure committee.  The committee will review the link application and vote based on the information before them.  It requires a majority to approve the link.  Once a link is approved, the new server will join the network as a trial server.  During this period they will have no access to services, have no rights given to a normal server on the network, and not have any users distributed to their servers from the pool address (irc.ecnet.org).  This trial link period lasts for 10 days.  At the end of this 10 days, the general consortium will be convened as soon as is reasonably possible and a vote will be taken to finalize the link.  A 2/3 majority is required to finalize the link, and if the link is finalized the server will become a permanent member of the network with all rights and privileges therein.

===Services Permissions===
The infrastructure committee can convene to modify the permissions of any IRC operator in relation to registration and bot flood control services.  These votes require a simple majority to pass and can be suggested by any member of the infrastructure committee.  

====Retroactive Permission for Changes====
Recognizing the necessity of maintaing day to day operations, the lead network administrator is empowered to make adjustments to permissions that he or she sees fit providing they are confirmed by the infrastructure committee at its next meeting which may or may not be soon after the changes are made.  Should the changes not be confirmed at the next meeting, then they must be immediately reverted by the lead network administrator

====Exceptions====
The infrastructure committee is not required to vote in any of the following cases:

* An operator being given Oper authority in registration services providing such authority was not previously revoked by the infrastructure committee or the arbitration director
* A server admin being given Admin authority in registration services providing such authority was not previously revoked by the infrastructure committee or the arbitration director.
* An operator having their permissions revoked or lowered by request of their server's admin
* An operator having their permissions revoked or lowered by their own request
* Any changes made under the charter of the arbitration directorship

===Changes to Network Infrastructure===
The creation of new services, removal of old services, changing of network linking architecture, or otherwise making major changes to the network infrastructure requires approval by majority of the infrastructure committee.

====Exceptions====
Minor changes do not require the authorization of the infrastructure committee, the power to make a decision regarding if a change constitutes a major or minor change is left in the hands of the lead network administrator.  However, should a member of the committee wish to challenge such a decision, they may, in which case the infrastructure committee will vote and decide if such a change was in fact major.  If a change is ruled to be major even though it was declared minor, the infrastructure committee will vote to give retroactive approval.  If this vote fails, the change will be reversed.

If a situation before an operator, in his or her best judgement, constitutes a risk to the stability or operation of the network, they may make any infrastructure changes necessary to protect the network until the situation stabilizes.  Such changes, if not reversed by the end of the state of emergency, will be voted upon to give retroactive approval, if the vote fails the changes will be reversed.

==Non-Binding Responsibilities==
Although the infrastructure committee has a great deal of binding authority, they also exercise advisory authority to the lead network administrator that has no binding powers, but acts to gauge opinion of the network.  The precedent for this lies in older charters for the infrastructure committee and is enumerated here so that readers that are not members of the infrastructure committee can better understand its operations.

===As An Advisory Committee===
Since the infrastructure committee acts as the grouping of the most active administrators and operators, it is composed of those people that know the network better than anyone else.  These people are most qualified to advise the lead network administrator in his decisions even though in many cases they do not have the authority or need to bind his or her decisions.  Therefore, in many cases the lead network administrator will utilize the infrastructure committee as an advisory committee to help him or her make decisions more educated and help him or her consider the ramifications of such decisions.

===Non-binding Resolutions===
Any member of the infrastructure committee is empowered to propose any non-binding resolution that will be voted upon with a simple majority deciding if it passes.  If such a motion passes, it has no actual effect and binds no other organizational unit or the lead network administrator in any way shape or form.  These resolutions are used to get an accurate estimate on the feelings regarding a particular topic relevant to the network within the infrastructure committee.  They are often used by the lead network administrator to get a view into the minds of the members and if they support something he or she may wish to enact or have already done.