Host organization and cooperation

The host of the project is the Bundesverband Freier Radios (National Association of Community Radios). Associations of community radio stations in Austria (VFRÖ) and in Switzerland (UNIKOM) are partner organizations. The project Freier Funk im Netz (Community Broadcasting on the Net) is accountable to the BFR, its hosting organization, and as such is obliged to deliver reports at coordination and member meetings.

Membership in the closed user groups

Every radio station and every production team that is a member of BFR (Bundesverband Freier Radio, Germany), VFRÖ (Verband Freier Radios in Austria) or UNIKOM (Union of non-commercial Media in Switzerland), can become a member of the project Freier Funk im Netz in the closed user group (uploads and downloads) and will have the right to name a portier. Other radio projects, production teams and individuals may apply to become members of Freier Funk im Netz or of the closed user group, but the portiers in this case are not entitled to make final decisions.

Portiers are the liaisons for members

Every radio station and every production team names or elects a Portier in order to facilitate communication and to act as a liaison. Portiers administer internally - e.g. in the individual radio stations themselves - passwords for the use of the databank on the web. Radio stations or production groups who do not have such a person will not receive any passwords. Portiers from radio stations or production teams, that are members of the national assosiations of community radios at the same time, are also entitled to make decisions in the project Freier Funk im Netz.

General meeting of decision-making portiers

Portiers who are entitled to make decisions constitute a (virtual) General Meeting, that is: they communicate via a forum on the net, which has been expressly created for this, and using this forum they make decisions concerning

the admission of new members to the closed user groups (uploads and downloads),

the expulsion of members from the project,

the removal of programs from the archive, in the case of complaints,

Portiers name 2 or 3 administrators for one year, who will be responsible for the technical maintenance of the homepage and the databank. They also elect 3 individuals for one year as contact partners for the project "Freier Funk im Netz". These contact partners are responsible for questions and problems that come up and if needed report these to the General Meeting of decision-making portiers. In addition they are to help new members.

Current provisory arrangement:

In the coming weeks each participating radio project should decide upon a portier. These portiers will then elect contact partners for "www.freie-radios.net" and will name administrators.

Until such time, temporary responsibility will be as follows:

1. technical adminstration: Felix/Berlin and Steffi/Karlsruhe (admin@freie-radios.net)

2. contact partners: Andreas/Freiburg (info@freie-radios.net). For temporary communication you can use the egroup at Freies-Radio-Netz@egroups.de; at the moment a new structure is under construction.

Becoming a member:

All radio stations and production teams, that are already members of BFR, the VFRÖ or the UNIKOM, can automatically become members of the project, as long as they have a portier as liaison for the project. Each portier represents his/her radio station and/or production group and explains how passwords are to be handed out within that group.

All other radio stations and/or production teams, as well as individuals, who would like to become members of the closed user group and who are simultaneaouly not a member of one of the national assosiations named above, should contact a representative of the project, who can help you through the process of becoming a member.

Candidates for membership should introduce themselves to the project. If this introduction remains without objection by one of the portiers (the right to object of the portiers) for one week, then the candidate will receive a guest statas membership which is valid for 2 months. If in this time there continues to be no objections to the membership the guest member will receive an account (i.e. access to uploads and downloads). Should a radio station or production team become a member of one of the national associations of community radio, then the new member will be able to name a portier and have a say in decision-making.

If there are objections to a membership, then these shall be discussed in the portiers´ forum and after one month and with a 2/3 majority vote, the matter shall be decided.

Project financing

The BFR finances the project with members´ dues and at the moment offers the website at no cost for non-members of VFRÖ and UNIKOM. This financing (scheme) is temporary: If the BFR is not able to carry the costs of maintaining the project freie-radio.net alone, non-BFR-members might have to make financial contributions.