Bikeshed painting time! Board or Council?

[Stephen Gallagher]

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On 09/29/2014 03:30 PM, Matt Domsch wrote:
> On Mon, Sep 29, 2014 at 2:10 PM, Matthew Miller 
> <mattdm at fedoraproject.org <mailto:mattdm at fedoraproject.org>>
> wrote:
> 
> The new thing we're working on will not be entirely like the
> current board, but not entirely dissimilar either. Part of the
> initial proposal here had the idea to make the new thing a "Fedora
> Council". Should we use that, or stick with "Fedora Board" (And,
> further, should we go with the "Fedora Project Board/Council"
> shade, or the simpler "Fedora Board/Council"?)
> 
> Advantages of Board: - continuity of name - doesn't make us rename
> a bunch of stuff
> 
> Advantages of Council: - clear that this is something new - clear
> that stuff not renamed is out of date - may sound more active
> 
> 
> 
> A few thoughts:
> 
> * It's  not a Board of Directors, in the legal sense. That's what
> the term Board brings to mind.  Back in the day, I had to kindly
> explain to corporate ethics, legal, and my group president that I
> was not being asked to join Red Hat's Board of Directors (as cool
> as that might have been) in order to participate in the Fedora
> Board.  Maybe few people in the Fedora community participating in
> the new Board/Council would have this confusion themselves or with
> their employers, but I sure did.
> 
> * it's not a Board of Directors in the "we have a fiduciary 
> responsibility to the company" in the traditional Board of
> Directors sense.  Nor in many of the ways outlined here (a decent
> synopsis of "board" responsibilities 
> http://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/html/c5-71.html)
> Aside from helping figure out the marketing budget for shows and
> swag, there's not a whole lot of financial oversight that this
> group would provide.
> 
> I think you have a Council, especially given the kinds of 
> responsibilities you expect the members to take in the latest
> proposal.
> 

I agree completely here. You're not the only person I've heard about
needing to clarify the meaning of "Board". I'm in favor of changing it
to Council (or possibly Cabal? Too sinister?)

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