Posted by Jock on December 08, 2000 at 16:52:29 from 212.244.243.30:
In Reply to: Re: Company Status; was TARS Membership List posted by Peter Hyland on December 04, 2000 at 22:32:52:
Safety is a critical and very important issue for all organizations like Tars, and for all of us who are bringing up children. AR "solved" the problem by having the Walkers and Amazons already trained sailors at the start of the series, (by Commander Walker and Captain Flint) while the D's are taught, under the watchful eye of Mrs Barrable, by children who are very competent. So AR's "Better drowned than Duffers" philosophy is actually more qualified than it first appears. I've started a separate thread for all those interested in more discussion about this topic.
Meanwhile, back to the (dis)advantages of company status. Peter has hit the right note about lawyers only answering the questions you ask. There are very few that specialize in helping societies like Tars - there's no money in it! The local lawyer who has joined the cause and is willing to help, tends to be an expert in some other area: property, divorce etc. The result is often good advice about limited liability without taking into account the 'soft issues' such as democracy, transparency, accountability, et al which are so important to the ethos of a society.
There is a probably a solution on the lines of making the trading arm a limited liability company (and use it to organizing all field events), and using an "unincorporated association" (members club or society) for the main objectives of the Society. I look forward to more erudition from legally minded Ransomites (TARS and OUTLAWS).