From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: <gentoo-dev-return-4411-arch-gentoo-dev=gentoo.org@gentoo.org> Received: (qmail 1682 invoked by uid 1002); 8 Jul 2003 14:13:16 -0000 Mailing-List: contact gentoo-dev-help@gentoo.org; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk List-Post: <mailto:gentoo-dev@gentoo.org> List-Help: <mailto:gentoo-dev-help@gentoo.org> List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:gentoo-dev-unsubscribe@gentoo.org> List-Subscribe: <mailto:gentoo-dev-subscribe@gentoo.org> List-Id: Gentoo Linux mail <gentoo-dev.gentoo.org> X-BeenThere: gentoo-dev@gentoo.org Received: (qmail 3288 invoked from network); 8 Jul 2003 14:13:15 -0000 From: Grant Goodyear <g2boojum@gentoo.org> To: gentoo-dev@gentoo.org In-Reply-To: <20030708131844.GV17895@mail.lieber.org> References: <1057613345.3127.3.camel@localhost> <20030708131844.GV17895@mail.lieber.org> Content-Type: multipart/signed; micalg=pgp-sha1; protocol="application/pgp-signature"; boundary="=-DZ2hnip9bVyXPQq9j0MM" Message-Id: <1057673517.12411.27.camel@localhost> Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Ximian Evolution 1.4.0 Date: 08 Jul 2003 10:11:58 -0400 Subject: Re: [gentoo-dev] New GLEP -- New ombudsman position X-Archives-Salt: 2da0d24f-6879-4c68-8a73-518182817de9 X-Archives-Hash: ed46c7f9e4b65d9ab358cecf12e152f9 --=-DZ2hnip9bVyXPQq9j0MM Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On Tue, 2003-07-08 at 09:18, Kurt Lieber wrote: > > This GLEP proposes that we extend the current proposed management > > structure by adding a position of Ombudsman that would fall under > > devrel, qa, and pr. An ombudsman is one who has been assigned to=20 > > *impartially* investigate complaints and settle disputes. >=20 > Settle how? Does this position (as proposed) have any power to make > decisions or is it more intended to try and find a common ground through > discussions and negotiations? Replace "settle" with "mediate", as the ombudsman has no actual power other than persuasion; it's intended entirely to facilitate finding common ground through discussions and negotiations (good phrase; mind if I use it?). > When is it appropriate to use this ombudsman? How does one contact the > person? Are disputes logged and/or public? In principle it is appropriate to use an ombudsman at any time, which one can do simply by sending an e-mail to ombudsman@gentoo.org. A user who's ticked because her bug has been sitting on bugzilla for three months can send the ombudsman an e-mail, as can developer Y who's finally had it w/ developer X changing the ebuilds that Y maintains without consulting Y first. The ombudsman's first job is to listen, and then to try to mediate a solution. In practice ombudsmen tend not to be overwhelmed because people generally have to be pretty upset to go to the effort of complaining to an ombudsman. Of course, it's just those people who are likely to create significant havoc if things are allowed to blow up. All that said, ombudsmen are hardly a panacea, since some disputes simply cannot be resolved effectively. Even so, an ombudsman might be able to mediate so that the parties affected can go their separate ways _without_ rancor, but maybe not. As for whether or not disputes should be public or logged, I have my own thoughts, but I'm willing to go with the prevailing wind on this one.=20 My feeling is that disputes should be logged by the ombudsman (it's very hard to investigate w/o having the facts in front of one, and if the dispute should recur it would be helpful to have a record of what happened before), but that they should not be public unless the parties involved make it public. =20 I hope that helps. Please feel free to be harshly critical, as it's always possible that there are serious details that I'm missing. -g2boojum- PS. I should note that the role of the ombudsman is to mediate interpersonal disputes, not policy disputes. Policy disputes are better handled by GLEPs, since they really _do_ need to be public. --=20 Grant Goodyear <g2boojum@gentoo.org> --=-DZ2hnip9bVyXPQq9j0MM Content-Type: application/pgp-signature; name=signature.asc Content-Description: This is a digitally signed message part -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (GNU/Linux) iD4DBQA/CtEtptxxUuD2W3YRAvsQAJioYt9HZhAVCkxF05Z1PYWQhUD1AJ4sVSKW nV7cRZvqcNmpU79SlhVLJQ== =wOzk -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --=-DZ2hnip9bVyXPQq9j0MM--