maybe i need to clairify:

i believe that the maemo community is a form of a Representative democracy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_democracy

and yes, the the maemo community cannot tell the board or council what to do, except for methods stated in the bylaws (elections are one way, i am unsure if there is a way for the community to force a referendum, but it is generally a good idea )


the community is free to give requests the board - but it is up to the board whether it will grant or decline it, unless their hand is forced by the community [i]using the bylaws.[i] the board also has a legal responsibility to act in the best interests of the body that elected it

the basic structure is essentially the same across all elected groups, from governments, the (elected) board of directors for a giant multinational company, or the (elected) committee that is organizing the fund-raising for the local pool. you elect whom you see fit. by electing them you give them both the authority and the responsibility for what you elected them to do, you cannot tell them directly what to do once they are elected without some prior agreement to back you up - in the case of an NPO ( i believe that is what HiFo is ) the agreement is in the bylaws

you are free to debate with them about the responsibilities you gave them and how things should be done. but you also also gave them authority,and the final decision is theirs unless the prior agreement lets you overrule them