After a comment made by Josh Boyer on the fedora-advisory-board, I was prompted to make a blog post, “WTF is the Fedora Project Board“. This morning I was looking through my blog archives on LiveJournal when I discovered that I actually started this series with a post there, “Understanding the difference between the Fedora Board and FESCo“. The irony is, in that entry, I quoted the same Josh as a reference in explaining wtf the Board is:
< jwb> … board says “we need to put Fedora on cell phones”. FESCo goes and oversees the adaptation required for that
So … I wonder what has happened since then? Why is it no longer clear what purpose the Board has in Fedora? One obvious thing is that the Board hasn’t done the best job in being noisy and making what it does obvious. This is partly do to the fact that all of the Board members are doers in other parts of the Project, and that is where the noise and reporting goes on. Hopefully my recent post helps explain how difference:that works.
Still, there is an obvious requirement on the Board to go above and beyond in terms of making noise about what it does. I’d reckon most of Board members were unaware that perception about the Board was unchanged or confused. Mainly I think we work in such murky waters where success is not measured by our noise level pointing back at the Board but at our noise level pointing at whatever murky problem we are trying to clear up and bring into the light. When you read a Board member weighing in on a problem with a note of authority, leadership, and decisiveness in their tone, you could be watching the Board in action. Maybe.
Folks, help make sure that the Board is doing what you expect by watching our various outputs from here onward. Tak in the usual place. If conversations on f-a-b, minutes, and blog posts don’t make it clearer to you, send a runner with a torch up the mountainside, along the perilous path, and to the mouth of the cave. Knock on the big rock twice, whistle once, and wait patiently. We may be meditating.