From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from pigeon.gentoo.org ([208.92.234.80] helo=lists.gentoo.org) by finch.gentoo.org with esmtp (Exim 4.60) (envelope-from <gentoo-project+bounces-878-garchives=archives.gentoo.org@lists.gentoo.org>) id 1O5A6H-0003Lj-AI for garchives@archives.gentoo.org; Fri, 23 Apr 2010 04:02:59 +0000 Received: from pigeon.gentoo.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with SMTP id DBB78E0883 for <garchives@archives.gentoo.org>; Fri, 23 Apr 2010 04:02:44 +0000 (UTC) Received: from smtp.gentoo.org (smtp.gentoo.org [140.211.166.183]) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id CE298E086C for <gentoo-project@lists.gentoo.org>; Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:27:52 +0000 (UTC) Received: from [192.168.1.66] (bl12-236-194.dsl.telepac.pt [85.245.236.194]) (using TLSv1 with cipher DHE-RSA-CAMELLIA256-SHA (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by smtp.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C6C081B4084 for <gentoo-project@lists.gentoo.org>; Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:27:51 +0000 (UTC) Message-ID: <4BD113B0.40102@gentoo.org> Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:27:44 +0000 From: "Jorge Manuel B. S. Vicetto" <jmbsvicetto@gentoo.org> User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux x86_64; en-US; rv:1.9.1.9) Gecko/20100411 Thunderbird/3.0.4 Precedence: bulk List-Post: <mailto:gentoo-project@lists.gentoo.org> List-Help: <mailto:gentoo-project+help@lists.gentoo.org> List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:gentoo-project+unsubscribe@lists.gentoo.org> List-Subscribe: <mailto:gentoo-project+subscribe@lists.gentoo.org> List-Id: Gentoo Project discussion list <gentoo-project.gentoo.org> X-BeenThere: gentoo-project@lists.gentoo.org MIME-Version: 1.0 To: gentoo-project@lists.gentoo.org Subject: Re: [gentoo-project] [GLEP 39 overhaul] Do we want to make changes to the role of the council? References: <j2k7c612fc61004171650tefa1f2f9nfea80ebd6185953f@mail.gmail.com> <4BCAF3CF.1030605@gentoo.org> <4BCF97D7.6000501@gentoo.org> <4BCFA515.3070600@gentoo.org> <4BD035D6.2000303@gentoo.org> <4BD0C5E4.6040405@gentoo.org> In-Reply-To: <4BD0C5E4.6040405@gentoo.org> X-Enigmail-Version: 1.0.1 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Archives-Salt: af5e7b0a-07a5-46cd-8f62-4117e00c978a X-Archives-Hash: 4106c8f9265bbdde269be858ba0af097 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 22-04-2010 21:55, Richard Freeman wrote: > On 04/22/2010 07:41 AM, Jorge Manuel B. S. Vicetto wrote: >> My concern here is the idea that the council should be able to "disband" >> a project or turn it around 180 degrees. If we open the door to this, >> then we'll be throwing away the principles that any developer can create >> a project, that a team acts as its members choose to and that in the end >> some choices fall to those who do the work. > > Not at all - developers could still do all of this, as long as they > don't do anything so drastically bad for the distro that the council > would need to step in. > > The council should of course use discretion in its actions, and it > should always just talk to somebody before they go booting people/etc. > >> Besides, if the council >> were to "disband" a team or try to force a policy on it, how do you >> think that would work if there were no team members left and no one >> stepped up? > > Again, a good reason for the council to use discretion. However, in > some cases it would be better to not have a team at all than to have a > team acting contrary to the overall distro's interests. > >> Finally, in extreme cases, the council can also have a word >> regarding individual developers and or projects. > > How? This is exactly what I'm proposing - that in extreme cases the > council can intervene directly as needed. If the council can't do this, > then how can they "have a word" unless you literally mean nothing more > than words. I read your proposal as giving unlimited powers to the council without some form of check and balances. I gather from your last reply that you want to ensure they have enough leeway to be able to act, but that they should only do it in extreme cases. It seems there's room to try to find a balance. >> Gentoo isn't exactly a "democracy" and therefore such comparisons >> usually are not adequate for us. > > Perhaps not purely so, it is a bit more of a meritocracy, but it is > essentially democratic. I don't see why democracy is a bad thing, as > long as it doesn't involve those who don't do anything wielding power > over those who do. Having at least a little control over the membership > roles should mitigate this. I don't think democracy is bad, I just wanted to highlight that not everything in Gentoo is subject to democratic rules. >> Gentoo (the distribution) is not a Corporation, so that comparison isn't >> adequate as well. > > What is a corporation? It is essentially a body of people aligned to a > common purpose. The same governance models apply to everything from > businesses to clubs to professional organizations to churches to > parliaments. Perhaps all these organizations have figured out that this > model works fairly well - or at least better than the alternatives. > Honestly, I don't really see what cohesive alternative you're offering > other than a loose confederation with oversight by closed bodies. You have a point as I haven't submitted any alternative yet. I do want to submit a proposal but I'm still thinking about it and evaluating old thoughts about Gentoo's meta-structure. >> But Developer Relations isn't a "Boy's Club" or the only "not so open" >> group in Gentoo. There's also User Relations. The infrastructure team, >> for its own responsibility and abilities, as far as I know, has always >> invited members in and doesn't have open membership. To a certain extent >> the QA team has worked that way too and I'm sure most of us would like >> QA members to exhibit certain qualities. Then there's PR. > > I don't think that any of these organizations are doing a bad job. I'm > not sure they should be open to anybody who wants to sign up. However, > there should always be oversight. That is really all I'm proposing. > Having council oversight actually frees up these organzations to not > feel as beholden to admit devs at large, since the council can hold them > accountable. > > In the end there will always be oversight - right now it isn't written > down, but in the end SOMEBODY or some group is in charge. I guess it > effectively is whoever has root on the servers, or perhaps the trustees > since they can determine who can use the name Gentoo. All I'm saying is > that we should realize that governance is necessary and set up the best > form of governance we can have. I agree fully with you about oversight. I don't think any project on Gentoo can and should be able to run without oversight. My question is about what type of oversight and what tools it should have at its disposal. >> A former council did have some influence, not directly in the KDE >> project, but by having DevRel evaluate and act on one of its members - >> at the time the Lead. That action did had a profound impact in the >> project - it almost killed it and it took a long time for KDE to get >> back in shape. > > And in the end, was Gentoo as a whole better off or worse off? Sometimes > you need to take a step back to take a step forward. I have no idea > what the specifics of this situation were, so I can't comment on whether > I agree or disagree with what the council did. However, if a key > contributor to Gentoo is doing more harm than good by driving others > away, then it might be better for them to not be around. I purposely avoided making a judgement about that decision. All I wanted to do is to pick in an example from a team you mentioned to highlight the consequences the type of council decisions we're talking about may have. > Donnie gave a good talk to this effect: > http://www.mefeedia.com/watch/21519531 I know his talk and some older talks about the same issue. The type of behaviour at stake is something that in the short term falls under either Developer Relations or User Relations. A discussion about what to do in the long term was started by previous Councils, but a conclusion wasn't reached. >> To be clear, I do want the Council to have influence over Gentoo, but I >> don't like the idea of "carte blanche" and therefore am concerned about >> the degree and method by which the council should "leverage" its >> influence. > > Well, are there any alternatives short of the Council being able to do > nothing but ask people nicely to not destroy the distro? I'm fine with > checks and balances, but in the end somebody needs to have the final > say, and I'd rather see that be a body elected by all - either the > trustees or the council. I don't have any alternatives yet, but that's what I'd like to find. > Maybe there are some ways to address the concern of a runaway council. Yes, that may be part of the solution. > Rich > - -- Regards, Jorge Vicetto (jmbsvicetto) - jmbsvicetto at gentoo dot org Gentoo- forums / Userrel / Devrel / KDE / Elections -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.15 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iQIcBAEBAgAGBQJL0ROwAAoJEC8ZTXQF1qEP8FoQAMPpJ7ZeVIxczYlzor5Phhwh eyqNRRnEwupoM64ozm45g1u4Cy/R2++aPgbJQQ6Xw+8I0iHdf2mFTyCWmeLAQbdc UtzIehsZI/PaVehhaYz6WuvY/EAsWFQBWCRDjMb9mAim5DES/Q0nyh7C051ROb58 jbwJ8832xwLLYU0kNoMw81GYBNsBKED+MkAlhKvxIJ53VrcwtSdBM/6Kc0udcVCa CxzxhQeWvtT/CSz1ggx+fE1gmOpzSDiBCmSjYB0WNorMxSkPiZLRzfLlB1sQt8YQ wyZTzLOFQhnqMBwC6qK4KZXmTaLE2n92GNMuyiD9Ts31QBD8nnvoJjOt5cHjQfGt DToYyg4gb25QjbNlccmcsVrUl2WdhtOjekhqqRvpE5VIM5oqByTlmL3wA/0+1ijq Gp5r4GsShLaTOKRmAlYabA51MXknsk+TTN/5MS4UuI5VY9tMsC99l2azbLOf5xKd kE8J5di3uDeFSzBMpSYX1iILgkw/TR5DoIphYfs7ejysCy5i4//yfhMWJFFeppaK CzijcN3MbwUvqxa9cEi6QE4byLzje1NfUekCragtOfI4N8r9c5J3ymwa9ZSVsKBt Kzoh7vRuuWWRyIUhOoyLSgX426SZutVZ+uZtAk0fW/1jhZX9klsTR6+VWaygz6Yc 1lFVBWhQQFfF1K3TtaPN =Szcn -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----