[OSCOM] a low bar for meritocracy

Alex Kempkens wrote:

> I think this is one of the discussions all OS projects with foundations
> had in the past :).
> 
> Within Joomla! we are actually still in the process of finally defining
> what is the best strategy.
> 
> Are members only those who activly contribute? Such as the people of the
> core team or working groups?
> 
> Or should be anybody be allowed to request membership - and if so with
> what results?

indeed, this is a very good point. while i am generally a fan of 
meritocracy, it is hard to measure properly in a community like OSCOM.

the most important work of OSCOM members probably occurs outside of 
OSCOM, at their respective communities (typically, an OSS cms project), 
and maybe even against the resistance of these communities:

http://www.advogato.org/article/544.html
http://www.advogato.org/article/657.html

it therefore makes sense to be generous when assessing merit of someone. 
in the past, the bar at OSCOM has clearly been too high, whether real or 
perceived. so let's try a much more open approach this time. i like 
michi's idea to be as transparent as possible. building trust across 
community boundaries, as outlined in the two articles above, is hard 
enough, no need to make it harder.

the foremost cause for organizational stress is money. i would advise 
OSCOM to stay away from it as much as possible. by having local, 
low-cost events, no OSCOM money needs to be involved.

-gregor