Hi all, Good questions Gerald, and my answers are in-line below.  FYI my bio is here: https://en.opensuse.org/User:Pfitzgerald -----Original message----- From: Gerald Pfeifer <gp@suse.com> Sent: Friday 12th January 2024 18:34 To: project@lists.opensuse.org Subject: Re: [Notice] - openSUSE Regular Board election 2023 - Start of Phase 1 - Update On Mon 2024-01-01, ish@sysadmin-journal.com wrote:

Voting will end on 15 January 2024.

I encourage you to ask the candidates questions about the project, their vision and ideas for the future.

This must be the most silent election we ever had? Four strong candidates for two seats. With nobody else asking any questions (and sadly quite some delay) allow me to ask some questions: 1. If you have been on the board before, what do you see of your key contributions related to that board role (not openSUSE as such)? What, if anything, would you change if awarded a time machine? The time machine is only required if members resist change... so assuming they don't: * Given the confusion even surrounding this election process, I'd say it would that an complete overhaul of the communications infra is in order.  * IMHO too much of the boards time last year was spent in member dispute resolution. This needs to change - possibly via an automated solution. 1'. If you have not been on the board before, what do you think you might have contributed (or done differently) based on your recollection of those past years? 2. What would you like to contribute specifically related to the board role? And what you see as opportunity cost, that is things you won't be able to cover (or cover less of) due to the board obligations? * I've had 30+ years of management and consulting experience. So I think that both are contributions. * I am lucky enough to be able to spare time for both the Geeko Foundation (https://geekos.org) and openSUSE, as much as a day or two weekly. 3. What are you biggest concerns about openSUSE (or you serving on the board) or risks for openSUSE? How would you tackle those? The openSUSE risks becoming irrelevant due to: * Lack of funding - which is why we started the Geeko Foundation. * Poor communications - as a relatively new member of openSUSE I've found it difficult to get information without asking around. It seems that I'm not alone in this. * Contributors come in all shapes and sizes, including donors, developers, marketers, artists, consultants and users. We need to build the organisation around that reality, or have Geeko take over that responsibility 4. If you had a blank voucher from the SUSE CEO for one wish, what might that be? Working with a small team from SUSE, openSUSE and Geeko Foundation build a low cost, supportable end-user solution that is certified on selected hardware from a couple of the largest vendors (HPE, Lenovo, Dell). I think this worth exploring, especially with the growth of browser based applications. SLED is too expensive and doesn't move fast enough. Whilst I there is a lot of resistance inside SUSE (t seems) I think my experience as an outsider would provide a different perspective. I hope to be lucky enough to receive your vote! /Patrick Thanks, Gerald