Hierarchy and Stewardship Information

Generally, the League operates as close to a flat structure as it can be. While it's unlikely that every individual who uses a League node will vote or even *want* to vote, if they choose to participate in the decision-making process, we encourage them to do so and are happy to have them on board.

### Stewards
Our decision-making body is made up of **stewards**, who vote on proposals, maintain our central infrastructure, contribute to our information pages, and work on projects that the league undertakes.

**The role of steward is open to every user in the league**. Node staff (moderators and operators) are encouraged, but not required, to take on the role, and other individuals are welcome to sign on as stewards, as long as existing stewards can determine that the individual is acting in good faith and no further objections are raised to their stewardship. If an objection *is* raised, it will be done so transparently if possible, and privately if not, but any objection will be investigated before a decision is made.

<p class="callout info"> The expectation is that if you say you are going to take on a task, that you follow through with it, or ask for assistance if you are unable to do so. </p>

Regardless of whether they choose to be a steward or not, node staff are still required to abide by the Website League's code of conduct, and address issues within their own node, or respond to reports made by other node staff and/or stewards as needed. If they are unable to do so, it may jeopardize their standing in the League, but again, a decision will be made before any such response occurs, based on the severity of the issue at hand.

Stewardship is also not a strict requirement for involvement in ongoing Website League projects, though it may be helpful to request the role if you plan to contribute significantly. As mentioned, the role indicates not just a willingness to vote, but a desire to *help*, and makes it easier for everyone to keep track of who is actually working on projects for the League. Similarly, if you feel at any time that you would no longer be a steward for whatever reason, simply let your other stewards know. So long as you still feel like participating in the League, you are welcome to do so, steward or not.

The governance process

Decision-making within the League is done by majority vote; a quorum based on the current number of active stewards is required for a decision to pass. All votes will be recorded on https://consensus.websiteleague.org, and anyone, steward or not, should be able to view them.

When a vote is concluded, it is expected that the Website League and its members will make whatever changes necessary to implement the result. If unable to do so, another vote may be called later on; it is entirely possible that a decision may be reversed if it turns out to be completly infeasible or prevailing opinion changes at some point. It's also possible that the voting process may become more strict if we see evidence of abuse, so please make sure you are being responsible with both your requests for votes, and your comments on votes, which are more or less a matter of public record once submitted. Harassment of League members or stewards through the Loomio system or in an attempt to influence a voting decision(or, anywhere else, for any reason) will not be tolerated.

The infrastructure group

A central group of stewards familiar with the central infrastructure of the League has also been established for the purposes of maintaining and administering the platforms that are hosted on websiteleague.org; this is again a mostly voluntary role but it is not recommended that users or stewards request to be in the infrastructure group unless they are well familiar with the maintenance or administration of one or more of the platforms in use. Currently, membership in this group is fairly restricted as these individuals are essentially "key holders" for our central infra; if you wish to volunteer for this task, it may not be granted unless you have demonstrated your ability to be responsible with that authority.