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GLEP: 7 |
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Title: New ombudsman position |
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Version: $Revision: 1.1 $ |
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Last-Modified: $Date: 2003/07/07 20:19:11 $ |
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Author: Grant Goodyear <g2boojum@gentoo.org> |
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Status: Draft |
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Type: Standards Track |
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Content-Type: text/x-rst |
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Created: 6-Jul-2003 |
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Post-History: |
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Abstract |
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======== |
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This GLEP proposes that we extend the current proposed management |
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structure by adding a position of Ombudsman that would fall under |
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devrel, qa, and pr. An ombudsman is one who has been assigned to |
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*impartially* investigate complaints and settle disputes. |
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Motivation |
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========== |
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Given the impressive numbers of both Gentoo developers and users, it is |
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inevitable that there will be occasional clashes between developers and |
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managers, developers and developers, and developers and users. Right |
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now there is no mechanism to prevent such disputes from escalating out |
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of control. |
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Specification |
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============= |
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One developer (and one backup) will be appointed as ombudsmen. This |
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positions should be far from a full-time job. It would appear as part |
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of the devrel, qa, and pr projects (inasmuch as qa and pr both involve |
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developer-user relations). Infrastructure requirements are an |
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ombudsman.gentoo.org web page and a ombudsman@gentoo.org e-mail |
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alias. |
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Rationale |
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========= |
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One traditional method (circa early 1800s in Sweden, apparently [#RIT]_) |
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for managing disputes is to have an impartial individual whose job it |
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is to investigate complaints and mediate settlements. A quick search |
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on Google [#GOOGLE]_ reveals numerous government agencies, universities, |
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and industries that employ official ombudsmen. The key requirement for |
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an ombudsman to be effective is support from management and trust from |
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users and developers -- the ombudsmen must be considered by all to be |
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reasonably impartial. |
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Backwards Compatibility |
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======================= |
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No conflicts. |
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References |
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========== |
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.. [#RIT] http://www.rit.edu/~022www/defhis.shtml |
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.. [#GOOGLE] http://www.google.com |
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Copyright |
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========= |
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This document has been placed in the public domain. |
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