Re: Question to all candidates: how is Debian doing?
Hi Ted,
On Tue, Mar 29, 2022 at 1:39 PM Theodore Ts'o <tytso@mit.edu> wrote:
>
> I'll note that you spent a lot of time about how the council would
> appoint a chair and vice-chair, create bylaws, meet monthly, etc.
>
> However you didn't really answer the question regarding what the
> authorities that the Strategy Council would have. You've said that
> the strategy council would expand on your answers that were given in
> the top of this thread --- but then what?
>
> If the Strategy Council were to decide that a strategy might be, say,
> "a mouse should put a bell on the cat", how would that strategy be
> carried out? Debian is a volunteer organization ---- some have said,
> "do-ocracy". So I'm not sure what you, as the DPL, would do with the
> conclusions that might be made by such a Strategy Council?
In my reading of Lucas's original questions, he merely probed the
thinking of the candidates. Lucas did not express a concern that any
of us would fail for lack of authority. My responses were meant to
answer his questions.
At the same time, I will answer your questions as well.
The idea behind the committees is to establish, by experiment, that
two or more heads think better together than one alone. Large parts of
the project still operate according to the "strong maintainer" model,
so that's a significant paradigm shift. The committees provide a soft
counterweight that cares about the project as a whole. A better group
spirit alone will be a noticeable advance for Debian.
As to your specific concern about how strategic conclusions might be
used, a project leader can benefit from the advice in many ways. For
example, I would make sure that my own actions work for us in the long
term, and not against us.
As a passionate optimist, I may also need an occasional reality check
from our best and brightest. Since everything is public, all members
can do the same.
Perhaps most significantly, I hope to present the membership with a
wide range of novel and creative proposals. The findings of a Strategy
Council could create a sense of urgency—a rare sentiment in Debian—to
embrace new ideas.
In short, the Strategy Council will help us, as a group, to get
unstuck in many ways. That's how we will get stuff done.
Thank you for your challenging question!
Kind regards,
Felix Lechner
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