Reducing the board size

[David Neary <dneary free fr>]

Hi all,

There has been some discussion on reducing the board size on the board, 
and the one point which is clear is that this discussion should be in 
public.

I'm in favour of reducing the board to 7 people. I would like to see us 
have a referendum on the issue next month.

The board has huge problems being pro-active. Any issue which is 
slightly contentious has an opposition in a board of 11 people. It's 
inevitable. And when there is opposition, there are many voices, and 
when there are many voices, there is no resolution.

With 7 people, this problem will be reduced (not removed, I'm not that 
naive).

In addition, a fringe benefit is that people who will want to get 
elected will have to run. With 11 seats, no-one runs for election. There 
is essentially only competition for the last 3 seats. I would like to 
see board elections have an election campaign, with people saying what 
they want to do, why, and saying why they think other people's approach 
will not be effective.

There are potential down-sides. If you look at the most effective board 
members over the years, they have typically not been among the 7 most 
popular. I myself would not have been elected this year. But there is no 
denying that the board structure as it is is fundamentally flawed. I 
think this is one step towards improving it.

Cheers,
Dave.

--
Dave Neary
bolsh gimp org
Lyon, France