[gentoo-dev] Re: Council manifesto of sping

[Duncan]

Arun Raghavan posted on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:43:42 +0530 as excerpted:

> b) For questions like "- Should Python 3.x be stable?", isn't that for
> team leads to decide? And for the council to resolve in case of
> conflicts?

Wouldn't the point for specifically pointing out python 3.x as an example, 
that there is in fact quite some conflict on it, as demonstrated by the 
threads discussing it right here?  If I'm not mistaken, sping has in fact 
mentioned that as an example in his "tone" thread, as well.  If I read him 
correctly, the implication is that before it got to the level it did, 
council should have voted on it, thus providing a final answer, as an 
alternative to the simmering level of discontent that's not quite at the 
boiling over point, that we seem to have with the situation now.  He does, 
after all, make a strong statement in favor of an "activist" council.

> c) For questions like "- Should developer X be banned?", would you be
> willing to do this if it meant a lot of washing of dirty linen in
> public, or protracted flamewars (and other reasons why we have a bunch
> of level-headed people in place to deal with this calmly and quietly)?
> If no, where would you draw the line? If yes, how would you deal with
> the fallout?

Leaving the question of public or not aside (I've mixed thoughts on that), 
if it /is/ to be public, a list other than -dev is IMO a must.  I'd also 
suggest that it be moderated for non-devs, with a moderator alias to which 
users can write, with any mod-alias-subscribed dev having the authority to 
forward to the list.  A specific mod can volunteer/be-assigned so there's 
"someone at home", with the understanding that other devs may subscribe to 
the mod alias and forward if they wish.

This is based on experience with the council list, which is public but 
read-only (as I think is appropriate) on gmane.  Occasionally, I've 
replied to individual authors, but a moderator alias would be useful there 
as well.  If no one on the mod alias then believes my post (and those of 
other users) worth forwarding to the list, so be it.

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman