Shrunken, readable RFP writeup ...

[Michael Meeks <michael ximian com>]

Hi guys,

	At the Boston Summit, we discussed the issue of using the RFP
process described by Havoc in http://www106.pair.com/rhp/policy.html,
to apply to the core Gnome libraries and apps. The consensus seemed to
be that it is worth a try, but since it's a little long and legalistic
it was proposed to write a summary of it which is this:

* What is it for ?

	The process is intended to make us all more accountable to
each other, foster consensus and fair compromise, and act as a public
decision making forum. It leaves the current maintainer structure in
place but encourages public discussion of future plans, and
requirement based decision making.

* Who is it for ?

	It is hoped that all core module maintainers will opt into the
process, and will use it use to regulate significant code changes to
their modules.

* What do I do ?

	The process of making a change is separated into the
specifying of design requirements, and then testing any solutions
against those requirements. 

	* The initial RFP must specify more than 2 'responsible'
maintainers, it should specify a list of requirements ( either
mandatory or optional ) for the change, the 'Owner' - who will do the
secretarial work of managing the RFP, and should be CC'd to the
relevant mailing list(s) for discussion.

	* The RFP is posted to rfp-announce gnome org

	* Interested parties participate in discussion of the RFP on
the relevant list(s). After ~2 weeks, the RFP is agreed by a 2/3rds
majority of the specified maintainers.

	* Then solutions are proposed. After a suitable time, the
specified maintainers decide by a majority if any solution meets the
requirements, and thus is appropriate for inclusion into Gnome.


	That's about it really, there is a lot more legalese to try
and make things more concrete in Havoc's long writeup. We're hoping
that a majority of maintainers will agree to use the process, and that
it will result in more visibility, scrutiny and closure on
controversial issues.

	Regards,

		Havoc & Michael.

-- 
 mmeeks gnu org  <><, Pseudo Engineer, itinerant idiot

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