Re: [gentoo-dev] Council meeting 19 April 2010

[Denis Dupeyron <calchan@gentoo.org>]

On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 4:30 PM, Richard Freeman <rich0@gentoo.org> wrote:
> Sure, it is the best way to make big changes

Why then use anything else than the best tool when you can use the
best tool? I didn't say that he should work on a GLEP though, but that
he should "feel free" to do so, which is different. That meant that if
he thought there was a point to it, was willing to do it, etc...

Just a note about this. The council could for example make the
decision to centralize all the documentation in a wiki, force the doc
team to use tools they haven't chosen or even take that responsibility
out of their hands. Basically step on their toes. Nice way to show
respect for all the hard work they've done for years. Or this could be
discussed on the relevant mailing-list(s) by everybody who feels
concerned, input from the whole community (including the doc team)
could be gathered, council members could chime in (I usually do),
dissenting opinions could be documented, a consensus could be reached
and then design decisions could be documented. See GLEP 1 for more
information on that work flow.

Gentoo has been driven by consensus since Daniel left, for better or
for worse. You might not like this way to work, but that's OK. I
didn't say I thought it was optimal either. All I know is I'm going by
the book, but it allows me to rewrite some pages when I don't like
them. The good news is that during the last meeting the council has
decided to initiate an overhaul of GLEP 39. I'm still gathering
material from various sources to start the discussions open to all
users and developers. At that point you'll have the opportunity to
suggest anything you think may improve the way the council works.

> However, the council can
> still show leadership in affirming their agreement on issues even if it
> isn't a formal affair.

We don't need a meeting for that. We can show leadership on the
mailing-lists everyday. What do you think I'm doing right now for
example? And by the way I don't believe that issuing a statement along
the lines of "Yep, we agree" shows any leadership at all.
Additionally, leadership is not about doing your job. You may want to
peruse the council meeting logs and summaries for examples of
leadership, and vote for real leaders next time if you think we suck.

> I'm sure every other town government in the Western
> World has taken a vote in support of their troops or something like that
> without going through the official lawmaking process and all that - it is
> just a gesture.

We've been down that road many times before, but let me say it again:
Gentoo is not a government, so any comparison to one is pointless.

> I don't have the time to create such a website although I would agree that
> it is sorely needed.  Hence, I will try to be careful in throwing around
> criticism - it is much easier to bring problems to the table than
> solutions...

Wise words, although constructive criticism is always welcome. In
order to be really constructive however, criticism needs among other
things to take into account goals, resources, history and rules.

Denis.