Ubuntu Governance: Reboot?

Nathan Haines nhaines at ubuntu.com
Sat Nov 15 04:56:45 UTC 2014


On 11/14/2014 08:49 PM, Benjamin Kerensa wrote:
> " So, no-one is denying the openness of these boards, and I don’t
> question the intentions or focus of the people who join and operate
> them. They are good people who act in the best interests of Ubuntu."
>
> Except for maybe the Community Council? Mark Shuttleworth appoints
> candidates for the CC.

And why do you feel the Community Council does not act in the best 
interest of Ubuntu?  Can you cite instances where they have done so?

> " What I do question is the /purpose/ and /effectiveness/ of these boards."
>
> Why? Their purpose is to govern the participation areas of the project
> and I think they are pretty darn effective at that.

Because he thinks there is a lost opportunity to be more effective, as 
he explains in the rest of his post.

> " Over the years though Ubuntu has changed, not just in terms of the
> product, but also the community. Ubuntu is no longer just platform
> contributors, but there are app and charm developers, a delicate balance
> between Canonical and community strategic direction, and a different
> market and world in which we operate."
>
> I would say that there is no community strategic direction but only the
> direction that Mark and Canonical lay out for the community.

And that is because the community is not participating.  Which can be 
solved by greater community participation.  Which is a problem that Jono 
has identified and is advocating a solution to.

> I do not think the governance boards or community at large is given much
> opportunity or support to explore, experiment and try new things.

If the Ubuntu developer community came together and started working on 
changes, the only way they don't get into Ubuntu is if Canonical starts 
dropping packages.  It's ludicrous to say the community at large doesn't 
have an opportunity to try new things when they're the ones doing the 
majority of the work.

This is most starkly illustrated by the Ubuntu Core Apps project that 
generated most of the useful apps that will ship as a core part of the 
default phone experience.

If they don't feel they have the agency that they do, that is a larger 
problem and one that can be addressed top down (and other ways as well, 
but top down would be one place to start).

> " I believe we need to transform and empower these governance boards to
> be inspirational vessels that our wider community look to for guidance
> and leadership, not for paper-shuffling and administrivia."
>
> Then Canonical needs to rethink its relationship with governance and the
> community and start empowering both and making both stakeholders.

Yeah, someone should start a conversation like that.  Oh wait, Jono did 
and we're in it.

Regards,
Nathan

-- 
Nathan Haines
Ubuntu - http://www.ubuntu.com/



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