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

[Mike Frysinger]

On Monday 21 January 2008, Dan Moulding wrote:
> Given these facts, a logical inference is that it is probably not best
> for the current leadership to decide what form the foundation should
> take in the future. This is because this decision, whether it will be
> to put the reins in the hands of the SFC or SPI or whatever, is a
> decision that has the potential to have a very serious and lasting
> impact on the community as a whole. The current leadership, by their
> own admission, seem to lack the track-record that would indicate their
> qualification to make such an important decision on behalf of the rest
> of the community.

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.

> To an independent observer, it seems the only solution is to first
> allow the foundation's members to elect a new board of trustees.
> Although any newly-elected board might also not have a proven
> track-record, such a move would at least lend credence to the notion
> that the ultimate decision reflects the will of the community. Any
> actions taken prior to such an election, that would alter the course
> or composition of the foundation in a major way, would seem to be
> premature.

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 am I? I am not a member of the Gentoo Foundation. I'm simply a
> random user who used Gentoo for some time a couple of years ago and
> has recently returned. I can only say from my perspective that, as of
> right now, the Gentoo Project seems to have declined quite noticeably
> in overall quality (including documentation, website, community
> support, etc) since the last time I used it circa 2005.

these issues are generally independent of the trustees.  let's assume 
everything magically happened and the SFC/SPI were handling our legal 
affairs.  other than the fact they're now managing the paperwork, nothing 
else would have changed.  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.  nor have we made it the trustee's 
business to even track any of this.
-mike