On Sat, Mar 22, 2014 at 02:23:30PM +0800, Paul Wise wrote: > Please imagine a Debian without the DPL position. How would it be > better, how would it be worse, how would things work differently, > would it be desirable? > Hi Paul, I think there's a couple of aspects to this, one from an external project perspective, and one from an internal one. Externally, the DPL role is one that's useful for an interface between Debian and various organisations. This ranges from press, other organisations, and trusted organisations. Without a DPL, it would be quite difficult to have some speak on behalf of Debian in an authoritative way. As press officer, I've issued statements on behalf of the project for some issues, but this is restricted to the view of the project as a whole, so can be limited to "the project has made no final decision yet", or "developer X says Y". The DPL has a mandate to say things which allows them to be a bit more specific. From a practical point of view, SPI needs someone to approve expenses - I can't think of a simple way of this happening without a DPL. Internally, the DPL is someone who can coordinate and communicate. Talking to other developers, and ensuring that teams aren't being blocked by issues is a key role. Would this still all be possible without a DPL? Yes, but I think it would be improbable without someone *acting* in the DPL role, even if they're not officially elected to it. Recommended reading includes The Starfish and the Spider[0], I would recommend it for those interested in decentralised organisations :) Neil [0] http://www.starfishandspider.com/ --
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