Hi,
First we would like to thank the Election Committee for getting the election process rolling and announcing the time schedule. [1]
For those of you considering candidacy for the openSUSE Board we thought that the following information may be useful to you.
As a member of the board you obviously volunteer your time and we know you will do the best you can in making a positive contribution. While the future is unpredictable it would be great if you can take a peek into the crystal ball and see if you feel comfortable with making a 2 year time commitment. During your time on the board you are expected to participate in most IRC project meetings and the board calls that take place every other week (currently scheduled for 1 hour on Mondays.) You are also expected to participate in a face to face board meeting that usually takes place in Nuremberg at the SUSE office over a weekend shortly after the new board is formed and you are expected to participate in the openSUSE conference (end of April 2014). Last but not least you need to form opinions about project related things that are brought to the boards attention and volunteer for board activities.
All of this is doable while working full time, obviously, but it has to be a priority.
Just some food for thought, Your openSUSE Board
[1] http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-project/2013-10/msg00063.html
On 28.10.2013 18:19, Robert Schweikert wrote:
Hi,
First we would like to thank the Election Committee for getting the election process rolling and announcing the time schedule. [1]
For those of you considering candidacy for the openSUSE Board we thought that the following information may be useful to you.
It is, thanks.
But in addition to these more general points I have a very concrete question: Will was saying in his resignment from the board position: "Thirdly, changes in how the openSUSE project is handled by SUSE shifted many new tasks to the Board."
Maybe I missed it, but I have no idea what this is about. I think this has to be explained a bit more in detail, not by Will but by the remaining acting board, as this affects a potential new board member directly.
What kind of tasks are these? Why are these board specific and can not be shifted to "the openSUSE community" in general? How can SUSE 'assign' tasks to the board at all? What kind of relationship do we have here meanwhile? What is the role of the board, what of the SUSE team (for example), what other "forces" play a role? What is the status quo and what is the plan?
This might sound like dump questions for insiders. But I personally find it extremely hard to stay on track on what is happening in the project. And as I am in the (rare) situation having moved from the "knowing everything what happens in openSUSE" as openSUSE Booster employee to "being an external guy" with time limited interest on openSUSE can assure all employees that you can by far not imagine how much you're cut off from everything if you're not (longer) an employee. (Old problem, still not solved, still being worked on? Offtopic... )
And stuff changes over time. So I think these are valid questions.
thanks, Klaas
As a member of the board you obviously volunteer your time and we know you will do the best you can in making a positive contribution. While the future is unpredictable it would be great if you can take a peek into the crystal ball and see if you feel comfortable with making a 2 year time commitment. During your time on the board you are expected to participate in most IRC project meetings and the board calls that take place every other week (currently scheduled for 1 hour on Mondays.) You are also expected to participate in a face to face board meeting that usually takes place in Nuremberg at the SUSE office over a weekend shortly after the new board is formed and you are expected to participate in the openSUSE conference (end of April 2014). Last but not least you need to form opinions about project related things that are brought to the boards attention and volunteer for board activities.
All of this is doable while working full time, obviously, but it has to be a priority.
Just some food for thought, Your openSUSE Board
[1] http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-project/2013-10/msg00063.html
Klaas Freitag wrote:
On 28.10.2013 18:19, Robert Schweikert wrote:
Hi,
First we would like to thank the Election Committee for getting the election process rolling and announcing the time schedule. [1]
For those of you considering candidacy for the openSUSE Board we thought that the following information may be useful to you.
It is, thanks.
But in addition to these more general points I have a very concrete question: Will was saying in his resignment from the board position: "Thirdly, changes in how the openSUSE project is handled by SUSE shifted many new tasks to the Board."
Maybe I missed it, but I have no idea what this is about. I think this has to be explained a bit more in detail,
Yes please.
Trying again,
Apparently on Saturday when I sent this previously the server was taking the day off, grmbl.
If you get the response twice, sorry for cluttering your mailbox.
On 11/01/2013 04:37 PM, Klaas Freitag wrote:
On 28.10.2013 18:19, Robert Schweikert wrote:
Hi,
First we would like to thank the Election Committee for getting the election process rolling and announcing the time schedule. [1]
For those of you considering candidacy for the openSUSE Board we thought that the following information may be useful to you.
It is, thanks.
But in addition to these more general points I have a very concrete question: Will was saying in his resignment from the board position: "Thirdly, changes in how the openSUSE project is handled by SUSE shifted many new tasks to the Board."
Maybe I missed it, but I have no idea what this is about. I think this has to be explained a bit more in detail, not by Will but by the remaining acting board, as this affects a potential new board member directly.
What kind of tasks are these? Why are these board specific and can not be shifted to "the openSUSE community" in general? How can SUSE 'assign' tasks to the board at all? What kind of relationship do we have here meanwhile? What is the role of the board, what of the SUSE team (for example), what other "forces" play a role? What is the status quo and what is the plan?
This might sound like dump questions for insiders.
These are certainly not dumb questions. They are very valid and not are not necessarily easy to answer.
Therefore let me ask for some patience while we answer your questions. Richard just moved to Nuremberg and has his first day in the office on Monday Nov, 4th. Vincent also moved into a new place this weekend and based on a recent G+ picture posted by Andrew he was dancing around in San Francisco to street music. Thus it'll take a few days for us to stick our heads together.
We will answer.
Thanks for your patience. Robert
Hi,
And here are the promised answers
On 11/01/2013 04:37 PM, Klaas Freitag wrote:
On 28.10.2013 18:19, Robert Schweikert wrote:
Hi,
First we would like to thank the Election Committee for getting the election process rolling and announcing the time schedule. [1]
For those of you considering candidacy for the openSUSE Board we thought that the following information may be useful to you.
It is, thanks.
But in addition to these more general points I have a very concrete question: Will was saying in his resignment from the board position: "Thirdly, changes in how the openSUSE project is handled by SUSE shifted many new tasks to the Board."
Maybe I missed it, but I have no idea what this is about. I think this has to be explained a bit more in detail, not by Will but by the remaining acting board, as this affects a potential new board member directly.
What kind of tasks are these?
One of the tasks that is planned is the management of a budget. At the board meeting in April at SUSE it was indicated that SUSE would like to have the board take over some financial responsibility. This is the "financial transparency" topic that has popped up every now and then and is of public record in the board meeting minutes from April. This is a task that can probably not be easily transferred to the community at large. Another task are the events. oSC13 was the first community organized event but SUSE was still heavily involved in choosing the location and deciding that this is the direction things should proceed, i.e. more control for the community. For oSC14 the board initiated the location search and made the decision of the location, rinse and repeat for oSC15. Organization of Hackathons has also been nominally transferred to the community, for those we have not found any volunteers yet to run the show. For any of the events the board does not want to assume organization responsibility, and this is not possible. For the organization of events it will always be necessary to have teams from the community handle the organization in mostly autonomous fashion. We also get a fair number of trademark requests that at some point were handled by SUSE. The unfortunate trend of separation of the openSUSE team from the community that many have noticed and mentioned in private mails to the board ML has also put the board into the position of being a conduit. Something we are mostly uncomfortable with, but that is the current situation.
Why are these board specific and can not be shifted to "the openSUSE community" in general?
Some tasks, such as the first three tasks given above are probably best handled by those the community elected rather than the community at large. Other tasks are being handled by the community, for example the event organization. While the board handled location search and the location decision, the community is in complete control of the organization of the event.
How can SUSE 'assign' tasks to the board at all?
This works on multiple levels. One way to "hand things over" to the board/community is via discussion, at the board level or the ML. Another way is of course by simply no longer performing the task.
What kind of relationship do we have here meanwhile?
A strained one. The transition from Boosters to openSUSE Team has not been easy so far and continues to be difficult. At least some of the community is aware of the difficulties as we have had issues raised on the board ML, we are trying to work on these. We would rather not address these in detail on the list to avoid bikeshedding and mud slinging.
What is the role of the board,
The role of the board is changing a bit but is still predominantly governed by the board charter and guidelines:
- stay out of technical stuff - be a steward of the guiding principles - help with conflict resolution - present community issues and concerns to SUSE as the primary sponsor - be the decision making power of last resort
What is obviously changing is the "decision making power of last resort" as we already have made decisions about oSC14 for example and if the financial transparency plan moves forward there will need to decision made about money.
Although the board has experienced an increase in decision making "power", that does not imply the board is also the executor of actions. As mentioned, in the end it is still up to the community at large to rally around the project, events etc. to make things happen. As such any decisions that can be transferred to the community at large will be transferred. No one on the current board has any interest of building empires or playing any hidden games. In the end the community at large needs to be in control of the project. That a few elected people from the community get together and make decisions about where a specific event will be located does not take away from the fact that the event, in this example is controlled and organized by the community and not those that were elected.
what of the SUSE team
We would like to see the openSUSE Team at SUSE mostly just like any other team in the community. However, the team does have somewhat of a privileged position as there is still a number of things that are directly controlled by the team, or team leader. The SUSE team presents a very concentrated force of people that can work in unison on openSUSE as a directed full time team. Thus, this can easily over power the efforts of a loosely connected group of volunteers that work in their "spare" time. Unfortunately the view about immersion of the SUSE team in the community, that the board feels would be most beneficial to all, is not necessarily shared.
(for example), what other "forces" play a role?
At the moment there are no other forces pulling on the board, or the project that we are aware off.
What is the status quo
That we still have many rough edges and we need to keep working to get to a better state of affairs.
and what is the plan?
We believe the plan of having more community responsibility is sound at its core. But obviously there is a can of worms of details, and a million different ways to get there. The details and the approach is where a lot of work is left to be done.
Hopefully this provides some of the insight you were looking for. We realize that we have been short on details in certain areas. This is in the interest in avoiding flames we probably do not need.
Thanks for raising the question, The openSUSE Board
On 05.11.2013 11:10, Robert Schweikert wrote: Hi Robert,
And here are the promised answers
Thanks, very good and on-the-point answers.
But in addition to these more general points I have a very concrete question: Will was saying in his resignment from the board position: "Thirdly, changes in how the openSUSE project is handled by SUSE shifted many new tasks to the Board."
Maybe I missed it, but I have no idea what this is about. I think this has to be explained a bit more in detail, not by Will but by the remaining acting board, as this affects a potential new board member directly.
What kind of tasks are these?
One of the tasks that is planned is the management of a budget. At the board meeting in April at SUSE it was indicated that SUSE would like to have the board take over some financial responsibility. This is the "financial transparency" topic that has popped up every now and then and is of public record in the board meeting minutes from April. This is a task that can probably not be easily transferred to the community at large.
I remember the topic and I agree that this should be handled by the board or maybe a very defined, responsible group of people.
Another task are the events. oSC13 was the first community organized event but SUSE was still heavily involved in choosing the location and deciding that this is the direction things should proceed, i.e. more control for the community. For oSC14 the board initiated the location search and made the decision of the location, rinse and repeat for oSC15. Organization of Hackathons has also been nominally transferred to the community, for those we have not found any volunteers yet to run the show. For any of the events the board does not want to assume organization responsibility, and this is not possible. For the organization of events it will always be necessary to have teams from the community handle the organization in mostly autonomous fashion.
Yes, and that does not work out yet, as you say. That's bad because openSUSE as a project and also as a distro needs the visibility.
We also get a fair number of trademark requests that at some point were handled by SUSE.
Yes, but that is not a new task which was recently shifted.
The unfortunate trend of separation of the openSUSE team from the community that many have noticed and mentioned in private mails to the board ML has also put the board into the position of being a conduit. Something we are mostly uncomfortable with, but that is the current situation.
Why are these board specific and can not be shifted to "the openSUSE community" in general?
Some tasks, such as the first three tasks given above are probably best handled by those the community elected rather than the community at large. Other tasks are being handled by the community, for example the event organization. While the board handled location search and the location decision, the community is in complete control of the organization of the event.
How can SUSE 'assign' tasks to the board at all?
This works on multiple levels. One way to "hand things over" to the board/community is via discussion, at the board level or the ML. Another way is of course by simply no longer performing the task.
What kind of relationship do we have here meanwhile?
A strained one. The transition from Boosters to openSUSE Team has not been easy so far and continues to be difficult. At least some of the community is aware of the difficulties as we have had issues raised on the board ML, we are trying to work on these. We would rather not address these in detail on the list to avoid bikeshedding and mud slinging.
Sure. This sounds scary to me. I think the most important question should be "how can we make sure to not loose relevance as a distro and as a FOSS project?". Every activity in and around openSUSE should meassure itself on that.
What is the role of the board,
The role of the board is changing a bit but is still predominantly governed by the board charter and guidelines:
- stay out of technical stuff
- be a steward of the guiding principles
- help with conflict resolution
- present community issues and concerns to SUSE as the primary sponsor
- be the decision making power of last resort
What is obviously changing is the "decision making power of last resort" as we already have made decisions about oSC14 for example and if the financial transparency plan moves forward there will need to decision made about money.
Although the board has experienced an increase in decision making "power", that does not imply the board is also the executor of actions. As mentioned, in the end it is still up to the community at large to rally around the project, events etc. to make things happen. As such any decisions that can be transferred to the community at large will be transferred. No one on the current board has any interest of building empires or playing any hidden games. In the end the community at large needs to be in control of the project. That a few elected people from the community get together and make decisions about where a specific event will be located does not take away from the fact that the event, in this example is controlled and organized by the community and not those that were elected.
Sure, good to read this clear statement.
what of the SUSE team
We would like to see the openSUSE Team at SUSE mostly just like any other team in the community. However, the team does have somewhat of a privileged position as there is still a number of things that are directly controlled by the team, or team leader. The SUSE team presents a very concentrated force of people that can work in unison on openSUSE as a directed full time team. Thus, this can easily over power the efforts of a loosely connected group of volunteers that work in their "spare" time. Unfortunately the view about immersion of the SUSE team in the community, that the board feels would be most beneficial to all, is not necessarily shared.
I see, and this points to a couple of old and hard to resolve problems.
and what is the plan?
We believe the plan of having more community responsibility is sound at its core. But obviously there is a can of worms of details, and a million different ways to get there. The details and the approach is where a lot of work is left to be done.
Sure. The problem is also if you ask for more control, you have to handle it with responsibility and work on it. That requires active people. On the other hand, people who are interested in that kind of work tend to leave the project if responsibility is _not_ shared because it becomes simply unattractive to them. There are alternative projects out there.
Hopefully this provides some of the insight you were looking for. We realize that we have been short on details in certain areas. This is in the interest in avoiding flames we probably do not need.
Yes, I appreciate the details you gave. Thank you! I hope that more people are interested in that.
We of course do not need flames, but I think we need to see clear about where the project is heading, and also what the big sponsor's ideas, impulses and influences are.
Thanks,
Klaas
On Monday 28 October 2013 13.19:12 Robert Schweikert wrote:
All of this is doable while working full time, obviously, but it has to be a priority.
I would like to have a rough but honest estimation of the time needed to achieve correctly the mission of board's member.
How many hours pro day / week / month. How the amount of time is distribute during the year if there's spikes of work
Thanks.
Hi,
On 11/04/2013 03:48 AM, Bruno Friedmann wrote:
On Monday 28 October 2013 13.19:12 Robert Schweikert wrote:
All of this is doable while working full time, obviously, but it has to be a priority.
I would like to have a rough but honest estimation of the time needed to achieve correctly the mission of board's member.
How many hours pro day / week / month. How the amount of time is distribute during the year if there's spikes of work
Thanks.
For the most part we estimate about 7 hours a week. Spikes do occur and we think that during those spike periods it can be as much as 15 hours per week.
We hope this helps. Your openSUSE Board
-
Bruno Friedmann -
Klaas Freitag -
Per Jessen -
Robert Schweikert