I'm quite concerned at the current line of enquiry being pursued by the Secretary in #727708.
If I were in the Secretary's position I would refuse to entertain an argument that the TC is impermissibly doing "detailed design work" or has failed to allow "the usual maintainer of the relevant software or documentation" (ie the policy maintainers) to "make [the] decision initially". I would respond that whether or not something has been sufficiently discussed or decided already, or whether the TC is impermissibly engaging in detailed design work, is a matter for the TC, not for the Secretary. An analogous situation arises with the DPL's powers. Should the Secretary be prepared to entertain an argument that a DPL decision was void because it wasn't "consistent with the consensus of the opinions of the Developers" ? Or that it was void because the DPL had failed to "informally solicit the views of the Developers" or the DPL had "overemphasized their own point of view when making decisions in their capacity as Leader" ? If someone made arguments along those lines I would advise the Secretary to say that these things are matters for the DPL, and that if a Developer feels that the DPL has overstepped the mark they should use a General Resolution to do so. Likewise, if the TC is overzealous within its domain of authority (which clearly does include the contents of the policy manual) the proper response is a General Resolution, not for the Secretary to claim that the TC decision is void. I think all of these things are very dangerous territory for the Secretary. The Secretary should avoid getting involved in the substance of these kind of subjective disputes about what is and is not sufficiently ripe, or what is or isn't detailed design, or what is or isn't sufficient consultation. This is particularly the case when the complaint is not in fact being made by the policy maintainers whose toes are allegedly being stepped on; rather it is being made by one side of this unfortunate and politically charged argument because they foresee an outcome they don't like. Thanks, Ian. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [email protected] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [email protected] Archive: http://lists.debian.org/[email protected]
