The biggest issue to me is that the Board of Directors should have a transparent process and be accountable to the OFS bylaws and membership, and right now I don't see that happening. I hope that the energy and passion on display at the moment will lead OFS community to push the organization in the right direction.

I think the discussion among the dissenters has moved well beyond the single, emotional issue of Jeff's termination. It seems to me that that event was a catalyst: that it brought out the voices of volunteers and members who had already been feeling dissatisfied with the direction of the organization and the accountability of the board.

Your question: "is one issue --Jeff's termination -- being used opportunitistically?" Hmm. I'd call it a "teachable moment" in that the way this decision was made by the Board, and their great reluctance to reveal the truth about that process, exposes dysfunction that many community members were not previously aware of.

I'm not holding my breath for a reversal of the decision, so I'd like to see Jeff's termination used as an opportunity to channel the energy into improving the organization. Yes, I have my opinions about what that improvement would look like. I'd like to hear more people move from saying "I can't believe they fired Jeff!" to saying "I can't believe they made a decision that way - what can we do to fix the process and ensure the board is accountable to us and to its bylaws?" I'd like to use this moment to widen the discussion with greater participation from the membership.

I don't think that makes me opportunistic.

edit: by "the way the decision was made", I'm referring to how the actual vote was conducted, manipulating the requirement for a quorum, violating standards for consensus.

As for why the decision was made, my feelings are fairly neutral because I don't know specifics of the incidents and previous attempts at solution.

However, the fact that the board was reluctant to tell the volunteers the truth about how the vote was conducted makes it hard for me to trust them on the rest of the reasoning behind the decision.  They might have made a good decision, but how do we know we can trust them?

Here's what Jeff had to say about OFS, according to the Olympian article on his firing:

http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/205537.html

Bartone said the goal always has been to provide media arts of an independent culture, but that does not mean economics wasn't important.

"We earned our keep," he said. "We prided ourselves in that. But we wouldn't put any old crap before the consumer."

Bartone said the society transformed Capitol Theater, which was a "derelict old theater on its last gasp."

He knows not everyone is a fan.

"It's a shaggy dog downtown that devalues real estate," he said.

Bartone said that although he's not happy about his Aug. 21 dismissal, "I don't wish the film society any injury."