Re: General Resolution: Diversity statement

[Charles Plessy <plessy@debian.org>]

Le Tue, May 08, 2012 at 05:57:40PM -0400, Michael Gilbert a écrit :
> 
>     Q: What will be the procedure for maintaining/updating the statement,
>     once voted?
>     A: The gist of the statement will be fixed by the GR. But in order to
>     avoid needing a vote for every minor tweak, language improvements
>     can be applied by the -www team as for other parts of www.d.o and
>     more substantial changes, that do not change the spirit, can be
>     discussed on -project.
> 
> Given that this statement is absent in the actual GR text to be voting
> on, are voters to assume it will or will not have any bearing on the
> outcome of the vote?
> 
> Personally, I think it should not; although I'm sure opinions will
> vary.  Given that, I don't think its possible to say one way or
> another.
> 
> So, in order to have a definitive conclusion on this matter, shouldn't
> it be included in the actual GR text, or as an alternative, or as an
> amendment?

Hi all,

I hope that our constitution has the answer to that question.  If a GR needed
self-locking dispositions, that would go against the idea of having a
constitution at all.  My personal opinion is that for things that should not be
changed apart with a GR, the Constitution offers the status of Foundation
Document.  So if the diversity statement is not a foundation document, I do not
see what would forbid to change it after the GR.

One problem is that the defintion of "position statements about issues of the
day" (section 4.1.5) is not clear.

Much of the driving force for this GR to be voted is its ceremonial aspect,
otherwise we would be also voting on Debian's "Posiiton on Software Patents",
and would be digging our past decistions to see if in retrospect they need a GR
as well (I am not advocating that).

If a "position statement" is more somthing like official press releases than a
law, then there would be no problem changing the diversity statement as long as
it is not in a way that suggests that the updated version is the one voted in
2012.

Perhaps native speakers, experienced members, or our Secretary can clarify what
"position statements about issues of the day" means, and what is the
consequence of having "issues of the day" limiting "position statements".

Have a nice day,

-- 
Charles Plessy
Tsurumi, Kanagawa, Japan