Re: Minutes for Board Meeting 2002-09-24

[Glynn Foster <glynn foster sun com>]

Hey there,

Since I've previously been on the membership committee I figured I
should weigh in with my own opinion ;)

> > 	  * Jim proposed simple guideline
> > 	      'If you have ever contributed to GNOME and wish to be a
> > 	      member you can be a member'
> > 	      = Unanimous agreement by those present
> > 	      = The key element is 'desire to be member', interpretation
> > 	      of 'contribution' should be lax, including QA, usability,
> > 	      and advocacy.

I completely disagree with this, and I certainly don't think it is in
the Foundation's best efforts to promote this course of direction. While
I definitely agree that we should be a community that should open its
arms to contributions of all kinds, I believe that we should maintain a
membership who are firmly committed to the cause of the project - 

	o committed to making sure that the desktop gets used on systems
	  right across the world, succeeding in its goal to provide a
	  free alternative desktop
	o working with similarly dedicated people, sharing ideas and
	  implementations
	o keeping the energy and enthusiasm alive within the community

So many contributions to GNOME are from 'one time' contributors who are
simply 'scratching their itch' - they might use GNOME on a daily basis,
but certainly don't have the time nor dedication to contribute more.

I would much rather we see an active membership, people who are involved
in the project on a regular basis and believe they have something to
contribute.

On looking at foundation.gnome.org I see the following -

"1.1 What is the GNOME Foundation?

The GNOME Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing
the GNOME Project."

Does this honestly suggest that having a non-active membership, will
help advancing the GNOME Project? Personally, I believe 'no'.

Further down I see -

"The GNOME Foundation will provide a forum where all of the members of
the GNOME community can have a voice and help decide the direction that
GNOME moves in."

I would certainly hate to see non-active developers deciding the
direction that GNOME moves in.

> IMHO, Jeff's proposal is worth considering.

Absolutely, I definitely agree.

> > 	  * Annual renewal
> > 	      = Verify contact info
> > 	      = Ensure that member still wants to be member

Yes, I think we should have 2 tiered membership. I believe we should
incorporate 'Friends of GNOME' into this.

	o Friend of GNOME
		- previous contributor who may not have had the time to 
		  contribute due to work committments
		- may donate funding to the project
		- doesn't get to vote in the elections
		- life membership

	o GNOME Foundation member
		- active contributor within in the last year
		- automatic 'Friend of GNOME'
		- gets to vote in the elections
		- annual membership, reviewed when the term is up
			[up to member to renew]

I also think that the project should start thinking about putting
together a quarterly newsletter, that gets sent to all 'Friends of
GNOME'. This might include achievements, success stories, interviews,
new technology, tips on using the desktop effectively, updates from the
various GNOME committees etc... This seems like a really good way to
make sure that others are in touch with what the project is doing, where
it is going etc..hopefully with the view to get more people behind GNOME
using it schools, universities, governments and businesses.

If we want to start being a serious candidate desktop, we have to start
acting like one.


			See ya,
				Glynn :)