On Thu, Nov 15, 2007 at 07:56:33AM -0800, Garrett D'Amore wrote: > > This is a false dichotomy. It is reasonable to expect Sun's > > fiduciaries and their spokespeople to treat us with respect, > > regardless of our incorporated status, and I will continue to call for > > it regardless. > > Actually, that's a non-sequiter. The issue I was pointing out had > nothing to do with how Sun treats us (which I think for the most part > has indeed been respectful), but rather what level of administrative > independence (including little details like our core identity) the > community wants to have from Sun. > > Put another way, shall the community exist at Sun's pleasure alone, or > do we exist as an entity in our own right, not subservient to Sun? I
There's a subtle point here. The false dichotomy is between complete independence (including a name change) and a complete inability to accomplish whatever we as a Community desire. That dichotomy assumes that negotiation will never lead to acceptable compromises. However, there is no false dichotomy between independence and impotence: the possibility always exists that those consensus-oriented processes will fail, whether because of a genuine disagreement or because of bad actors. After negotiation, compromise, appeasement, and argument have failed, the gavel must fall on some final appeal. Who will be holding it? This is the main governance problem before us. All others are subsidiary. Most of the other debates are not actually over governance issues at all. But you're quite correct: a clear written agreement is the only way to prevent endless squabbling. In many ways, these are the pains associated with Sun's willingness to lead the industry into new territory: a successful company opening both the source and development processes of a successful, actively developed product has little relevant precedent. It's decidedly unfair to condemn the company for making mistakes along the way. At the same time, it's clear that there's no universal understanding as to who can do what. This is all I'm going to say on the subject until someone proposes an actual amendment. It's a waste of time until then. -- Keith M Wesolowski "Sir, we're surrounded!" FishWorks "Excellent; we can attack in any direction!"
