[drupal-devel] Revised proposal for improving Drupal structure

[Nedjo Rogers]

Dear fellow Drupal community members,

Building on the extensive comments received on my first draft, I've prepared
a revised proposal for updating the Drupal decision-making structure, moving
from what commenters called the current "dictatorship" model to one that
recognizes Drupal's characteristic as a community project.

See the revisions here:
http://drupal.org/node/15916#comment-26370

My aim is to protect and maintain the current strengths of our
project--while making some fairly small but important changes to help ensure
its long term health and sustainability.

I'm confident that those who were concerned with my initial proposal will
find that this revised one directly addresses their concerns. As suggested,
I've made the changes even more gradual--just enough to accomplish the aims
of moving past a strict "dictatorship" model and to continue putting in
place the building blocks of project sustainability. I've provided strong
protections and vetos to keep the existing leadership control and avoid
tying down the the leadership or sacrificing the positive lead roles.
Finally, I've kept the CVS access (which, as Steven correctly says, is a
technicality) with the Project Management Committee.
Please read and comment on the revised proposal!   I'd greatly appreciate
comments on this revised proposal--particularly ones that actually reference
what I'm proposing!

I appreciate the time that Drupal members have given to this important
matter.  Other open source software projects have benefited from focused
work on structure and organizational development. The Plone CMS, for
example, last year created the Plone Foundation to support its development,
investing the foundation with ownership of Plone while keeping development
in the control of project teams, each with a leader.

While it may strike some as bothersome or even lacking in due respect,
attention to and discussion of structure and decision-making is an essential
part of making a strong, successful project.

Thanks, Nedjo Rogers