Wow, you people reply a lot.

On the topic of the spit accounts, yes, TMO was once a separate thing, and for the most part still is. But even things that are all part of the "one thing" have separate logins and such (garage, bugs, etc). This is in part because most existing tool chains and such didn't (and still don't) use mechanisms to link into existing user databases, like LDAP.

Karma has served a number of purposes, not the least of which is preventing people from making a crap-ton of fake accounts and using those to vote with. Most people won't bother setting up a fake account (on TMO and Maemo.org) and then making 100 posts to get enough Karma to vote. It also sets up a balanced field for those that don't chatter much on TMO, but do help the community in other way, like wiki edits, development, blogging, bug tracking, testing, etc.

While both systems are imperfect, they've helped the community a lot. And finding replacement mechanism for either could be a rough task.

As for the next Council being tasked with that task, I should have been more clear. The next Council *may* be tasked with that, since the infrastructure for Maemo.org may be changing (including TMO), due to funding. Any changes to membership level stuff (by the current Board bylaws, and by existing Council rules) is all handled by Council, via referendum to the community.