On Sat, Jun 26, 2010 at 8:00 PM, Jon Stanley <jonstanley@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > There have been recent discussions on this list surrounding the fact > that users feel left out of the Fedora decision making process. As the > Fedora leadership, we'd like to do nothing more than engage the user > community as key participants in constructive dialog around the > direction that Fedora Project takes. This sounds like a nice idea. The key for the Board to make it a reality is to engage the user community about issues that will affect it before they are decided. After a decision has been made you will only receive dialog that you won't find constructive. > As you may know, Fedora's strategic direction is led by the Board[1]. I really don't understand how the Board does this now but perhaps the Board might find this link helpful for doing it in a way that promotes more community buy-in in the future. http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page > In stark contrast with most boards, we encourage open and active > communications with all of our constituents, and cannot operate in > isolation. We hold public meetings twice a month, which anyone is > welcome to join (or read the transcript afterwards, if the time is > inconvenient or you otherwise cannot attend). Since when has the Board held two public meetings a month? At the public meetings I have attended over the years there has typically been 15-30 minutes, sometimes more, available for the community to participate by asking the Board questions. 15-30 minutes a month isn't really much time for constructive dialog with a community as large as the Fedora Project. Please explain the nature of these meetings and the opportunity it gives members of the community to participate. To what extent can those who join these meetings actively participate? > Most importantly, we also have a public mailing list, > advisory-board@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[2]. The Board strives to > conduct most of it's business on this list, save for that which deals > with sensitive legal or personal issues which cannot be discussed in > public. Is this something new too? I've been reading that list for years and I believe there are Board members who haven't posted 10 *words* to it all year. I see some cases where routine business is conducted there, like trademark use requests and occasional requests for feedback from the community about proposed changes. I don't see the Board deliberate any of the interesting problems facing it on that list though. I think it would be wonderful if that happened but my honest impression is that the Board is loathe to discuss anything that is actually interesting on that list because every time someone is brave enough to do it the Board quickly concludes that it is an ineffective vehicle for such discussions. And this is counterproductive because the community often concludes from it that the Board isn't really very interested in what community members think. > As we strive to create a culture in Fedora where constructive > engagement is preferred, and non-constructive engagement is strongly > discouraged, there will be discussions on this list as to how best to > achieve that goal. We welcome and encourage the community (that means > YOU!) to participate constructively in these discussions by joining > the list and providing input. Does this mean we are going to have more discussion on that list about toxic and poisonous people and community members who aren't poisonous can provide input? I would really like to see that discussion moved off-list as I find it to be poisonous to the community and very demotivating. The culture comes from what? The project's shared values? Goals? Practices? It can be created by setting good examples and passing on the values and practices of the community to new community members. Perhaps there are some communities within the Fedora Project where this education process is failing but I hope the Board begins to look at how to teach community members about our culture rather than how to punish it for misbehaving because in the long run only a community that really shares a culture will accept its norms. John -- users mailing list users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
