[opensource-wg] Call for support of co-chair candidates

Dear Marcos Sanz, Martin Winter, and the RIPE Community,


I hope this message finds you well. I am writing in response to the recent
announcement regarding the change in the voting criteria for the open
co-chair position within the Open Source Working Group.


Initially, the voting process was defined by specific and clear guidelines.
The retrospective amendment of these criteria after the election raises
significant concerns about transparency and the integrity of the democratic
process within our community. Changing these rules post-factum sets a
precedent that is both unexpected and concerning.


This decision also raises questions about the RIPE Open Source Working
Group's approach to collaboration. The use of terms like "our open source
arena" only confirms exclusivity and combativeness, which is not conducive
to the open and collaborative nature of open source communities. It goes
against the spirit of open source, which emphasizes inclusivity and
community-driven development. Moreover, the chairs did not provide a clear
explanation as to why the voting rules needed to be changed in the first
place. The only rationale offered was a reference to "unusual traffic" on
the mailing list during the past two weeks. However, upon observation, this
traffic is only related to the voting process, which was explicitly
requested and encouraged by the chairs themselves. Clearly, such a
perspective suggests a desire to maintain existing power dynamics and
unfortunately limits new engagement.


This approach contradicts the very essence of a dynamic, community-driven
platform, where open discussion and participation are fundamental. The lack
of a substantive explanation for altering the voting rules post-factum,
coupled with the dismissal of voting-related activity as "unusual,"
suggests a preference for maintaining existing power dynamics over
fostering a vibrant, participatory community discourse.


Instead of the newly minted and spontaneously crafted criteria revealed to
us this morning, I propose a more transparent approach. It would be more
enlightening for the chairs to publicly detail the reasons behind each
voter's acceptability or unacceptability, moving away from the arbitrary
constructs they have presented here. Providing transparency to both the
voters and the candidates would offer much-needed insights from the chairs
that define what constitutes an 'eligible' voter and clarify the operation
of this "arena."


As part of that process, it would be constructive if the chairs could offer
guidance on how those currently deemed 'unfit' voters might become eligible
in the future, as well as any potential pitfalls that current 'eligible'
voters should avoid to maintain their status. Such openness would greatly
aid in demystifying the voting process and ensuring a fair and inclusive
community environment.


Thank you for considering this feedback. I look forward to a constructive
and open discussion on these matters.


With best regards,


-paul


(From TELUS Communications, a Telco who does considerable funding of open
source initiatives)

On Sat., Dec. 16, 2023, 12:57 a.m. Marcos Sanz via opensource-wg, <
opensource-wg at ripe.net> wrote:

> Dear working group,
> Dear RIPE community,
>
> The two weeks period to express preferences for one (or more) of the
> candidates to the open co-chair position is over. First and foremost:
> thanks to everyone who actively participated in the mailing list.
>
> After the somehow unusual traffic in the list during the past two weeks,
> Martin and I decided that we would like to prioritize the voices of active
> participants in the working group or the RIPE community at large towards
> the voices of those who could not be identified as such. Trying to find
> hard criteria for this is not easy, but nevertheless we had to, so this is
> the result of our deliberations:
>
> We will not consider the vote of those who a) were not subscribed to the
> RIPE open source mailing list as of the beginning of the voting window
> (last 30th November, day of the OSS wg meeting) AND b) have not attended a
> single RIPE meeting since RIPE 80, neither in presence nor remote. A bit of
> rationale about the latter: we took RIPE 80 because it is the point in time
> where Meetecho support was mature enough for the RIPE meeting to be
> organized completely virtual (admittedly, in
> kind of involuntary manner 😉). That entails everyone wanting to join a
> meeting could have done so, even if lacking the financial means.
>
> We believe that we want votes from the active community who is involved in
> the future and was involved in the past with the Open Source WG / RIPE and
> are familiar with our past work and the candidates for the new WG chair
> position. As such, we do believe that new signups with no prior history of
> involvement in the community should not qualify to vote this time. We do
> believe that we have three excellent candidates and each of them has some
> great skills, but understanding the skills required to further improve this
> group is hard to be judged by anyone who was never part of RIPE. Please do
> not misunderstand this step as a sign of hostility towards newcomers: you
> are and always be welcome to join the community at anytime and to start
> participating in our open source arena as of now!
>
> We have presented this process and its rationale to the RIPE chair and no
> opposition was expressed for us to move ahead. Based on these criteria
> we’ll now review all expressions of support in the mailing list and plan to
> provide you with an outcome as soon as possible. If you think we are making
> a wrong decision, please speak up within the next few days.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Marcos and Martin
> Open Source WG Chairs
>
> > -----Mensaje original-----
> > De: opensource-wg <opensource-wg-bounces at ripe.net> En nombre de
> > Marcos Sanz via opensource-wg
> > Enviado el: jueves, 30 de noviembre de 2023 10:27
> > Para: opensource-wg at ripe.net
> > Asunto: [opensource-wg] Call for support of co-chair candidates
> >
> > Dear all,
> >
> >
> >
> > as explained today during the working group session, three people have
> > volunteered to fill the one open co-chair vacancy. Sorted by sha256()
> over
> > their full name, the candidates are
> >
> >
> >
> > -Christian Scheele
> >
> > -Luka Perkov
> >
> > -Sasha Romijn
> >
> >
> >
> > Big thanks to all of them for their offer to support the community, we
> are
> > happy to see such an interest! The candidates have introduced themselves
> > and their motivations also during today’s session. In case you missed
> it, you
> > can watch the specific recordings here:
> >
> > https://ripe87.ripe.net/archives/video/1214
> >
> > https://ripe87.ripe.net/archives/video/1217
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Now this is a public call for support of the candidates, open for TWO
> WEEKS
> > starting now and ENDING 14th December (EOB UTC). If you want to support
> > one (or more) candidate(s), please send a public message doing so to this
> > mailing list. Statements of support cannot be anonymous, so please
> finish the
> > e-mail with your name.
> >
> >
> >
> > It’s also possible (even helpful) to support more than one candidate (to
> be
> > able to break potential ties). If you’d wish to do so, please deliver
> your
> > statement of support with the candidate names sorted by preference.
> >
> >
> >
> > Now it’s your time to contribute by choosing the new co-chair: help the
> > community!
> >
> > Marcos Sanz & Martin Winter
>
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