Re: Two Questions for the Board Candidates

[Brian Cameron <brian cameron oracle com>]

On 05/26/11 12:38, Lefty wrote:
> I'd be interested to know what, if anything, candidates for the Board propose to do to
> address the ongoing waste of time and energy in the community over trivia like "Linux"
> versus "GNU/Linux", "free" versus "open source", and the like. This extends to things
> like "litmus tests" on mailing lists derailing discussions into observations about
> which email clients or operating systems participants might be using at the time they
> post, for example.

Since GNOME is a free software project, some discussion about topics
like "GNU/Linux" are bound to happen, and at times these do become
tense.

I do not think there is a problem in discussing such topics as long
as they are done in the right forums.  In the past I have suggested
creating a new mailing list focused on free software specific GNOME
topics.  If such discussions are creating too much noise on other
lists, this might be a good solution.

The GNOME Foundation board does work to deal with issues when
discussions become problematic, wasteful of time, or violate the
Code of Conduct.  The board typically only gets involved in exceptional
situations.  Generally, it does seem that people try to be reasonable
and responsible with their communications.

With GNOME 3 recently being released, there are probably more things to
debate, discuss, and get heated about than normal.  So, I agree the
board will likely need to be more involved with helping to moderate
discussions and keep the community focused on what is important.

> Attempts to divide the community and delegitimize individuals and
> their viewpoints are common, and becoming increasingly so in the past
> few years. Bad feelings have driven many away from the level of
> involvement in the community they've previously had. Do candidates see
> this as a problem? Do they have any proposals for addressing it?

Yes, it is a problem when the GNOME community attitude is unwelcoming.
I believe that through making better efforts to moderate, and to do more
things to welcome new people (such as programs like the Women's Outreach
program) help to create a more suitable atmosphere for collaboration.

That said, there will be some degree of conflict and disagreement in
any group.  It sometimes can be hard to draw the line between ongoing 
bad behavior and a passionate outburst.  So, these sorts of situations
will always need to be handled on a case-by-case basis.

> Second: Do candidates have any view as to how the disastrous attempts
> at engagement by GNOME with the mobile space might be improved on?
>
> Do candidates have any thoughts on the future of GNOME with respect
> to the mobile space?

I very much feel the same as Stormy.

Brian