I have recieved multiple requests for clarifications on why they would want to establish a PMC, and this is the best possible answer IMNSHO.
Roy T. Fielding wrote:
The problem(s) in Avalon are very serious, but there are strong project leads in Avalon, so I am not sure what a project PMC would solve there.PR/outward view would seem the major thing to me. Commons lacks a governing group with the same name [PMC] as other projects and therefore must be anarchy.The concept of a PMC, and the reason that anyone having a vote on the project code-base should be a member of the PMC, is to provide legal protection to those people as individuals. Not being on a PMC (as defined by the bylaws) means that each and every decision made by those committers is outside the scope of Apache's legal protection, which in turn means that if a mistake is made (or some asshole lawyer just feels like it), any suit against the committer actions (such as infringement of some unknown patent) would have to be defended by the committers on their own. The ASF would be able to defend the code itself, but not the people whose actions were outside the PMC. That sucks, and I think the only reason the committers tolerate it is because they don't understand the risks and have no awareness of the bylaws. Jakarta was created because the original Apache members needed an incubator for Java projects that was independent of httpd. I expected the projects to form their own PMCs once they were self-governing. The Jakarta brand name is irrelevant to the PMC issues -- the common grouping of Apache Java projects under the jakarta.apache.org website does not need to change at all, nor do the mailing lists need to go away. What we do need is to wake up the Jakarta committers to the awareness that they are working on Apache projects, under Apache guidelines, and towards shared ownership in the Apache Software Foundation. Phrasing it as being forced out of Jakarta is why the projects refuse to form their own PMCs. If you asked people whether they prefer the legal protection of the ASF or the management hierarchy of the Jakarta PMC, I think you will find the committers will accept self-governance in fact rather than the illusion provided by an external PMC. If not, then at least they will be making an informed decision. ....Roy
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Nicola Ken Barozzi [EMAIL PROTECTED]
- verba volant, scripta manent -
(discussions get forgotten, just code remains)
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