On 12 September 2011 10:55, Ross Gardler <[email protected]> wrote:
> The ASF does not like umbrella projects. We used to have them, but > they lead to hierarchical structures that make oversight difficult and > confuse the decision making process. > > OOo is such a large project it will almost certainly become an > umbrella project, of sorts. We are already seeing this with the > proposal of a Japanese language dev list. > > We need to manage this carefully. A Japanes language list to ensure > non-English speaking people are able to participate in the project is > fine. A Japanese language list for creating a different version of OOo > for the Japanese market is not fine. > > If the IPMC (and later the Board) start seeing decision making power > being delegated to sub-communities they will ask the PPMC (and later > the PMC) to break-up the umbrella project. This will require the > sub-projects to be spun out into their own project. We've done this > very successfully on a number of occasions, it is not something to > worry about. I merely want to flag this so that we can manage the > creation of things like the Japanese language list correctly so as to > minimise the work needed in the near future. > > I'm not seeing a problem at this point. I'm merely letting the > community know that this could become an issue if we don't keep a > careful eye on it. For me the trigger point will be delegation of > decision making responsibilities. > Let me set up an "Aunt Sally" (target for criticism) as to how this might work. The NL list/forum/comms technology allows discussion and quicker decision making in the native language. If the outcomes of those decisions affect code to be released or the associated IP, they then go to the Apache list in English as a proposal or if it's a code patch a Committer commits it in the usual way. In this way there is never any problem with a separate project developing, it is not really different from me having an off-list chat with some like-minded people about the project and then deciding to put a proposal forward as a result. The key issues I see as needing an answer from a practical point of view are: If there is to be a NL build of the AOO product to be released, presumably that build will take place at Apache? Or could it take place elsewhere but only be formally released by Apache? It seems to me that since mirrors for distribution are normally widespread anyway, the issue is where the build and release takes place. Where will an extra-Apache community infrastructure reside? If the Oracle servers are switched off and Apache doesn't host it, some other host has to be found. Is that simply a matter for the NL communities to be resolved individually? What happens if they can't resource it and it looks like all their resources will be lost when Oracle decides to switch off the servers? Ross > > > -- > Ross Gardler (@rgardler) > Programme Leader (Open Development) > OpenDirective http://opendirective.com -- Ian Ofqual Accredited IT Qualifications (The Schools ITQ) www.theINGOTs.org +44 (0)1827 305940 The Learning Machine Limited, Reg Office, 36 Ashby Road, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 8AQ. Reg No: 05560797, Registered in England and Wales.
