Re: Questions for candidates - board processes & significance

[Andrea Veri <av gnome org>]

Il giorno 30/mag/2011, alle ore 16.11, Dave Neary ha scritto:

> Hi all,

Hey Dave!


> I was away last week travelling, so I'm coming late to the election campaign. I have almost decided who I would like to vote for, but there are still a few things which are important to me when considering a prospective board member.
> 
> 1. If elected, will you seek a named position (chairman/treasurer/secretary) on the board? If so, why?


While I am the appointed Chairman for the GNOME Membership & Elections Committee, I'm also a new candidate
and I think seeking a specific position is something that should be a prerogative of older and more experienced
members than me. If elected, I will need guidance, suggestions and hints from anyone not new to the role, but
learning is alwais nice and I am looking forward to get in touch with the amazing world of the GNOME Board. 


> 2. Board meetings are minuted, and these minutes are published regularly. However, the board also increasingly makes decisions on board-list with the Apache +1/0/-1 convention. Would you support the minuting of these votes, including recording any -1 votes?
> 

Absolutely yes. The Board is elected by the *community* and it represents the *community*,
so everyone should be aware of the decisions taken within the Board and its members.



> 3. I think financial transparency is important. If you plan on applying for the treasurer position, what changes (if any) would you propose for the budgeting process? How often would you publish financial reports for the foundation? Are you happy with the level of transparency in the board's finances now?
> 


For the reasons I've explained above (#1) I won't apply for the 'treasurer' position.


> 4. Our relationship with a number of groups has suffered this year - and one of the lesser known ones (but one I'm involvedd in) is the Libre Graphics Meeting organisers (a group of people representing a couple of dozen "free art" projects). Are you aware that the LGM organisers withdrew all the funds that the GNOME Foundation was managing for them this year, because they have been unhappy with the responsiveness and quality of communication with the foundation over the past 2 - 3 years? Do you have any thoughts on why this particular relationship degraded? And will you commit to handling or delegating answers to all time-critical queries which come to the board during your term?
> 

I wasn't aware of this bad situation so I can't provide a good and well-motivated comment, but I can tell you
that I will do my best to fulfil my duties, I'll take care of critic situations where needed and I won't leave anything
behind: what happened with the LGM group should never happen again within the GNOME Foundation, that's for 
sure.


> 5. In general, as a board member communication is vital to keep people outside the board informed whenever there is a delay or when extra input is needed on something they're working on. For incumbents, are you happy with the level of communication & reactivity in the current board? For new candidates, what would you like to do to ensure that the communication & reactivity of the board improves in the coming term?
> 

I think the Board should try to take as many decisions as possible in a timely manner, I 
would love to see a mix between reasoned / well motivated decisions and promptness. While
talking with a few people, I got told that the current Board wasn't as reactive as we wanted it to be,
and I am here to give my two cents to improve the current situation.

> 6. Board members are ambassadors for the foundation. I think it's important that board members be social, and be nice. Are you nice?

During these two-three years I've been in touch with a *good* number of GNOME contributors
and developers during my GNOME Accounts Team and Membership Committee's duties and my
promptness, kindness and my itch to provide good contributions for the GNOME Foundation have been
alwais rewarded by several good comments and opinions by many Foundation members, contributors and
developers. (maybe it was me renewing your membership :-) )

cheers,

Andrea