[yocto-ab] YP Advisory Board: voting issues for next meeting

Philip Balister philip at balister.org
Mon Jun 26 06:46:11 PDT 2017


On 06/19/2017 06:08 PM, Jeff Osier-Mixon wrote:
>>
>>
>> I’d like to propose a similar vote reduction for YP Compatible. As most of
>> you know, we are revising this program to include vetting by Richard’s new
>> script, designed for this purpose to give automated advice on whether a
>> particular BSP follows YP-approved guidelines. The proposal is to obviate
>> voting on YP Compatible requests that meet two criteria:
>>
>>
>>
>> 1.       They are either update requests, e.g. to change version numbers,
>> or new applications that answer “Yes” to all criteria on the form
>>
>> why would we need #2 if we do #1. #1 is sooo much easier
>>
>> 2.       The layer in question passes RP’s new script perfectly
>>
>>
> Both #1 and #2 are required. As we discussed in the last two AB meetings,
> all layers need to pass the validation script to qualify. You can look at
> the script in the current release - it should not be difficult for any
> member-supported layer to pass.
> 
> 
>>
>> What does a quorum look like these days with Platinum? Is there a quorum
>> for Silver collective votes?
>>
> 
> That's a great question.
> 
> We have historically considered a quorum to be a voting majority. Platinum
> doesn't change this significantly; even though platinum members have 2
> votes, we have also added members, and the two members who dropped were
> both silver so didn't affect the overall number of possible votes.
> 
> With the current layout, there are 12 possible votes. Thus, the project
> requires 7 to form a voting majority. You'd be surprised how difficult this
> gets. There are 10 Silvers right now, so a quorum for the silver vote is 6.
> 
>> I think the real vote should happen when the AB gathers in person or via
> a conf call and if there is a tie, the vote is sent out to the list for
> resolution. It is amazing how slow our process is considering the small
> number of members.  Maybe some sort of Proxy process or default can be
> defined for those who can't attend?
> 
> A proxy system is a very compelling idea, given that the project operates
> largely on consensus, and nearly all of our votes are unanimous anyway.
> Let's remember to discuss this at the meeting.

My concern is if we are not careful, it becomes possible for one or two
members to dictate policy to the entire project. (I realize this is not
likely) We should be careful to design a voting system that makes this
difficult.

>From my point of view, I'd like to understand why people are not
participating in the advisory board. Are there things we can do to make
people feel engaged, which hopefully leads to more response on votes?

Philip


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