Thank you Scott. This is an inspiring reminder of how things actually work in the ASF. Apache OFBiz is not managed top-down, it is managed bottom-up based on actual effort and merit. Discussions really only matter if they lead up to an effort that results in actual code/doc/etc changes.
Pierre's message to the Board is a great example of misunderstanding this guiding principle, so I responded in more detail in that thread, but just wanted to throw in my +1 for what you wrote here. -David On Mar 12, 2014, at 11:52 PM, Scott Gray <scott.g...@hotwaxmedia.com> wrote: > > I won't be attending simply because it is organized by Pierre (and because > the genesis of this meeting seems to have come from a very negative > perspective). Those of you who are new to the community or who he is polite > to may not be aware of how rude Pierre can be. While he does do some good > work from time to time I believe his presence in the community causes more > harm than good. He has almost continuously attacked or worked against the > PMC for the last year or two and I simply have no interest in hearing > anything he has to say any longer. Almost no one seems to remember that he > told the ASF he would chair an OFBiz presence at an ApacheCon a year or so > ago, it was advertised, calls for papers/talks were made and submitted and > then not long before the conference... he disappeared with no explanation to > anyone. PMC members were forced to attend the conference (that he organized > without consulting the PMC at all) and chair in his place on short notice to > maintain the credibility of the project. As far as I know he has never > apologized to or thanked those who took his place and never offered an > explanation, he simply reappeared 6 months later and carried on causing > trouble as usual. I have a hard time believing Pierre will ever be a > committer or core contributor to this project so long as he continues to > spectacularly fail at working well with others (this is just my opinion, I'm > only one voice of many in the community). While I believe he is a > destructive force in the community, there is nothing I can do about that, > everyone is pretty much free to do as they please. It's up to each and every > one of you to decide what he brings to the table and interact with him > accordingly. > > People talk about PMC "hidden agendas" and other conspiracy theories but > often the reality is that it can be difficult to find motivation to work on a > project that is constantly critical of the work you do. When I joined this > project there was very little infighting and contributing was a rewarding > experience that earned you respect and praise from your peers. It's a warm > fuzzy feeling that keeps you active at nights and on weekends working on > something you're passionate about. For me, that passion is fast disappearing > because of people like Pierre (he is certainly not the first but he is > particularly vocal). It feels like I'm regularly reading critical emails > from various community members, either of the way the project is run or the > way the project is progressing. What I very rarely see is any action behind > the talk; people suggest major changes and then carry on with their day. No > one actually gets anything done. I'm sure some of you would replace the > entire PMC given half the chance and that may seem like some great > achievement, but eventually... you're going to have to actually do something > tangible to keep the community happy and achieve the goals you speak of. If > you're not doing anything tangible now, then you're as much a part of the > problem as anyone else, take pause before you throw those stones. You're > being critical of those who have stayed when others have come and gone, those > who have contributed more unpaid hours than most. > > How many of you can claim that you do the work in project that would match > what you'd like to see from a committer or PMC member? There is absolutely > nothing stopping you from making that type of contribution right now, so what > is the issue? > > For those of you who have an opinion but aren't actually doing anything > tangible (commit reviews, patch reviews, ticket research, contributing > designs and documentation), the brighter future of OFBiz starts with you. Be > the change that you want to see, go and do something productive for the > project instead of complaining about what others are not doing. Just to be > clear, contributing to general discussions isn't much of a contribution, it's > extremely rare that they result in anything positive actually happening. > > Regards > Scott > > > On 7/03/2014, at 9:00 PM, Pierre Smits wrote: > >> Hi All, >> >> I invite you to join me and participate in an open discussion on the >> functioning and future of OFbiz via a teleconference on March 13, 2014. >> >> Share your thoughts and insights on how you feel it going and what you >> would like to see addressed in the project. Plus, it is a great opportunity >> to get to know your fellow community member better than just through >> communications via mailing lists. >> >> I have set up a conference space through www.freeconferencecall.com and >> tried to find an optimum sweet spot for the time slot to convene this >> teleconference that will minimise the inconvenience for most. Therefore I >> have chosen to set the starting time at 14:30 AMS time. Please find below a >> small overview of starting times in different timezones: >> >> LocationLocal timeTime zoneUTC offsetLos >> Angeles<http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=137> (U.S.A. >> - California)Thursday, 13 March 2014, >> 06:30:00PDT<http://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/na/pdt.html>UTC-7 >> hoursNew York <http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=179> (U.S.A. >> - New York)Thursday, 13 March 2014, >> 09:30:00EDT<http://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/na/edt.html>UTC-4 >> hoursLondon <http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=136> (United >> Kingdom - England)Thursday, 13 March 2014, >> 13:30:00GMT<http://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/eu/gmt.html> >> UTCAmsterdam <http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=16> >> (Netherlands)Thursday, 13 March 2014, >> 14:30:00CET<http://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/eu/cet.html>UTC+1 >> hourMoscow <http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=166> >> (Russia)Thursday, >> 13 March 2014, >> 17:30:00MSK<http://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/eu/msk.html>UTC+4 >> hoursBangalore <http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=438> (India >> - Karnataka)Thursday, 13 March 2014, >> 19:00:00IST<http://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/asia/ist.html>UTC+5:30 >> hoursBangkok <http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=28> >> (Thailand)Thursday, 13 March 2014, >> 20:30:00ICT<http://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/asia/ict.html>UTC+7 >> hoursAuckland <http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=22> (New >> Zealand)Friday, 14 March 2014, >> 02:30:00NZDT<http://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/pacific/nzdt.html>UTC+13 >> hoursCorresponding UTC (GMT)Thursday, 13 March 2014, 13:30:00 >> Please find below some details about how to participate, but you can always >> more info on the website of http://freeconferencecall.com >> >> *Conference Invite Details* Instructions*From: pierre.sm...@orrtiz.com >> <pierre.sm...@orrtiz.com>* >> >> *Subject: * The Future of OFBiz - Open Discussion >> *Date & time: * 2014-03-13 14:30 (GMT+01:00) >> *Duration: * 2 hr. >> >> *Notes: * >> >> *Free Conference Call* >> Conference Dial-in Number: +31 (0) 6 35205070 (Number in the Netherlands) >> Participant Access Code: 779895# >> >> >> >> <http://www.freeconferencecall.com/fcci/internationalnumbers.aspx?lang=NL&altlang=EN&phonenumber=+31%20(0)%206%2035205070> >> >> When prompted enter the access code that has been assigned, followed by the >> # key. Once connected to the conference, you will be able to talk and have >> access to the touch tone commands listed below. >> >> >> Participant Feature KeysExit - exit the callInstructions - conference >> instructionsMute/Unmute - caller controlled muting >> >> >> I hope to see you there. >> >> With regards >> >> Pierre Smits >> >> *ORRTIZ.COM <http://www.orrtiz.com>* >> Services & Solutions for Cloud- >> Based Manufacturing, Professional >> Services and Retail & Trade >> http://www.orrtiz.com > >
