[ANN] SqF and Coordinators merge!

goran at krampe.se goran at krampe.se
Tue Oct 4 19:14:48 UTC 2005


Hi fellow Squeakers!

As we have hinted earlier the recently revived/re-born/activated/created
:) Squeak Foundation (currently Stephane, Noury, Marcus) and the
Coordinators (Goran, Marcus, Doug, Cees, Ken (Ken is a new member)) have
been discussing merging. And yes, Marcus is in both groups. :)

We have through a private email flood :) been making sure we all have
the same vision/goals.

We are now happy to say that it all ended up *very well* - and hopefully
also sparked a few good changes in the process! So from this day the
"Coordinators" is "no more" - we are all just the "Squeak Foundation" or
SqF for short and we are thus 7 people in the *board* of SqF (=called
the "core" earlier, but the "board" seems more appropriate).

We all think this is great and a real boost to both groups and for the
future!

Ok, so what does the merge mean for the community and for the former two
groups? Let's see:


The Merge
============
Practically the merge is quite simple:

The mysterious-island list has been deprecated. While I personally think it is fun to use references to "The Mysterious Island" book by Jules Verne (which inspired Dan Ingalls to pick the balloon in the first place), it does imply some "mysteriousness" and that is unfortunate. So the new corresponding list for the new SqF board is:

	board at discuss.squeakfoundation.org

This list is (just like the mysterious-list) private and used by the board (=us 7) to discuss things that simply can't be discussed in public. Since almost all issues *can* and *should* be discussed in public on squeak-dev or other suitable lists - this list is used only when really needed.

Anyone can post to that list and this ensures our attention since it is a low traffic list.

Another important thing with the list is that it is the *only* communication channel we use between ourselves, which means we all have the same picture and information internally.


Internal model
-----------------
The new SqF has a flat board. Noone has any more "power" than anyone else in that board. In order to prevent total chaos :) we use the same Team model internally as we use openly in squeak-dev.

This means that if we have a longer "internal" project - like for example getting the Supporter program working and maintaining it - we declare a Team and a leader for it and so on.

If you don't have a firm grip on the current Team model, please do read it again:

	http://swiki.krampe.se/castaways/6

(By the way, the above Swiki content will very soon be moved to the new www.squeak.org site)


Work principles
------------------
We have agreed on the following "rules" for our own behavior.

- We do NOT make promises to squeak-dev if we haven't already decided to DO IT. If we do make promises there should always be someone with personal responsibility for it.
- We do not use private email about SqF issues, everything goes to the list so that we are sure we all have the same picture within the board.
- We do not use the mailinglist for issues that can be discussed openly on squeak-dev or other lists, which should be the majority of issues.
- We take great care to show when we "speak" for SqF, it should then be explicitly noted. All other postings should by default be considered personal opinions.


External relations
--------------------
Both the "Wise" list and the collection of Stakeholder community contact persons are "channels" we want to use in order to make sure we do "the right things".

We will keep writing the regular reports that the Coordinators have been posting, they are important to show the community what we are doing in a more easy format.


Stated goals
--------------
After the merge we start by revising the goals as listed on the SqF smallwiki. They should more clearly reflect the goals of the new combined SqF.


Representational model
---------------------------
Now when we merge we also think it is important to take a first, small careful step towards a more representative/democratic model for SqF. Note that the model below is NOT anywhere near a perfect model - but instead of getting caught in an endless debate we chose something simple and careful that we could quickly agree on. So please keep that in mind. :)

The model is this:

- We want to create an Election Team with a Team leader that is NOT in the SqF board.

- Whenever someone of us current 7 board members decides to step down *and* the board wants to get a replacement, it is the job of the election Team, in *whichever* way it finds suitable, to come up with a replacement. This means that the first job of the Election Team is probably to establish some kind of voting procedure (or whatever) ready for use.

- Whenever the board wants to recruit someone specific (or non specific) thus growing the board, we do it "through" the Election Team.
 
- The Election Team also has the task to come up with a better future model than the above. Any such new election model it presents needs to be approved by a united board though.


A few notes on the above:

- We leave it to squeak-dev to discuss and find a suitable Election Team leader. We will only try to help if noone steps forward willing to pick up the ball. So consider the ball rolling. :)

- We deliberately did not include an option for the board to refuse the replacement presented by the Election Team. We will trust the Election Team to do a good job and to communicate with the board during its process.

- The full procedure to find a replacement is entirely delegated to the Election Team. If the team chooses to use public voting or throwing a dice :) - it is up to the Team.

- When we want to recruit a specific person we will go through the election Team and simply give them our name and motivation. Then they use their process, whatever that might be. In theory they could end up rejecting that person or whatever.

- Whichever new future model the Election Team produces, we still currently reserve the power to reject it. Yes, a bit on the cautious side, but as we said, the above model is not perfect. ;)

- The fact that the model still leaves no options for the community to *initiate* any changes in the board (any initiative still comes from inside) should motivate the Election Team and the community to come up with a better model to replace this one :).


Now... before you start bashing the above model, note this: We will in that case expect that you join the Election Team and participate in the process to get a better model in place. ;)


Final words
-------------
We all feel really positive about the new SqF and the energy behind it. We also feel the Squeak community is slowly but steadily getting on the right tracks in several areas, but there is always improvement ahead.

Let's make Squeak and the Squeak community even better and also not forget to have great fun doing it all together!

/Göran, Marcus, Doug, Stephane, Cees, Noury and Ken - SqF board

PS. A short report will follow with the immediate more practical stuff.



More information about the Squeak-dev mailing list