rbowen / centos / centos.org

Forked from centos/centos.org 5 years ago
Clone

Blame about/governance/appendix-glossary.md

401d07
---
401d07
title:  "Glossary"
d66007
layout: aside
401d07
---
401d07
401d07
## Meritocracy
401d07
401d07
In the free and open source software communities, meritocracy is one of the 3
401d07
main governance models in use and is likely the most popular, powerful, and
401d07
successful. However, there is still, at times, confusion over how exactly this
401d07
model works.
401d07
401d07
First and foremost, the basic tenet behind meritocracy is that people gain
401d07
merit by their actions and activities within the community. What actually
401d07
comprises that merit is determined by the pre-existing community itself, and so
401d07
there exists an internal, stabilizing feedback system that prevents a healthy
401d07
meritocracy from going askew. This basis of "what is merit" and "how one earns
401d07
it" is self-defined and known within the community and can, and does, vary from
401d07
community and project. For example, one FOSS project/community may value simple
401d07
coding capability above all, and thus heavy-coders will gain merit quickly,
401d07
whether they do so as volunteers or are paid to do so, and whether they work
401d07
well with others or not. Other communities value a healthy balance of coding
401d07
skills with consensus-based collaboration skills, whereas others also include
401d07
the individual's personal stake in the project (how much they are personally
401d07
involved and invested).
401d07
401d07
As the above shows, a meritocracy is not, therefore, a democracy proper but a
401d07
pseudo-republic. The wants and desires of the community are weighed in the
401d07
atmosphere of merit that enables access and control.
401d07
401d07
## Consensus decision making
401d07
401d07
One practice of meritocracy is the consensus-based decision model. From
401d07
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_decision-making, "Consensus
401d07
decision-making is a group decision making process that seeks the consent of
401d07
all participants." In practice, it is different from a majority-vote-wins
401d07
approach. In the CentOS Project a discussion toward a decision follows this
401d07
process:
401d07
401d07
1. A proposal is put forth and a check for consensus is made.
401d07
   1. Consensus is signified through a +1 vote.
401d07
1. A check is made for any dissent on the proposal.
401d07
   1. Reservations? State reservation, sometimes with a '-1' signifier
401d07
      1. Reservations about the proposal are worked through, seeking consensus to resolve the reservations.
401d07
      1. A reservation is not a vote against the proposal, but may turn into a vote against if unresolved. It is often expressed with an initial -1 vote to indicate reservations and concerns. This indicates there is still discussion to be had.
401d07
   1. Stand aside? No comment, or state concerns without a -1 reservation; sometimes the '-0' signifier is used.
401d07
      1. This option allows a member to have issues with the proposal without choosing to block the proposal, by instead standing aside with a +/-0 vote.
401d07
      1. The stated concerns may influence other people to have or release reservations.
401d07
   1. Block? Vote '-1' with reasons for the block.
401d07
      1. This is a complete block on a proposal, refusing to let it pass. A block is a -1 vote and must be accompanied with substantive arguments that are rooted in the merit criteria of the Project -- protecting the community, the upstream, technical reasons, and so forth.
401d07
401d07
Block (-1) votes used as a veto are typically used only when consensus cannot otherwise be met, and are effectively a veto that any sitting Board member can utilize with sufficient substantiation.