[Incubator] Governance and OSGeo Projects

[Daniel Brookshier]

I look at this as a recommendation and that these are good as such.  
The key though is that the project documents its governance model  
during incubation. It should also be clear that a gov model may  
change over time, and that any change should be documented.

Daniel Brookshier | Community Manager | CollabNet, Inc.
8000 Marina Blvd. Suite 600 | Brisbane, CA 94005 | USA
O 972.422.5261 | C 214.207.6614 | dbrookshier at collab.net


On Apr 11, 2006, at 3:33 PM, Frank Warmerdam wrote:

> Folks,
>
> I am wondering what our expectations are for Project Steering  
> Committees
> and how they operate.  I have been assuming we would encourage  
> projects
> to adopt something like the Apache style with a consensus based voting
> approach and a generally egalitarian approach for anyone accepted  
> into a
> PSC.
>
> In the case of MapServer we adopted RFC-1 defining the operation of
> the PSC last summer.
>
>    http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu/development/rfc/ms-rfc-1/
>
> Generally speaking it says that proposals for substantial changes must
> be written up as RFC's.  They are voted on, and any vote of -1 is a  
> veto
> as long as it has a reason.  If a proposal can't be revised to the
> satisfaction of the vetoer then the veto can be overridden with an  
> absolute
> majority of all eligible voters expressing +1 support.  New folks  
> joining
> the committee are handled by vote.  In case of a voting dispute,  
> the chair
> adjudicates.
>
> The RFC also details a variety of somewhat project specific things  
> like
> what requires a vote, and what does not.
>
> But the question does arise what principles we want to encourage and
> require in PSCs.   The MapServer (Apache) model is to try and be quite
> egalitarian among a set of self-selected PSC members.  For instance,
> Steve doesn't have any final control other than that the chair is  
> given
> final control if things "break down".
>
> Another approach is the so called Benevolent Dictator For Life (BDFL)
> approach used by many successful projects, such as Linux, Python  
> and till
> now GDAL.  In this model one person has ultimate control over the  
> project,
> though they are expected to use the power wisely so as to encourage
> participation by many people.  One advantage to this approach is  
> greater
> ease in maintaining coherency to a project.  Something that could
> potentially be lost in "committee rule".
>
> But the downside is that the BDFL might rather arbitrarily dismiss  
> some
> ideas that are important to the community, and potential contributors
> feel they have no redress when refused.  I'm sure that lots of folks
> trying to contribute to GDAL in the past have felt this way about my
> pig-headed resistance to some ideas.
>
> I see that for OSSIM Mark has written: "Garrett Potts is the  
> designated
> lead and has final say over software architecture implementation."  In
> this case I believe Mark intends a consensus based PSC but reserves
> the right of the chief architect (Garrett) to act to preserve the
> architectural coherency if needed.  Perhaps this is a bit like a
> constitutional monarchy.  :-)
>
> While Linus is a BDFL, he also uses the approach of devolving  
> responsibility
> to lieutenants for some areas of the kernel.  I believe this is  
> something
> like how GeoTools works, with a committee discussing issues, but  
> the code
> base split into modules which are the responsibility of module  
> owners.  On
> a less formal base this applies in most projects, with developers  
> generally
> expecting to be able to make minor non-disruptive changes to their  
> their
> own modules as needed without a lot of consultation.
>
> So, I am soliciting feedback from the incubator members on what  
> models of
> governance we should accept in foundation projects.
>
> Best regards,
> -- 
> --------------------------------------- 
> +--------------------------------------
> I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam,  
> warmerdam at pobox.com
> light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
> and watch the world go round - Rush    | President OSGF, http:// 
> osgeo.org
>
>
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