On 2/15/2016 1:15 PM, Dennis E. Hamilton wrote:
<https://communitywiki.org/DoOcracy>
The Apache OpenOffice project, and other Apache projects, are more
like do-ocracies than any other form of project governance. The
distinct karma for committers and also PMC members is fundamentally
related to the Foundation requirements concerning IP provenance of
project code bases and other artifacts, although that is often
referred to as a meritocracy arrangement.
For example, no one on the Apache OpenOffice project has executive
authority, although there are particular accountabilities for
committers, PMC members, and the PMC Chair (who is an officer of the
Foundation).
For another example, there are no assignments to give out or ways
other than suggestion and recommendation to direct effort. This is
probably what is most confusing to outsiders and also to the many
advocates for AOO who would like to see particular expressed needs
met.
I think this may be more confusing for AOO than for many projects
because most users are not in a position to join the do-ocracy.
My other OO project, Apache River, is a system that is written in Java
and primarily used by Java programmers. A user who wants a particular
bug fixed has the option of checking out the source code and developing
their own fix. Many other OO projects are written in Language X by and
for X programmers.
The typical AOO user is a Windows-using non-programmer. I found just
building AOO on Windows a challenging two week project, for which I
needed a lot of help, despite prior familiarity with Subversion and
Cygwin. As a practical matter, most people who need a bug fixed to make
AOO useful to them simply do not have the option of taking it into their
own hands.
Incidentally, that cultural difference may affect the severity of data
loss bugs. I find someone working for an extended period on a document
with no revision control or off-site backup a little shocking at first
sight. Then I realized I learned about the importance of revision
control and off-site backup on the job, not in my non-programming life.
Maybe it would be helpful for the PMC to select a very, very short "Most
wanted" list, based on user requests, feedback at conferences etc. That
would help new AOO recruits pick a focus.
Patricia
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