Hello, I was reading this very insightful article about practical consensus building [1] and have noted some short comings and differences from the GCDs in process and wanted to list them here for discussion:
1. Consensus building needs necessary conditions to be met before starting, this is not mentioned in the GCD process and should probably be checked before every GCD 2. In the necessary conditions the "core values" are mentioned, as far as I know the core values of the guix project are not stated explicitly 3. Participation guidelines should be agreed upon and be met 4. To also hear "quiet" voices, rounds are initiated where each member comments on the issue without comments from the others (this may be hard to achieve via email) 5. Several rounds may be used before finding a consensus or aborting 6. I no consensus was found, the process should be analyzed carefully, this may hint at short comings in the necessary conditions or core values and values need clarification 7. Instead of disagreement finer tuned stances should be taken 8. A very important role is the facilitator which guides and moderates the discussion and summarizes the status of the discussion periodically [1] https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Resources/Tools/Practical%20Guide%20for%20Consensus-Based%20Decision%20Making.pdf > Hello, > > I see much discussion of the deliberation, framed as a vote, but that’s > not what it is. I think mentions of votes, opposition, veto, and > similar phrases miss the point. > > The deliberation is meant as a way to get a clear understanding of what > people have said and done before—a show of hands to remove ambiguity. > > What matters in this process is not the deliberation: it’s the > discussion where everyone shares their feelings, states their needs, and > turns that into a proposal to amend the document. > > In some cases, conflicting needs will be irreconcilable and the proposal > will end up being withdrawn, and that’s fine. But in many cases, we > should be able to come up with proposals that account for everyone’s > needs. > > Ludo’.
