[Osia-members] OSIA Membership Value & AOSD

[Jack Burton]

On Fri, 2018-01-05 at 02:05 +0000, simran wrote: 
> Hi Grant,
> Although i have no doubt you meant the email as a productive source of
> information; it comes across as nothing but arrogant!
> How are "we" who haven't contributed to the organisation, but just been
> recipients of the benefits (invisible and visible; direct and indirect)
> qualified in any way to proclaim from our high horses what the boards should and
> shouldn't do…

Thanks for your support of OSIA, Simran -- and under normal
circumstances I might be inclined to agree with you.

But right now the interim board is actively *encouraging* members to
speak up with their views (no matter how critical) on what OSIA *should*
be doing in the near future.

This we're doing for at least three reasons:

1. There's a clear & pressing need for transformational change. If that
were not the case, we would never have ended up needing an interim
board in the first place. Which direction that change should be in is
an open question. My personal view is that a return to the strategic
focus that proved successful in 2015/16 is desirable, coupled with
embracing open source methods for management (cf. governance) of the
company. Grant's view is that a return to the great breadth of
activities seen at OSIA about a decade ago (and it seems even further
beyond that) is desirable. Other members may well see different paths
again. All those voices need to be heard.

2. Ron & I both intend to step down on 27 Jan. So right now (with the
exception of Alexar) there is really no distinction between "the
members" and "the new (post January) board".

3. The call for expressions of interest in serving on the new (post
January) board is open. Although ultimately the new board will set
OSIA's strategy, one would expect that they'll do so in line with the
will of the members. So knowing what the general consensus (if any)
among the membership is about OSIA's future direction might help some
members decide whether or not to lodge EoIs.

So (and I hope I don't end up kicking myself for saying this)...

I'd urge everyone on this list to participate in these discussions and
to feel free to be as forthright as you want in doing so, no matter
what your view may be (so long as the arguments you're raising are
directly on-topic of course).