About Me and the OGB: Part II
I'm running for a seat on the OpenSolaris Governing Board (OGB) in the March
2008 election. I ran last year and lost, so I'm giving it a shot
again this year. Circumstances have changed this time around,
so maybe my luck will, too. Last year, I came in eighth out of eighteen
running for a seven seat board, so I missed it by inches. A similar
number of people are running this year. Maybe I'll get that seventh
spot. Or maybe I'll bomb. We'll see.
I'm not a politician or a visionary, and I don't look to those guys for leadership. Instead, I respect those who are understated in their speech and transparent in their operations, and I'm most impressed by those who simply get things done. On OpenSolaris I try to work in the open as much as possible. I attend very few internal meetings and participate on very few internal aliases. In fact, I'm always advocating the opening of those closed meetings and aliases, so we can build a community that is genuinely transparent. What you get with me is easily substantiated in this blog and on the lists on opensolaris.org. That's pretty much where I live.
My position on governance from last year forms the basis of my views this year, so not much has changed on that front. Back last year I talked about community growth, participation, values, and communication -- issues that pervade my daily job on OpenSolaris. I think those issues are even more important today considering the obviously rough ride we've had in some areas. The one element I'd add this year is action. The OGB needs to re-establish trust and earn credibility and lead by example. It needs to work. And that requires a significant commitment of time from each member. This is not an advisory board. It's a governing board. But the board has very little actual power and no real resources, so it needs to influence via consensus-building actions. This is a difficult task to say the very least. The OpenSolaris community also has a responsibility here. The community voted for the OpenSolaris Constitution, so we ought to participate fully in the system we ourselves created. Otherwise, we will lose it.
Over the next week or so, I'm sure there will be some threads about governance issues on ogb-discuss. I'll chime in on those if I can. This is just an assertion to accept my nomination to run. I've written about governance issues while involved in OpenSolaris, and you can find that content in my blog and on ogb-discuss. Also, I've updated my bio and contact information, and you can see all of my projects and communities listed in my profile on opensolaris.org.
Wish me luck ...
I'm not a politician or a visionary, and I don't look to those guys for leadership. Instead, I respect those who are understated in their speech and transparent in their operations, and I'm most impressed by those who simply get things done. On OpenSolaris I try to work in the open as much as possible. I attend very few internal meetings and participate on very few internal aliases. In fact, I'm always advocating the opening of those closed meetings and aliases, so we can build a community that is genuinely transparent. What you get with me is easily substantiated in this blog and on the lists on opensolaris.org. That's pretty much where I live.
My position on governance from last year forms the basis of my views this year, so not much has changed on that front. Back last year I talked about community growth, participation, values, and communication -- issues that pervade my daily job on OpenSolaris. I think those issues are even more important today considering the obviously rough ride we've had in some areas. The one element I'd add this year is action. The OGB needs to re-establish trust and earn credibility and lead by example. It needs to work. And that requires a significant commitment of time from each member. This is not an advisory board. It's a governing board. But the board has very little actual power and no real resources, so it needs to influence via consensus-building actions. This is a difficult task to say the very least. The OpenSolaris community also has a responsibility here. The community voted for the OpenSolaris Constitution, so we ought to participate fully in the system we ourselves created. Otherwise, we will lose it.
Over the next week or so, I'm sure there will be some threads about governance issues on ogb-discuss. I'll chime in on those if I can. This is just an assertion to accept my nomination to run. I've written about governance issues while involved in OpenSolaris, and you can find that content in my blog and on ogb-discuss. Also, I've updated my bio and contact information, and you can see all of my projects and communities listed in my profile on opensolaris.org.
Wish me luck ...
Well, I'm voting for you! You bring a level of calm and level-headedness to discussions which I really appreciate. You don't seem the type to escalate conflict, a problem I see all too often in this community.
Posted by 192.18.43.225 on March 07, 2008 at 02:11 PM JST #
***EYES CLOESED*** Wishing You Luck!
Who can vote? Anyone? I am a member of the Community can I vote?
Posted by David Vasta on March 07, 2008 at 09:47 PM JST #
Good luck Jim!
Eugene
Posted by Eugene on March 07, 2008 at 11:27 PM JST #
good luck Jim!!
Posted by MaryMary on March 09, 2008 at 03:33 AM JST #
Thanks, everyone. :) I appreciate it.
David ... only "members" can vote and members are "core contributors" in the community. So, that's about 500 or so people currently.
Posted by Jim Grisanzio on March 10, 2008 at 07:17 AM JST #
Posted by Otmanix' Blog on March 10, 2008 at 01:21 PM JST #