Re: The role of the DPL in technical decisions
martin f krafft <madduck@debian.org> wrote:
> also sprach Matthew Garrett <mgarrett@chiark.greenend.org.uk> [2005.03.02.1=
> 448 +0100]:
>> Debian is run by its developers - the DPL exists in order to
>> ensure that the developers are able to make appropriate decisions,
>> not to make those decisions himself.
>
> Could you be a little more specific as to
>
> - what you think this currently entails
> - what you think this should entail
> - what you think this could (realistically) entail
I think analysing other people's approach to this in the past isn't
desperately useful, so I'll concentrate on what I'd like to do in this
respect. I'm not entirely sure about what the difference between the
other two points is - I think my aims in this respect are realistic, so
the answer would be pretty much identical.
What do I think this should entail? Again, this comes back to the two
main points in my platform:
1) Communication
People are not able to make good decisions about things if they don't
have all the information. Part of that is "What is the current
situation", and another part is "What would the consequences of this
decision be". The DPL should ensure that this information is available
to everyone concerned.
2) Consensus
It's hard to make decisions if we don't agree on certain basic issues.
Arguments about the best approach to ensure timely releases are
pointless if we don't have any agreement on what a timely release is. It
should be the DPL's role to push discussion on beyond repititious
argument.
There's one other aspect that wasn't really covered in my platform:
3) Leadership
The DPL needs to ensure that discussions happen. If something is going
to be a problem in the future, it needs to be discussed now. In cases
where nobody else is starting that discussion, the DPL should take the
initiative and do so.
To summarise - the DPL should do everything possible to ensure that a
decision is reached, and that people agree with that decision. Personal
beliefs should not get in the way of allowing that decision to be made.
--
Matthew Garrett | mjg59-chiark.mail.debian.vote@srcf.ucam.org
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