[Osmf-talk] Dec board meeting minutes

Frederik Ramm frederik at remote.org
Tue Feb 9 21:21:53 UTC 2016


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Hi,

On 02/09/2016 09:19 PM, Michael Reichert wrote:
> I have asked some question to the board [1] over six weeks ago and 
> would like to receive an answer.

We've discussed coming up with some sort of "Open Source Guideline"
where we'd say when and under what circumstances board would consider
using non-open or hosted/siloed software. But we haven't pushed that
(not a priority issue for us) and hence haven't (yet) set up such a
policy.

> Who had the idea to use/try Github? Who wanted to stay with email?

We're currently using both, and will continue to use both for the time
being.

> Did you evaluated alternatives which are free software?

No. But keep in mind this was not meant to be a strategic decision for
years to come. Github, while being closed-source, is not a silo;
issues and discussions can be exported and then (potentially) imported
into a free issue tracker that someone operates for us if the
opportunity arises. At present, the use of Github for the board is a
trial only.

> Why are you going to use a proprietary software althoug there are 
> free and open source bug tracking systems (e.g. Gitlab, Trac, 
> Bugzilla)? Why does an organization which wants to support free 
> software and free data like OSMF try proprietary software? We 
> needed years to get away from Google Docs and have still not left 
> Google Docs totally and now you (the board) start using (you call 
> it "try") the next proprietary software!

We wouldn't use proprietary software for core purposes (sorry Oracle,
the database won't be run on your software). But for non-core things
it is sometimes hard to argue against something like GitHub which most
board members use on a day-to-day basis. Yes I'd prefer it to be an
opn source tool, but faced with the choice of either having to explain
OTRS (which OSMF already runs and DWG uses) to all board members or
using GitHub I don't have to think twice ;)

I think you should cut us some slack. In the last couple of years
board has replaced telephone conferences with not Skype, not Google
Hangout, but Mumble, and (largely) replaced Google Docs with the OSMF
wiki and an internal wiki. That's already something. Next on the
agenda: Get board members to scrap their shiny Apple toys ;)

> *Open Voting* The minutes do not mention open voting. Some of the 
> new board members stated at 
> https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Talk:Foundation/AGM15/ 
> Election_to_Board#Transparency that they support open voting and I
> assume that at least one member which was elected last year
> supports open voting, too.

We discussed this a lot (mainly on the mailing list which you won't
find in the minutes). There are two sides to everything. Knowing who
voted how will make it easier for members to decide whom they want to
re-elect as a board member and whom they want to drop. That is a good
thing. Then again, board is not a political assembly but a group that
is supposed to run things. This requires compromise; compromise that
people might be less willing to make if they would later be grilled by
you!

We've not come to a conclusion on open voting yet. One of the reasons
mentioned in the discussion against open voting was "liability
issues". At first I thought that's a silly thing to say, but after
meanwhile having recently been (personally) sued by a former OSM
contributor for something that DWG/board decided, I am starting to
think: Maybe it is nice if I can hide behind board as a whole
occasionally. (Not that it would have made a difference in that
particular case, since resolutions regarding that person were all
unanimous.)

Regarding open voting, we'd be interested to learn how other bodies
similar to the OSMF board handle things.

Bye
Frederik

- -- 
Frederik Ramm  ##  eMail frederik at remote.org  ##  N49°00'09" E008°23'33"
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