10/31/2002 12:14:04 AM, Chuck Murcko <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >Could it be that we don't trust each other to be working in each >others' best interests? I would hope they are common interests or >we are SOL. Implementations we can vote on all day, but trust and >common direction are either there or they are not.
Its hard to trust what you don't know. Lists are how we procreate. People see what we are doing, like what they see, and start to contribute. The open User and Dev lists lower the bar so that other people can join us and become part of our Community. I appreciate why some Projects and the ASF Members like the restricted lists. But closed lists, on their own, tend to create closed Communities. If we do not document our process on the lists, then we must document elsewhere. Otherwise, how can we *earn* people's trust. If the Incubator provides model documentation for our Projects, then it will be easier for others to see how the ASF architecture really works. This will make it easier for people to emulate our process, not only at Apache but elsewhere. Personally, I'd like to include model walk throughs of the processes, like an Apache Cookbook. It's been said that the little things make a big difference. I think that's been very true here. For example, it was mentioned, almost as an aside, that PMCs must approve the Releases. Knowing this, we can patch the guidelines: <href="http://jakarta.apache.org/site/decisions.html";> Majority approval is required before the release can be made. <insert>Once a release is approved by the Committers, the Project Management Committee can authorize its distribution on behalf of the Foundation.</insert> </href> Doesn't seem like much, but it does communicate that the subprojects Committers are not an autonomous body. Just having to get the Jakarta PMC to sign-off on a release might be enough to get some of the subprojects to leave the nest. Meanwhile, we had a "Welcome nominee" letter, but no "Welcome Committer" letter, so we can patch one in to encapsulate some of the trailing-edge procedures, like updating the database. <http://jakarta.apache.org/site/roles.html> The Welcome Committer letter also lets people know their login is on the way, and gives us a place to link in a FAQ. There's a lot of material on the Apache site, and a FAQ goes a long way toward stressing the salient points: <http://jakarta.apache.org/site/newbie.html> In many ways, we face a situation similar to that of the architects of the United States government (our "founding fathers"). After drafting and ratifying the constitution, they turned around and added ten quick amendments (the "Bill of Rights"). Why? Because they had not documented the elements of English common law. These were all "understood" and in the framers minds "went without saying". Likewise, there are subtle but vital elements of the ASF common "protocol" that we need to document for future generations of Apaches. Right now, it's not that people are turning from The Apache Way, it's that many of us have never truly walked it. (Would you like some more tea?) -Ted.
