On Sun, Apr 3, 2016 at 6:49 PM, Adam Holt <h...@laptop.org> wrote: > Just a quick apology that I will be voting against the role as currently > outlined at http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Translation_Community_Manager as > it does not as of now > contain quarterly or semiannual reporting structures with teeth, as Chris > Leonard outlined to me during a more-than-hourlong telephone call on > February 25th 2016, and as Walter Bender co-suggested during April 1st 2016 > Oversight Board meeting. This is not to question the very hard work Tony > Anderson put into the above page. Tony is far from the only one who has > worked very hard on this, but his work over more than a month stands out > above all others. > > The reason for such quarterly or semiannual financial and community > reporting would be to protect Sugar Labs from accidental drift, and > accidental incommunicado, despite > the absolute very best of intentions from all ( > http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Finance was not updated for 4 years, for > reasons I still do not fully understand). Such cultures can be exceedingly > difficult to change, if they accidentally take root. Far better to nip > them in the bud in advance, with no-fault/no-blame rhythmic action. > Critically, this is completely distinct from monthly reporting on an > informational/sociable level to http://planet.sugarlabs.org or similar, > which I consider the fundamental nurturing foundation of this job -- but > completely distinct from strategic/financial reporting Writ Large. > > As Sugar Labs' liaison to the Software Freedom Conservancy monitoring > accounting, financial and legal matters, I simply cannot in good conscience > vote in favor of Sugar Labs' first hire as described to date, without > binding quarterly or semiannual protections against accidental and > unintended drift. Noble intentions need to be backed up with > trust-but-verify process (as Chris Leonard outlined to me very emphatically > on February 26th) if in the end we believe in accountability at all. While > bashing bean-counters and lawyers is a perpetually entertaining hobby among > engineers (the jokes never get old) in the end this gets us nowhere > compared to the satisfaction of publishing our true accomplishments that > our limited lives afford us. Quarterly or semiannual involvement would > secure the board's dynamic participation most important, as nobody likes an > absentee boss, disconnected from ongoing priorities. > > I am hopeful that some such buck-stops-here reporting vibrancy will arrive > in due course, either through a version of Caryl Bigenho's evolving > Treasurer proposal ( > https://docs.google.com/document/d/16jIFuZ9bX-Bv675BpA1KmcEcRcX4PRCOUEX0ICRUkOc) > and/or via an improved Translation Community Manager job description(*), > that makes quaterly/semiannual reporting far more explicit, with a board > vote affirming Chris Leonard's (or whoever's!) excellent ongoing work > during each such emerging cycle. Clearing bureaucracy out of the way for > the sake of our legacy -- whether sandwiches are included or not, to > properly celebrate Chris Leonard's great work every 3-to-6 months. > > I have not thought enough about Caryl's proposal, not talked to her to > even understand it yet, but I am very interested in her suggestion that > Sugar Labs decide what prompt financial transparency Actually Means -- at > what granularity, and at what frequency. Rather than having these core > pieces decided for us by forces/externalities we regrettably still do not > understand. Thank you to Caryl for posed thos central/larger existential > question that deserves both an immediate answer (if we choose to establish > Sugar Lab's 1st hire this spring) and a more long-term inner-truth answer: > how do we in fact regularly and promptly expose/organize finances, > delivering material no-nonsense community trust, particularly if we expect > others to do our work for us? > > Both the short-term and long-term question need a no-bullshit answer, and > I hope Caryl who's been thinking about this very carefully can help us > organize a > ground-truthed solution. As the time for blameful bickering is humbly > over, as our Nigerian friend Mr Goddy gently reminded us today: if we each > want to leave a legacy of judicious action through compromise -- standing > up for the team and the principles that brought us together! If so, this > will bring Sugar Labs forward as a prominent and very proud player truly > assisting several indigenous languages this shrinking earth greatly depends > on... *among many other things ;)* > > > (*) one possibility might be to add the following: > > 1) Translation Community Manager reports to SL Board + Community + Public > on a fixed preset schedule of (specify quarterly or semiannual) renewable > contract cycles. > > 2) Reports can be of any length and should be posted/archived together to > a unique URL (http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Translation_Community_Manager > ?) one month prior to the completion of each contract cycle, mentioning: > (a) What actually happened over the current cycle and/or since the last > report, including financial summary (fine if different from prior cycle's > projections: we learn by doing!) > (b) What can and should happen over the coming cycle. > (c) Long-term strategic recommendations if he/she is hopefully so inclined! > > 3) The Board must affirm continuation or renewal of the contract before > the end of each (quarterly or semiannual, pick one!) cycle. This last part > is largely a rubber-stamp, as the expectation is that the contract should > renew, insofar as funds allow as the translation community strengthens -- > but at the same time it is an absolutely critical check and balance (Dead > Man's Switch) to keep us each & all conscientiously engaged, accountable, > and involved! > > Adam,
Not sure why you haven't felt that the wiki page was the appropriate place to add your reporting requirements. Tony has been asking for this input. >From my POV, while I agree that the contract we draw up for the position should include the specifics of how we want reporting, I am not sure those details need to be in the wiki. But you do, so please add them. -walter > _______________________________________________ > SLOBs mailing list > sl...@lists.sugarlabs.org > http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/slobs > > -- Walter Bender Sugar Labs http://www.sugarlabs.org <http://www.sugarlabs.org>
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