Re: [gentoo-project] Gentoo Council 2014 / 2015 election

[Rich Freeman]

On Fri, Jul 4, 2014 at 3:06 PM, Denis Dupeyron <calchan@g.o> wrote:
> You are perfectly right to speak publicly. The point I was trying to
> make in this email is very simple. The only good way of changing how a
> team operates, for better or worse, is to join it. Ordering people
> around without actually doing anything only works if you're the one
> signing the paychecks.

Nobody is issuing orders here.  I only advocate for ComRel and Infra
what I advocate for QA, and I've yet to hear anybody in QA complain
about being ordered around by the Council, or anybody on it.  When
things get stirred up I sometimes check in with them, and it is more
out of interest and care and a desire to help/support than any desire
to boss anybody around.

In my post I stated, "Please note that I'm not suggesting that anybody
is really trying to keep secrets here - it is just easier to have a
discussion and not write up minutes than it is to announce things on
lists, and so things probably happen that way."  The reason that I did
this was that I wanted to express my concerns with the structural
organization of Gentoo, and not the actual performance of the teams.
QA was an easy fix because it had basically gone inactive.  I think
that the design of ComRel and Infra is prone to problems, but that
doesn't mean that anything they do is guaranteed to fail.  Bad
algorithms can achieve good results, especially if they're run on good
hardware, but that doesn't change the fact that under other
circumstances they can fail.

I'm certainly not the only one who has raised concerns with Gentoo's
meta-structure.  I believe one of our Trustee candidates also
expressed an interest in trying to change things.  In any case, I'm
running for Council, and I think people have the right to know where I
stand.  That doesn't mean that I don't intend to be sensitive to the
teams I'd potentially advocate interfering with, and I'd encourage
ComRel/Infra members to express their own opinions on the issue.

>
> Have we reached a point where council members are such divas that they
> can't even be told when they missed a perfectly good opportunity to
> shut up?

So, this really isn't helpful.  My intent was to discuss an issue that
I think is important.  By all means disagree with me, even vigorously.
However, I don't believe I've done anything to earn personal criticism
in this thread.  At no point did I tell anybody to withhold criticism
of my ideas, or even of myself.  However, I also don't think that your
email really set the kind of tone that I, at least, like seeing on the
lists.

Nobody should be ashamed to speak up if they disagree with an idea,
and they should be even less ashamed to speak up if they have an idea.
Maybe making ComRel subordinate to the Council is a stupid idea,
certain to doom Gentoo.  I think it is more helpful to focus on the
idea/argument.  Or, just don't vote for me if you prefer.  Or heck,
just ping me and feel free to converse by email/IRC/etc.

Honestly, I was torn between just letting this thread die without a
response, or posting this.  I post this mainly out of the concern that
perhaps my original post communicated some kind of disagreement with
the work being done in ComRel and Infra.  That really was not my
intent at all - I just think that our meta-structure can be improved.
I know that is frustrating for any team to be criticized when the're
composed of volunteers that are in all likelihood conscientiously just
trying to do the best job that they can.

Rich