Open Stack

On Wed, Aug 1, 2012 at 2:04 PM, Monty Taylor <mordred at inaugust.com> wrote:
> On 08/01/2012 03:48 PM, Soren Hansen wrote:
>> 2012/8/1 Benjamin Black <b at b3k.us>:
>>> Even further, why are employees of platinum and gold member companies
>>> allows to run at all given that the point of the individual seats is
>>> to expand representation to include those unable to pay to play?
>>
>> Just like my ramblings on the Internet are a manifestation of my own
>> views and not those of my employer, the inverse holds true as well:
>> Cisco does not represent me. I've worked for no less than three
>> companies during my involvement with OpenStack. I have much more history
>> with OpenStack than I do with Cisco. Why on Earth should I not be
>> allowed to run for the board of directors?
>
> I could not possibly agree more with Soren on this - and I think anyone
> who knows either of us will attest that, from the moment we both started
> working on helping set up this project we have both consistently acted
> with the interests of the project in mind. I have regularly told both
> Rackspace and HP that they are wrong in choices they have made, and I
> have fought for what I personally believe is right for OpenStack as a
> project. If I am elected to the board I can promise you that my actions
> will have not be those of a puppet sat there to do as his employer tells
> him - and I will expect that if I move companies again, I will not only
> retain my seat, but I will retain my ability to be re-elected.
>
> If anything, any Platinum member for whom I might be employed is getting
> the short end of the stick, because without me as an employee, they
> might be more able to put people on the board with more of a mind to
> represent their business interests.
>
> Monty

I've got all the respect in the world for both of you.  But there are
going to be people at $contributor that will vote not based on their
own opinion but one that will serve their interests at $contributor
because of incentives real or imagined.

The issue at hand here is the severe lack of balance among overall
members where rackspace and HP have together sufficient membership to
silence all other members.  The concern I have is that with 700+
members in each company any voting that is swayed against a personal
opinion or filling a gap where no opinion resides might be something
of a significant bias in favor of $contributor rather than openstack.

And I don't want to see someone like soren whom I really do respect
the hell out of dropped from a nomination because he happens to work
for a platinum contributor.

But the question is how do we avoid this bias?  Can we without
introducing a worse one?

-Matt