[Incubator] GeoNetwork motioned for graduation

[Arnulf Christl]

Jody Garnett wrote:
> Incubator list:
> 
> I move that we recommend the GeoNetwork project to the OSGeo Board for 
> graduation, with Jeroen Ticheler acting as the project representative.
> 
> The GeoNetwork project has been diligent in meeting incubation 
> requirements. I have been especially pleased to watch the project 
> steering committee form and start making decisions in public (including 
> the decision to apply for graduation at this time).
> 
> The provenance review and incubation status links are here:
> - http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/GeoNetwork_Provenance_Review
> - http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/GeoNetwork_Incubation_Status
> 
> Jody Garnett

Hi,
if this needs a second I am willing to give it. Very nice work, well prepared and from what I can see I have no objections to see GeoNetwork graduate aoon. But I have a few comments.

== License ==
There is a slight diff between the current GNU GPL and the text used in GeoNetwork (as listed here: http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/GeoNetwork_Provenance_Review). In the latter case there is a reference to the website only whereas in the original a postal address is given. 

<original>
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA
</original>

<geonetwork>
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
</geonetwork>

This is not a real world problem but legally it means that you are not using the GNU GPL. 

== Copyright ==
I do not know what implications UN Copyright ownership might one day have for us. From experience this kind of large organization might one day find out that they have taken a strategic decision for some proprietary vendor resulting in reduced support for an Open Source project. This has recently happened with the IOSN (International Open Source Network) where the UN association has been discontinued. 

In such a case it would be nice to know that OSGeo could get a license or copyright assignment or - better even - full copyright ownership. There are convincing examples to point at, one being Autodesk's donation of MapGuide Open Source copyright to OSGeo or Google's donation of KML copyright to the OGC.


== PSC and Governance ==
Comments and Questions on: http://trac.osgeo.org/geonetwork/wiki/PSC

Detailed process:
   1. Proposals are written up and submitted on the geonetwork-dev mailing list for discussion and voting, by any interested party, not just committee members.
# Does this mean that anybody can also vote (not only discuss)? There is some potential in this passage if a malicious group wants to take over. Is a quorum required? What is the minimum +1 needed to pass a motion. Imagine someone posting a hairy proposal in the afternoon of December 24th and make it pass December 26th. 

   2. Proposals need to be available for review for at least two business days before a final decision can be made.
# That seems a very short time to me. I would not be able to review that quick. Suggestion to make it at least three and add "business days". 

   3. Respondents may vote "+1" to indicate support for the proposal and a willingness to support implementation.
   4. Respondents may vote "-1" to veto a proposal, but must provide clear reasoning and alternate approaches to resolving the problem within the two days.
   5. A vote of -0 indicates mild disagreement, but has no effect. A 0 indicates no opinion. A +0 indicate mild support, but has no effect.
   6. Anyone may comment on proposals on the list, but only members of the Project Steering Committee's votes will be counted.
   7. A proposal will be accepted if it receives +2 (including the proposer) and no vetos (-1).
   8. If a proposal is vetoed, and it cannot be revised to satisfy all parties, then it can be resubmitted for an override vote in which a majority of all eligible voters indicating +1 is sufficient to pass it. Note that this is a majority of all committee members, not just those who actively vote.
# Who are "eligible voters"? (see above q. wrt to quorum)
   9. Upon completion of discussion and voting the proposer should announce whether they are proceeding (proposal accepted) or are withdrawing their proposal (vetoed).
  10. The Chair gets a vote.
  11. The Chair is responsible for keeping track of who is a member of the Project Steering Committee.
  12. Addition and removal of members from the committee, as well as selection of a Chair should be handled as a proposal to the committee. The selection of a new Chair also requires approval of the OSGeo board.
  13. The Chair adjudicates in cases of disputes about voting. 

Who is the TSC? It is only mentioned once here:
http://trac.osgeo.org/geonetwork/wiki/release_strategy


Currently it is possible to edit all pages in the Trac Wiki including this one: 
http://trac.osgeo.org/geonetwork/wiki/PSC
with the standard OSGeo user account. Maybe this page should be copied to a more restricted place (geonetwork.osgeo.org) or it should be write protected (thought I doubt that Trac allows for this).

As far as I am concerned none of these issues are blockers but I would like to see them addressed or acknowledged before giving my plusone. 

Best regards, 
Arnulf.