[od-discuss] comments on License Approval Process

Mon Dec 3 20:33:40 UTC 2012

On Mon, Dec 3, 2012 at 8:01 AM, Luis Villa <luis at tieguy.org> wrote:
> Hi, all-
>
> Was pointed this morning at:
>
> http://opendefinition.org/licenses/process/
>
> I'd like to propose a couple of comments/expansions, mostly based on
> OSI's (much more involved) process document:
> http://opensource.org/approval

These look great to me. One amendment below.

> 1) This should explicitly state that the AC will decide based on the
> definition; i.e., change
>
> "Note that it is the Advisory Council who take the final decision on
> license conformance though usually consensus is reached via discussion
> on the mailing list."
>
> to something like:
>
> "The Advisory Council will make the final decision on whether or not a
> license conforms to the Open Definition, based on the OSD. This
> decision will typically follow the consensus reached via discussion on
> the mailing list."
>
> [OSI doesn't do this! Oops. I'm going to fix this :)
>
> 2) Slightly flesh out the submission process:
>
> "Submitting The License
> Submit the license to the Open Definition for discussion. To do this:
>
> 1) Sign up to the mailing list, so that you can participate in the discussion.
> 2) Send a link to the online version of the license to the mailing list.
> 3) State the rationale for the new license.
> 4) Compare and contrast to any existing similar OD-approved licenses.
>
> Ideally, this should occur before the license is finalized, so that
> you can revise based on the group's feedback."
>
> 3) Explain what will happen:
>
> "What Will Happen
> After submission, the OD community will discuss on the mailing list
> and reach consensus. The OD AC chair will summarize the consensus to
> the AC, which will make the final decision or request additional
> information at their next meeting. The AC chair will report back to
> the list, and the website will be updated as appropriate."

I don't think AC meetings (telecons) are the best place for final
decisions due to infeasibility of representative attendance, and worse
transparency than public mailing list. I suggest

What Will Happen
After submission, the OD community will discuss on the mailing list
and reach consensus. The OD AC chair will summarize the consensus to
the AC on the mailing list. If after two weeks at least two AC members
approve the consensus summary on-list, and at least 75% of AC members
expressing an opinion on the summary if any dissent,  the website will
be updated as appropriate.

"two weeks", "at least two" and "75%" are kind of annoying, but I
don't have a good alternative; better welcome.

Mike