Ok, this one probably requires a LOT of discussion, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for more than a year, so if some of this seems like I’ve already wordsmithed it, that’s why.
Projects go through the Incubator, learn how to Apache, and then they move on. The membership changes. The mission changes. The world changes around them. And the lessons of the Incubator are often forgotten, or deemed unimportant to the changed circumstances. This Working Group provides a mechanism for ASF Members to assist the board in advising projects. (See the FAQ, “Why a member?” before objecting to this. I am very firm on this point, and I believe that the board will be too, if asked. I want to STRENUOUSLY encourage you to read the entire proposal before responding, because I have foreseen a number of objections to this, most of which go under the heading of “who are YOU to tell US what to do?!” I am very cognizant of this. ComDev is a PEER to other projects, not in a position of authority. That said, every member is responsible, to a certain degree, for the direction the entire Foundation takes. I believe that this effort, if successful, could be hugely influential in the trajectory of the ASF in the coming years. I believe that this is, at heart, the primary mission of ComDev. I feel very strongly about the importance of this working group. I will be glad to hold forth at greater length over beer and/or scotch, at the next event facilitated by wg-social. ;-) Anyways, please read https://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/comdev/community/wg-sharpeners/README.md and then think a little bit and then let me know what you think. Proposal also included below for convenience. # Sharpeners Work Group (Proposed) To provide "Sharpeners" - volunteers who come alongside a PMC to offer an outsider's perspective on the project, and advice to build their community. ## Who A Sharpener must be an ASF member. They are preferably a member who has been around a while, and has some reason to be trusted as a mentor. You must not already be a member of the PMC. You must not have any adversarial reason to take on the role - a bone to pick, a corporate entanglement, or whatever. ## What A Sharpener will subscribe to the project's PMC list (priv...@project.apache.org) and mostly listen. They will comment constructively when they see something that may be improved. They will report concerns back to the board, via <private> sections in the ComDev report, under a new "Workgroups" section that will be created for this purpose. ## Values Interactions by Sharpeners are at the pleasure of the PMC. You do not have any authority over the PMC. ### Declinable The PMC must be allowed to say "no thank you" without providing any reason, and you must respect that decision, and not offer again unless invited. ### Transparent When you subscribe to the private@ list, you MUST introduce yourself and state your purpose, complete with a link to THIS document. You MUST tell the PMC when you intend to report something back to either ComDev or the Board. We will also track, here, in this repository, which Sharpener is observing which project. ### Non-adversarial All feedback must be a polite, positive, actionable suggestion, not merely a criticism or a "you're doing it wrong." You must suggest what the PMC should do, providing links to policy or best practice documents where applicable. Simply criticising is not welcome. If you cannot operate in this fashion, then this role isn't for you. ### Confidential (No, this isn't a contradiction to Transparent. Different audiences.) All communications on private@ mailing lists are confidential. Sharing information you learned on those lists to anyone outside of the membership of the ASF is a severe breach of trust. Do not ever cross-post between private lists with disjoint audiences. In general, this means don't forward content from a private list to anyone who is not an ASF member. All reports on Sharpener activity must be in <private> sections, unless you have coordinated with the PMC to include it in *their* report. ### Collegial You are a colleague - a peer. You are not in a position of authority. You cannot tell the PMC what to do. You are only an observer, and, at the indulgence of the PMC, advisor. Do not abuse this relationship. ## FAQ ### Why "Sharpener" Because I wanted an "sh" word, to go along with Shepherds and Shadows, which I'll be writing about elsewhere. "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." ### Why a member? A Sharpener must be an ASF member. This is because doing this job requires access to a projects private@ PMC mailing list. All ASF members already have this access. Furthermore, an ASF member has already earned trust in the context of the ASF. Trust is transitive - that is, you may not know all members personally, but each member was nominated and elected by people that you, in turn, nominated and elected. — Rich Bowen rbo...@rcbowen.com
