PPI Minutes 2026-05-05

Agenda PPI BOARD MEETING

--- 05.05.2026 17:00 UTC/19:00 CEST/DST ---

Audio recording:

Video: https://jitsi.pirati.cz/PPI-Board

Pad:

Record of the meeting

1 - ATTENDEES

1.1 - Members of the PPI board

Chairperson - Keith L. Goldstein / PP-IL Vice-Chairperson - Gregory Engels / PP-DE Board Member - Bailey Lamon / PP-CA General Secretary - Alexander Isavnin / PP-RU Treasurer - Sebastian Krone / PP-DE Board Member - Maycow Toledo / PP-BR Board Member - Mark Anthony / PP-NL Board Member - Carlos Polo / PP-CH Board Member - Grigorii Dizer / PP-RU

participating: Sebastian Krone, Keith, Bailey, Bart (partially present), Maycow (arrived late)

excused:

unexcused:

Alternate Board Members: Alternate Board member - Babak Tubis / PP-DE Alternate Board member - Schoresch Davoodi / PP-DE Alternate Board member - Lilia Kayra Kuyumcu, PP-DE Alternate Board member - "Numero6, PP-DE Alternate Board member - Bart Overkamp, PP-NL Alternate Board member - Thomas Gaul / PP-DE

participating: Numero6, Schoresch, Babak (19:20)

excused: Thomas,

unexcused:

:Quorum established with 5 (maybe 6) out of 9 board members present.

1.2 - Others

Guests: PiratesOnAir, Kay

participating:

2 - PROCEEDINGS

RoP: https://wiki.pp-international.net/wiki/index.php?title=PPI_Board/Rules_of_Procedure

Meeting opened at 17:05 UTC by Keith

Meeting chaired by Bailey and Keith and everyone

Secretary for this meeting is all

Streaming started: https://piratesonair.net/live-stream/

Recording started: 17:05

Postal votes: none

Votes delegated (§5 Votes (5. 3.) ROP):

Notes on meeting process: no

3 - APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

Motion

Do we approve the minutes?

https://wiki.pp-international.net/wiki/index.php?title=PPI_Minutes_2026-04-14

{{{text}}}

Yes : Bastian, Keith, Bailey, Schoresch, Numero6

No :

Abstain :

Result: Minutes are approved.

4 - REPORTS

4.1 - Short reports of the board members

Board

Keith Goldstein:

I collaborated with our Wire and Discord groups to publish 4 blogs: Let´s Keep Android Open!, Age Verification Enforcement Concerns, April 18 is the founding day of Pirate Parties International, and 10 Years Since the Publication of the Panama Papers. The Age Verification blog went viral on X. I have been collaborating with PPEU on TT5. We now have a venue. We have already about 10 speakers who have applied. I will be attending the Global Solutions Summit in June with members of PPEU that is also about AI governance where we will also drum up support for TT5. I have been forwarding the call for speakers a lot in personal messages. Please help. We extended the deadline untile June 1st. I spoke with the PPEU tech and Pirates in Austria, Israel, Czech, and elsewhere about our tech predicament. They have drawn up cost effective proposals for us to migrate to a simple server. I received an offer from Proton mail for a shared NPO discounted email. We also have received other suggestions. I will share one of the more formal proposals today.

Gregory Engels: not present

Bailey Lamon: Nothing to report

Alexander Isavnin: not present

Sebastian Krone:

I monitored PPI technology as I do every day.

All patches are up to date. All systems are running smoothly except Etherpad (MyPads) due to a new version of PHP. The update to EP 2.6.1 was not approved by the PPI Tec team.

I also took care of a lot of things related to the termination of the technical contract,

I will report on my activities as treasurer in the "Economic Update"

As I already mentioned in the last Board meeting the contract with Denk Selbst e.V. has terminated the technical services contract effective June 30, 2026.

I asked for confirmation of the cancellation but haven't received a reply.

I need this confirmation for our liability insurance.

A new group must now take over everything and operate it in a way that ensures reliability and compliance with legal regulations. Our support ends on June 30, 2026, at midnight.

I don't see any efforts being made to ensure that these rather extensive tasks and services are carried out by new professionals.

Maycow Toledo: not present

Carlos Polo: not present

Grigorii Dizer: sent excuses, nothing to report

Alternates:

* Babak Tubis: arrived late

Schoresch Davoodi

Had some talk with Pierre Beyssac from PPFR on X about an Article for Pirate Times on Energy policy, had some talks with people about becoming speakers for thinktwice, be in contact with PP Estonia

Thomas Gaul

nothing to report

Numero6

I have informed the PPCH and HTTPS (formerly the Vaud Pirate Party) regarding TT5.

Bart Overkamp

He has been helping with TT5 and currently at a social event.

Kayra Kuyumcu

not present

5.1 - Proposals

Tech Migration Issue

Sebastian will send a letter about the termination of contract to board.

Kay proposes a decentralized solution.

Sebastian says that we have GDPR and we need to stick to the rules of GDPR. Decentralizing is a mess. It is not something that the Pirate movement should do.

Kay emphasizes that GDPR transparency is included.

Sebastian transparency is not privacy. We need to respect privacy. I will not support such feelings. We have for 12 years an organization that is functioning for the members.

Peer2peer movement does not make sense.

Discord is the same problem. You cannot use it for privacy. It is ok for anonymous conversations, but we need to be strictly according to the rules. You should think over what you have said.

Schoresch remembers a proposal to migrate to the German Pirate party, so that we would be independent from them, and they would help us. This is what I remember.

Kay there is no issue with information going outside when using P2P. I think it is a step forward into the future.

Babak: I can understand both of you. The proposal over transparency and GDPR and privacy. At the moment I do not have the view about decentralized versions of software that Kay proposed. It would be possible to have a decentralized system. We do have a Pirate IT in Germany. It would be possible to look at how we can use some IT hardware, and that is being looked at with the growing IT in Germany. Both ways in my view are open for check up. We have to figure out how to do the decentralized system and what software we would use.

Bailey: Privacy and transparency are both important. We need both. Our infrastructure needs to be private. We should be able to send a private message or private email. Privacy for the people, transparency for the powerful. We need to be transparent with our members. Our members should know how we are doing things and what we are doing. We need both.

Keith reviewed the email and server options, each are separate costs of around 200 to 300 euros a year, but we could not run all of the services.

Bastian thinks that PPDE does not have enough manpower to run the servers. They do not have the abilities to run all of the services that we have now. Make a decision of no Redmine, no Nextcloud, just an email and webserver, and you have cut the costs immediately.

Babak tomorrow we have a meeting of the IT in Germany. It would be nice to know the services that we have and what we need.

https://wiki.pp-international.net/wiki/index.php?title=Dashboard

Keith. Can we split the emails and the server for the website and services

Bastian: You need an admin for the emails.

Alternative options

https://soverin.com/product/pricing

https://migadu.com/pricing/

Bailey I would like to bring this decision to our larger membership so that they can vote on it. I would like to bring this to the GA to get their feedback and let them make that decision.

Summer GA

Setting a date

Motion

: Shall we set a GA on June 20, 2026

{{{text}}}

Yes : Babak, Maycow, Bailey, Keith, Bart, Schoresch, Numero6, Bastian

No :

Abstain :

Result: We will call the GA on June 20th.

Keith will send an email and make a blog on our website.

Please help sending emails to all of the parties.

Kay suggestion to celebrate Edward Snowden Day

Keith and Kay will write a blog about it.

5.2 - Working Groups Update

none

Dutch Pirates are trying to do working groups, and there is a lot of discussion on Mattermost.

Having a chat and a Mattermost record of everything. It is not going smoothly and we have a lot of difficulties. Any initiative is about someone taking control.

5.3 Economic Update

Bank accounts

1,487.43 CHF

85.22 EUR

PayPal

538.37 EUR

5.4 ECOSOC/UN

Kay tried to apply for Abu Dhabi.

IGF will be in Kenya.

5.5 PPI HQ update

The office is set up and running.

https://ppi.works/

Reminder:

As you know, the PPI Foundation have taken over the “Glaesernes Mobil” from PPDE to make it available to the Pirate movement.

Perhaps you have a few suggestions for the new design in purple and orange.

https://ppi.works/en/the-glass-mobile/

5.6 Blog Updates

Pirate Times

Schoresch

Interesting debate with PPFR.

Blogs

https://pp-international.net/2026/05/lets-keep-android-open/

https://pp-international.net/2026/05/stopageverificationenforcement/

https://pp-international.net/2026/04/foundingday/

https://pp-international.net/2026/04/panamapapers/

6 AOB - Any other business

Bart published an opinion on the EU proposal to ban VPNs. Any tech that is in the wrong hands, is also necessary, VPNs are very necessary.

🔥 Proton mail proposal, 15 addresses but one user, about 100 euros a year.

PPIL proposal of approximately 250 euros-year for server to host website and some apps.

Notes from meeting with PPEU tech:

https://migadu.com/pricing/ they have options from 19 euros to 300.

unlimited mail boxes

- protonmail, fastmail

- group instead of mailing list.

- https://www.hetzner.com/de/

10 to 15 euros month

crowdset

etherpad

outline (opensource notion)

bbb

mumble

mattermost (instead of slack, matrix)

- same backup server with PPEU

- we could use the PPEU Mattermost

- Discourse : board announcements

cloudflare protection, usa located.

Kay´s
Tech Proposals

Here is the proposal formatted as plain text for pasting into an online pad:

PPI Infrastructure Strategy: Counter-Analysis and Proposed Direction

1. Background

PPI currently depends heavily on a single external provider for its technical infrastructure.

This creates several long-term risks:

• dependency on one vendor • lack of internal control • no available system administrators • high maintenance requirements • low resilience in case of outages or political pressure

These issues limit PPI’s operational flexibility and contradict the organization’s core values of independence, transparency, and decentralization.

2. Counter-Analysis of Proposed Alternatives

The PPEU technical team suggested several possible alternatives.

A closer evaluation shows that none of these options address PPI’s structural needs.

Migadu (300 €/year)

• Professional mail hosting, but far beyond PPI’s needs. • Email is included for free in any standard web hosting package.

→ Unnecessary cost, no added value.

ProtonMail / Fastmail

• Excellent for individuals, but expensive and unnecessary for PPI.

→ Not suitable.

Hetzner server (10–15 €/month)

A server requires:

• updates • backups • security monitoring • technical responsibility

PPI has no system administrators to maintain such infrastructure.

→ Not viable.

Crowdset, Etherpad, Outline, BBB, Mumble, Mattermost

All of these tools require:

• servers • maintenance • updates • backups • administrators

They recreate the same centralization and workload problems we already face.

→ Technically and organizationally unsuitable.

Using PPEU’s Mattermost

This would place PPI in dependency on PPEU:

• no control • no autonomy • no exit strategy • unclear data governance

Discourse

Discourse is a forum system.

It is not suitable for internal work, but it is useful for public communication.

→ Not an infrastructure solution, but a helpful additional channel.

Cloudflare (USA)

• unnecessary dependency • US jurisdiction • not required for PPI’s needs

→ Not recommended.

3. Overall Conclusion

The proposed alternatives are:

• too expensive • too complex • too centralized • too maintenance-heavy • too dependent on external providers

None of them solve PPI’s core problems:

• lack of administrators • need for simplicity • need for independence • need for cost reduction

4. Recommended Direction: Minimal, Decentralized, Maintenance-Free Infrastructure

PPI needs an infrastructure that:

• requires no servers • requires no administrators • creates no dependencies • is cost-free or extremely low-cost • is easy for everyone to use • aligns with PPI’s values of decentralization and autonomy

A) Internal Communication → Keet, Jami, Briar (P2P) / Jitsi (recording)

• works like a normal chat • no servers • no maintenance • no costs • video calls • encrypted and resilient

B) Internal Documents → dDocs (P2P, browser-based)

• works like Google Docs • but without servers, accounts, or administration • ideal for minutes, drafts, strategy papers

C) File Sharing → IPFS Gateways

• decentralized content distribution • no infrastructure required • simple upload and share

D) Public Website → Standard Web Hosting

• inexpensive • stable • includes email for free • mediawiki suitable

E) Discourse (PPEU) → Optional Public Announcement Channel

PPI can use the PPEU Discourse instance specifically for board announcements.

• no cost • no maintenance • increased visibility • purely a public notice board

5. Transparency in a Decentralized System

Transparency does not require servers.

Transparency requires public access to information.

Public transparency channels:

• PPI website + wiki (primary location for minutes, reports, decisions, budgets) • Discourse “Board announcements” (secondary public channel)

Internal tools do not need transparency

Internal work happens in:

• Keet (Jami, Briar) • dDocs • IPFS

These tools are for drafting, discussion, and coordination.

Transparency happens after decisions are made, not during internal work.

Why this improves transparency

• no information trapped in private pads • no reliance on central servers • no technical barriers • easier publication of results • clearer separation between internal work and public communication

6. Final Recommendation

PPI should adopt a minimal, decentralized, maintenance-free infrastructure model:

• Internal work: P2P tools (Keet (Jami, Briar) / Jitsi (recording), dDocs, IPFS) • Public transparency: Website + Discourse (Board announcements) • Email: included with standard web hosting • No servers, no admins, no dependencies

This approach is:

• simpler • cheaper • more resilient • more independent • aligned with PPI’s values • easy for non-technical members to use

It is the only model that realistically fits PPI’s resources and long-term needs.

*Proposal from Kay based on a response from PPEU tech
PPI Infrastructure Strategy: Counter-Analysis and Proposed Direction