Thanks, Sulasailor, for clarifying the subtle or not so subtle differences between European and North American connonations with the word "association"! This would indeed explain some folks' outrage here.

And if Great Britain and Canada are already "two nations divided by a common language", who am I with German as her mother tongue and your common language being a foreign one to me?

It's all about communication. We seem to use a common language here, but we don't. Therefore we should read posts extra carefully and try to understand not only what the other poster wrote, but what he actually meant. Let's give each other the benefit of doubt!

Regarding the association, I agree we should respect the apparent majority here, but that does not mean to agree with them. Structure and founding documents would be beneficial as long as we look to it that the wording makes clear the informal character of the association, its aims and benefits.

We could set up a Google Docs document to draft something or at least put together some first thoughts and consolidate them there. I am still waiting for feedback from Chris, but I believe he has better things to do at the moment.

Andrea ("Powered by POET")