Picking a chair

[Matthieu Riou <ma...@offthelip.org>]

Hi guys,

So if you read my previous e-mail about graduation (if you didn't, go ahead
I'll wait) you saw that one of the important parts of the creation of a new
official project is to pick a chair (future Vice President of Apache Buildr,
nothing less). Actually the role is terribly unsexy. You're not expected to
be a leader of the project (although you can, it's just 2 different things
or "hats" in Apache lingo), just to represent the project in front of the
board and eventually the other projects (but any PMC member can do that
second part as well). So the chair is just a point of contact for the board
who takes the first blows (but most of the time they're nice, Jim can tell
you :) ) and someone who makes sure that nothing falls through the cracks.
He should ensure that board reports are submitted in due time, that the
project and the community are healthy and that no IP issue arises. The best
description of it I heard was from Leo Simons who called it "project
lubricant". See [1] for another shorter take.

So I'd like to invite eventual volunteers for the role of chair to come
forth. If there is more than one volunteer, hopefully they can figure it out
between them, otherwise we'll have to vote but I hope it won't come to that.
Feel free to ask if you have questions.

Cheers,
Matthieu

[1] http://www.apache.org/foundation/glossary.html#PMC

Re: Picking a chair

[lacton <la...@users.sourceforge.net>]

On Fri, Oct 3, 2008 at 1:14 AM, Alex Boisvert <bo...@intalio.com> wrote:
> Hold that thought for a moment, though.  I'd like to first extend a huge
> thank to Matthieu.  Matthieu has been doing a great job keeping up with the
> administrative side of the project since the start, initiating and guiding
> the necessary actions when required.  I really look up to him when it comes
> to understanding Apache the organization and the process side of things.
> Buildr would probably still be far from graduation if Matthieu didn't run
> the ship tight and pushed things forward.

I had no idea all this was going on.  Thank you Matthieu!

Lacton

Re: Picking a chair

[Matthieu Riou <ma...@offthelip.org>]

On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 4:14 PM, Alex Boisvert <bo...@intalio.com> wrote:

> On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 4:10 PM, Alex Boisvert <bo...@intalio.com>
> wrote:
>
> > You got me at "project lubricant".    I volunteer for the terribly unsexy
> > role of chair.
> >
>
> Hold that thought for a moment, though.  I'd like to first extend a huge
> thank to Matthieu.  Matthieu has been doing a great job keeping up with the
> administrative side of the project since the start, initiating and guiding
> the necessary actions when required.  I really look up to him when it comes
> to understanding Apache the organization and the process side of things.
> Buildr would probably still be far from graduation if Matthieu didn't run
> the ship tight and pushed things forward.
>

Thanks, I'm flattered :)


>
> For people not privy to the politics behind the curtain, Matthieu has been
> lobbying with me and Assaf for somebody to take on the role of chair.
> Assaf and I both understand it's an important role to play and we were both
> ready to step up if nobody else did.  At the same time, being busy men
> having multitudes of interests and all, we both wanted the *other* to do
> it.  In some ways, few people come to Apache for the processes.  People who
> enjoy process are already busy certifying their business for the Capability
> Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), or running their local school board.
>  The
> rest of us come to Apache for the community and the code.
>
> So for the people that must know, we resolved through an official coin toss
> with witnesses, a priest and a rabbi.
>
> And I lost... I mean, I WON!!
>

Did you see that movie where the guy has a coin with two heads? The movie
sucks though.

Cheers,
Matthieu


>
> I told Matthieu I'd be willing to take on the role for a year and then
> reassess.  That's assuming, of course, that nobody else wants to step in
> and
> run the show.  Anybody?  Anybody??
>
> alex
>

Re: Picking a chair

[Assaf Arkin <ar...@intalio.com>]

On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 4:14 PM, Alex Boisvert <bo...@intalio.com> wrote:
> On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 4:10 PM, Alex Boisvert <bo...@intalio.com> wrote:
>
>> You got me at "project lubricant".    I volunteer for the terribly unsexy
>> role of chair.
>>
>
> Hold that thought for a moment, though.  I'd like to first extend a huge
> thank to Matthieu.  Matthieu has been doing a great job keeping up with the
> administrative side of the project since the start, initiating and guiding
> the necessary actions when required.  I really look up to him when it comes
> to understanding Apache the organization and the process side of things.
> Buildr would probably still be far from graduation if Matthieu didn't run
> the ship tight and pushed things forward.

... and also for answering a lot of questions and providing background
information, often repeatedly, so we can distill all that info and
share just the relevant bits on the mailing list. Apache believes in
recording everything for posterity, unfortunately, often in the form
of long-winded mailing list discussions that few dare follow; it's the
equivalent of oral tradition passed by the village elders to the next
generation. Not saying Matthieu is old or anything ...


> For people not privy to the politics behind the curtain, Matthieu has been
> lobbying with me and Assaf for somebody to take on the role of chair.
> Assaf and I both understand it's an important role to play and we were both
> ready to step up if nobody else did.  At the same time, being busy men
> having multitudes of interests and all, we both wanted the *other* to do
> it.  In some ways, few people come to Apache for the processes.  People who
> enjoy process are already busy certifying their business for the Capability
> Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), or running their local school board.  The
> rest of us come to Apache for the community and the code.
>
> So for the people that must know, we resolved through an official coin toss
> with witnesses, a priest and a rabbi.
>
> And I lost... I mean, I WON!!

Congratulations!

Assaf

>
> I told Matthieu I'd be willing to take on the role for a year and then
> reassess.  That's assuming, of course, that nobody else wants to step in and
> run the show.  Anybody?  Anybody??
>
> alex
>

Re: Picking a chair

[Alex Boisvert <bo...@intalio.com>]

On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 4:10 PM, Alex Boisvert <bo...@intalio.com> wrote:

> You got me at "project lubricant".    I volunteer for the terribly unsexy
> role of chair.
>

Hold that thought for a moment, though.  I'd like to first extend a huge
thank to Matthieu.  Matthieu has been doing a great job keeping up with the
administrative side of the project since the start, initiating and guiding
the necessary actions when required.  I really look up to him when it comes
to understanding Apache the organization and the process side of things.
Buildr would probably still be far from graduation if Matthieu didn't run
the ship tight and pushed things forward.

For people not privy to the politics behind the curtain, Matthieu has been
lobbying with me and Assaf for somebody to take on the role of chair.
Assaf and I both understand it's an important role to play and we were both
ready to step up if nobody else did.  At the same time, being busy men
having multitudes of interests and all, we both wanted the *other* to do
it.  In some ways, few people come to Apache for the processes.  People who
enjoy process are already busy certifying their business for the Capability
Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), or running their local school board.  The
rest of us come to Apache for the community and the code.

So for the people that must know, we resolved through an official coin toss
with witnesses, a priest and a rabbi.

And I lost... I mean, I WON!!

I told Matthieu I'd be willing to take on the role for a year and then
reassess.  That's assuming, of course, that nobody else wants to step in and
run the show.  Anybody?  Anybody??

alex

Re: Picking a chair

[Alex Boisvert <bo...@intalio.com>]

Matthieu,

You got me at "project lubricant".    I volunteer for the terribly unsexy
role of chair.

alex

On Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 8:46 AM, Matthieu Riou <ma...@offthelip.org>wrote:

> Hi guys,
>
> So if you read my previous e-mail about graduation (if you didn't, go ahead
> I'll wait) you saw that one of the important parts of the creation of a new
> official project is to pick a chair (future Vice President of Apache
> Buildr,
> nothing less). Actually the role is terribly unsexy. You're not expected to
> be a leader of the project (although you can, it's just 2 different things
> or "hats" in Apache lingo), just to represent the project in front of the
> board and eventually the other projects (but any PMC member can do that
> second part as well). So the chair is just a point of contact for the board
> who takes the first blows (but most of the time they're nice, Jim can tell
> you :) ) and someone who makes sure that nothing falls through the cracks.
> He should ensure that board reports are submitted in due time, that the
> project and the community are healthy and that no IP issue arises. The best
> description of it I heard was from Leo Simons who called it "project
> lubricant". See [1] for another shorter take.
>
> So I'd like to invite eventual volunteers for the role of chair to come
> forth. If there is more than one volunteer, hopefully they can figure it
> out
> between them, otherwise we'll have to vote but I hope it won't come to
> that.
> Feel free to ask if you have questions.
>
> Cheers,
> Matthieu
>
> [1] http://www.apache.org/foundation/glossary.html#PMC
>