[Ksummit-discuss] TAB nomination

Laurent Pinchart
2018-11-12T20:09:21Z

Hello,

I would like to stand for the TAB election.

Governance and conduct have recently become a very hot topic in our community.
Only the timing should have caught us by surprise, as problems in those areas
have been known for a long time. During the past few years I reflected upon
those issues and on many occasions discussed them with developers and
maintainers from different subsystems. There was a large consensus that we
were not doing great, but at the same time helplessness (and sometimes
despair) were prevalent. I would like to turn those negative emotions into
positive actions to help our community.

While not a political correctness activist, I believe in the balance between
freedom of thoughts and expression, and respect and civilized interactions
between humans. As such, I would like to improve the feedback and decision
processes in the Linux kernel to give everybody a chance to be heard and be
part of our community. This is why I would like to stand for the election.

In addition to governance and conduct, I have long thought that our
maintenance process is flawed. The Linux kernel has grown over the past 27
years in what is largely seen as unique in free software and software in
general. With my very first contact with Linux kernel development nearly 20
years ago, and my first sizable contribution in 2005, I have witnessed, from
the inside, the community evolving. We have collectively brought the Linux
kernel into the 21st century and turned this hobbyist project into a
professional project without forgetting where we came from. We can't stop
there.

The Linux kernel is probably, in most areas, more welcoming today than it has
ever been. Despite this, interactions between developers and maintainers
generate lots of frustration. On the positive side, this means we have lots of
room for improvement. Several subsystems have experimented with alternatives
to the historical maintenance scheme, with various levels of success, but we
largely remain a hierarchical community with a traditional power structure. I
believe we could improve this by giving more power to developers, for the
greater good of the community, and would like to bring that vision to the TAB.
This is why I would like to stand for the election.

--
Regards,

Laurent Pinchart