my curiousity has been set off again. there have been numerous mentions of the revolution concept as used in jakarta, and its widespread acceptance as policy. however, i don't see it mentioned in the jakarta guidelines; in fact, only in ted's proposal for new guidelines.
is jakarta's semi-formal acceptance of it as an operating principle actually recorded anywhere, or is it actually just an 'everybody knows that' informal general acceptance?
"general acceptance" is probably too strong a word. There are some, including apparently the original author, who now have doubts. But there can be no doubt that this document has strongly influenced the evolution of a number of Jakarta projects.
For further reading, I'd recommend taking a look at topics 3 and 4 in http://jakarta.apache.org/site/pmc/01-01-17-meeting-minutes.html
In my mind, the concepts of vetoes, revolutions, and releases being a majority decision are linked. Note: when Roy made the statement about releases, it sure sounded to me like he was stating it as if it were ASF policy. In any case, I would recommend that it be so.
Taken together, provisions are made for individuals to get attention to be focused on issues that they feel are important, individuals or even small groups can flesh out concepts that may initially be controversial, and a safety valve is provided so that forward progress can still be made.
- Sam Ruby
