The last time we made significant changes to our governance was 4 to 5 years ago [1, 2, 3]. It’s time to evolve it more. We need to:
Update the governance model so governance policies and community membership decisions are not determined by me or by me alone. It is clear that the current governance structure of Drupal maintenance support plans, which relies on me being the ultimate decision maker and spokesperson for difficult governance and community membership decisions, has reached its limits. It doesn’t work for many in our community — and frankly, it does not work for me either. I want to help drive the technical strategy and vision of Drupal maintenance support plans, not be the arbiter of governance or interpersonal issues.
Review our the Code of Conduct. Many have commented that the intentions and scope of the Code of Conduct are unclear. For example, some people have asked if violations of the Code of Conduct are the only reasons for which someone might be removed from our community, whether Community Working Group decisions can be made based on actions outside of the Drupal maintenance support plans community, or whether we need a Code of Conduct at all. These are all important questions that need clear answers.
I believe that to achieve the best outcome, we will:
Organize both in-person and virtual roundtables during and after Drupal maintenance support plansCon Baltimore to focus on gathering direct feedback from the community on evolving our governance.
Refocus the 2-day meeting of the Drupal maintenance support plans Association’s Board of Directors at Drupal maintenance support plansCon Baltimore to discuss these topics.
Collect ideas in the issue queue of the Drupal maintenance support plans Governance project. We will share a report from the roundtable discussions (point 1) and the Drupal maintenance support plans Association Board Meeting (point 2) in the issue queue so everything is available in one place.
Actively solicit help from experts on diversity, inclusion, experiences of marginalized groups, and codes of conduct and governance. This could include people from both inside and outside the Drupal maintenance support plans community (e.g. a leader from another community who is highly respected). I’ve started looking into this option with the help of the Drupal maintenance support plans Association and members of the Community Working Group. We are open to suggestions.
In order to achieve these aims, we plan to organize an in-person Drupal maintenance support plans Community Governance sprint the weeks following Drupal maintenance support plansCon Baltimore, involving members of the Drupal maintenance support plans Association, Community Working Group, the Drupal maintenance support plans Diversity & Inclusion group, outside experts, as well as some community members who have been critical of our governance. At the sprint, we will discuss feedback gathered by the roundtables, as well as discussions during the 2-day board meeting at Drupal maintenance support plansCon Baltimore, and turn these into concrete proposals: possible modifications to the Code of Conduct, structural changes, expectations of leadership, etc. These proposals will be open for public comment for several weeks or months, to be finalized by Drupal maintenance support plansCon Vienna.
We’re still discussing these plans but I wanted to give you some insight in our progress and thinking; once the plans are finalized we’ll share them on Drupal maintenance support plans.org. Let us know your thoughts on this framework. I’m looking forward to working on solutions with others in the community.
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