2018-02-10 18:06 GMT+01:00 Richard Brown <RBrownCCB@opensuse.org>: Hi, What a long email
Over the years, especially recent ones, openSUSE has appealed to a new generation of contributors.
What that exactly means?
* Any openSUSE contributor can apply to be a Member * The threshold for Membership will be reduced from "sustained and substantial contribution" to "a contribution and a desire to be a Member" (ie. not every contributor should feel compelled to engage with the Project in this way).
Doesn't applying already mean that someone has the desire to become a member?
* If the contribution can be automatically verified, they will automatically become a Member. (New tooling here will be required, but for example, a quick parse of the public mailinglists would be able to verify a good number of contributions, be they through bug reporting, package contributions, or support on the mailinglists)
* If they cannot be automatically verified, they need to be manually verified, but only require a single +1 vote from the Membership committee.
Does that also mean that the time for an application to be accepted will be decreased? It takes tooo long now. Who are the members of the Membership committee and how is it elected?
* Once becoming a Member, they can remain a member as long as they have an interest in the Project. - If ongoing contributions cease or the contributions cannot be automatically detected, Members will be asked by a bot if they wish to remain a Member.
This will mean that if a member doesn't contribute at all in 10 years, but he answers to the bot, he will keep being a member, right? This doesn't much really well with "those that do, decide", but more with "those that did in the past, still decide". I personally think that it someone didn't contribute at all for a long time, he is also not interested any more, even if he answer to a bot. Won't this leed to the same problem? I mean to reach the 20% threshold, or is it going to be removed?
So on balance we feel this is the best way forward to ensure openSUSE Membership is easy, engaging, and enables the Membership to more accurately reflect the Project as a whole.
Given the nature of this change, the Board would like the feedback and consensus of the Project as a whole.
I like the proposed change. Allowing people who contribute to decide, even if the contribution is small, is also a way to value their contributions. And it seems this will reduce the time that takes to accept an application as well. The only part I am not sure about is the fact that once someone become a Member, he can keep being a member for ever without contributing any more. But if I understood it correctly, this is already the case without the change. Regards, Ana -- Ana María Martínez Gómez http://anamaria.martinezgomez.name -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, email: opensuse-project+owner@opensuse.org