emk wrote:zenmonkey wrote:A UK unincorporated association does not create additional concerns of libel because it is unincorporated - the individuals members continue to carry their own responsibility in terms of debt, legal obligations, etc... it cannot enter into contract, it can't be sued, only it's members can, individually.
We'd like to avoid personal legal liability for the people running the forum if possible.
I've been a trustee of an unincorporated (charitable) membership association in the UK for about six years now, and although I can see why the whole personal legal/financial liability thing sounds off-putting to start with, in reality it isn't that scary because you're unlikely to ever have a serious problem if you can show that your organisation is run responsibly and competently. I guess the key things are making sure you trust the other people involved, ensuring that everyone has regular access to accurate financial information while no one person has the ability to make payments on their own and taking professional advice when you're out of your comfort zone. The association I run is more complex than I imagine any forum association would be (in that we employ staff, lease property and hold substantial investments) but it's been running in this format for about 40 years now without big issues. The biggest challenge is probably trying to recruit competent trustees in the first place
Of course, there's always the risk that a crank can try to sue you, and my organisation is an Esperanto language charity so we certainly have our fair share of cranks
For charitable unincorporated organisations in the UK at least there is something you can take out called trustee indemnity insurance, which cover legal costs and damages in civil court cases. It doesn't cover fines and penalties incurred in criminal cases, because I don't think it's possible to insure against breaking the law. But it does cover a lot of the bad stuff that could potentially happen and you can choose the level you want to insure to depending on your risk. I took out a policy for my charity for the first time last year and paid £200 for cover up to £200 000 so it was fairly affordable. Whether it exists for non-charitable unincorporated associations, I'm not sure.
Ultimately the most important thing is that those people who are doing all the work and taking all the risk find a structure that they are comfortable with. Whatever the jurisdiction, I completely agree that trying to create a set-up where no one person has responsibility for everything is the best way forward. A few years back I was involved in trying to salvage an organisation that had become completely dependent on one individual after that individual tragically disappeared. No one else had any copies of the books and records and it took me eighteen months to track down where all its assets were held. That's a truly nightmarish situation to be in and I'm in favour of any structure that stops that happening