Re: [gentoo-nfp] One Outsider's View

[Dan Moulding]

> the developer base has been discussing how to proceed forward while the
> current trustees (current leadership as you put it) merely take the steps.
> the discussion of SFC/SPI/whatever is not limited to the trustees at the
> moment.

Is the entire developer base participating in this process? Or are
only a few? It seems like there has been a relatively small number of
people actively participating in this discussion over the past week
(at least on this list, which is where Grant asked for this discussion
to take place).

Having all of the members elect leaders who will ultimately make the
final decision is the best way to ensure that every person who
deserves to have a say gets their chance.

> what are you defining as the "foundation's members" ?  the Gentoo developer
> base are the people who elect the trustees.  at the moment, voting in a new
> board wouldnt change the situation we're in and wouldnt change the discussion
> of how to move forward as all developers are taking part in it.

"Who are these members?  It's anybody who voted in a previous
Trustee election, and all current Gentoo devs who have been a developer
for one year at the closing of the election poll and actually vote in
the election.  The Gentoo Foundation has a _lot_ of members."
    -- Grant Goodyear

Perhaps this definition of "foundation members" and your definition of
"Gentoo devloper base" are the same thing. You are right that voting
in a new board wouldn't change anything. Part of what I'm trying to
point out here is that maybe *nothing* should change until after a new
board is elected. Allowing the current decision makers to make the
next few critical choices, which could alter the course of the
community significantly and permanently, might not be such a good idea
considering the track record and how certain things have been allowed
to deteriorate up to this point.

> it still takes people to step up and improve
> quality, write new ebuilds, update documentation, write new documentation,
> maintain the website, be nice to people, track the forums, etc...  these
> issues are not tied to the legal status.

You are correct in terms of the actual mechanics of getting these
things done. The above list of things can be done whether or not a
Gentoo Foundation even exists. However, when headlines like "Gentoo In
Crisis" hit the frontpage on Slashdot because the legal side of things
isn't going the way it's supposed to, it kinda hits the whole
community in the gut... not just the people who are actually running
the foundation. Regardless of whether the headlines are true or just
sensationalist, it can have (has had?) an impact on the morale of the
community. So, no, these two functions aren't totally separate. What
happens to one can certainly affect the other.
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