This comprehensive timeline collates all events from the Cabal controversy: board election, commits, mailing list posts, GitHub issues, pull requests, and meeting notes.
Complete Timeline
All major events from the board election through the restoration of traditional governance, in chronological order.
February 2014
Board Election Board election concludes with Al Sweigart, Ari Lacenski, Tom Lowenthal (Secretary), Madelynn Martiniere, and Naomi Most elected. Later criticized as illegitimate - members were "denied a vote by the Secretary."
March 25, 2014
Cabal Commits Pushed
Three board members (Tom Lowenthal, Ari Lacenski, Al Sweigart) push governance changes directly to bureaucracy repo without customary PR process. See the three governance documents they created.
March 26, 2014 (early AM)
Board Announces Changes
Madelynn Martiniere announces on mailing list that "the newly elected board" agreed on changes, now effective immediately.
March 26, 2014 (morning)
Naomi Contradicts Board Announcement
Naomi Most, also a board member, publicly contradicts: "Disregard. The board has, in fact, not 'agreed' on these changes, because they were never discussed."
Naomi Reveals the Betrayal
Naomi exposes that "about 10 different issues were all lumped together" and "Only two board members plus the proposer voted" (3/5) while she was unavailable.
March 26, 2014 (late morning)
Kevin Calls for Board Accountability
Kevin, a trusted member, states he felt "marginalized and disempowered" by the board's actions. Calls for removal of board members who acted in bad faith by "smashing existing Noisebridge decision making process."
March 26, 2014 (evening)
Al Sweigart: "Why Consensus Kills Community" Al argues against consensus with 5 critiques, frames as critical juncture requiring systemic change.
March 27, 2014 (early AM)
Danny O'Brien (Treasurer) Rejects Top-Down Governance
Danny O'Brien, the treasurer, states: "I don't really want to be a member of a board-driven Noisebridge, with beautifully written rules with top-down enforcement."
March 27, 2014
Matthew Senate: "In Defense of Consensus" Matthew defends consensus, notes Mitch Altman is weighing his very participation in Noisebridge over this controversy.
March 27, 2014 (evening)
Naomi: "In Defense of Consensus" Naomi warns against board overreach, asks "what real power does the membership have?"
March 28, 2014
Cabal Issue #18: The Crucial Turning Point Proposal: Voting - the crucial moment where Naomi signals board recall is being considered: "I can assure you someone's already thought of that."
March 29, 2014 (early AM)
Board Announces Reversion
Madelynn announces reversion, claims "neither I, nor the rest of the board, have any intention of disempowering the membership."
Naomi Confirmed as Chair of the Board Board meeting via Google Hangout - Naomi Most confirmed as Chair. Al and Ari "excused from attendance." Complete power reversal: the person who stopped the power grab is now in charge.
April 7, 2014
Cabal Issue #23: "Knock, knock" - The Ironic Silence "Discussion: ironic lack of participation" - Naomi has to post "Knock, knock. Please go vote on #13, at least" to get board attention on her proposal for a 1-week mandatory discussion period. Hilarious irony: Al had rushed changes through, but now that they're reverted, he and the others won't participate in actual deliberation.
April 7, 2014 (afternoon)
Board Election Legitimacy Questioned
Naomi calls out the "sham election" - membership deadline was never set but voting list was shortened anyway, disenfranchising members.
April 8, 2014
🎠Two Board Members Resign Al Sweigart and Ari Lacenski resign from the Board of Directors. The finale: two cabal repository contributors resign after community rejects governance changes.