Re: Squeak Oversight Board Election 2026

Hi all,

I'd like to offer my help as a member of the Squeak Oversight Board this year.

As a fairly recent newcomer - I discovered Smalltalk in 2020 while
looking for the best OOP language - I still remember the pains I had to
go through to get to grips with Squeak. One of my objectives is to help
make Squeak, and Smalltalk in general, more accessible to newcomers and
easier to learn.

I studied math and computer science in the 1980s, but later specialized
in wide-area telecommunications networks. That probably led me to my
fascination with Smalltalk's processes, context chains, and its live
environment. It still amazes me how a live system can update the very
same core code running the update itself without crashing :)

My contributions so far have been limited to refactoring and cleaning up
parts related to process termination and unwinding. In many other areas,
I'm still only scratching the surface, so my experience and potential to
contribute are naturally limited and in no way comparable to those of
the other board candidates.

I value consistency and readability of code, as well as "why" comments
that explain the motivation behind non-obvious lines. I'm a hobbyist,
and my interest is exploration and deep understanding, for which I
consider Squeak an amazing tool. I'm thankful for all the hard work of
the community that keeps Squeak so much alive and fast!

Thank you for your consideration!

Best,
Jaromir

On Apr 23 2026, at 4:28 pm, Patrick Rein
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi All,
>  
> (If you plan to run, please note the important information for board  
> members below).
>  
> It's that time again. Time to raise your voices and elect your
> leaders!  
> Can you believe
> it's been over a year already?
>  
> It's a time for you to stand up, help your community and volunteer to serve!
>  
> Squeak wants you!
>  
> Every year we elect the SOB (Squeak Oversight Board) consisting of
> seven members from our community. The current board members are:
>  - Marcel Taeumel
>  - Vanessa Freudenberg
>  - Eliot Miranda
>  - Tim Rowledge
>  - David T. Lewis
>  - Christoph Thiede
>  - Rachel Crowther
>  - Scott Gibson
>  
> For more info on the board please see:
>  https://squeakboard.wordpress.com/our-mission/
>  
> Everything about the election, including schedule and more, can be  
> tracked here:
>  http://wiki.squeak.org/squeak/6675
>  
> Now until Friday 8th of May 2026, 18.00 UTC: Nominations of SOB members
> and campaigning!
>  
> !!! Important Information for Candidates !!!
>  
> As Squeak is a member project of the Software Freedom Conservancy,
> board members need to follow and sign the SFCs conflict of interest
> policy, which you can find here:
> https://sfconservancy.org/projects/policies/conflict-of-interest-policy.html
>  
> !!! End of Important Change !!!
>  
> Candidates should nominate themselves and start their campaign on the
> squeak-dev mailing list. Or if you nominate someone else, make sure
> that person really wants to run. :) I will not put anyone on the
> candidate list until that person makes it known on squeak-dev that
> he/she intends to run.
>  
> During this period, the candidates should ideally present themselves
> on squeak-dev, unless they have already done so, and the community can
> ask questions.
>  
> I encourage you to reach out to potential candidates, people that are
> active in the community and represent your views, and ask them to run.
> Some people will not run without encouragement.  Also, I know that
> some people wait to the last minute to run for the board to see if
> others will run but please consider getting this year off to a faster
> start and just jump right in!
>  
> The schedule and process are as follows:
>  
> - Now until Friday 8th of May 2026, 18.00 UTC: Nominations of SOB  
> members and campaigning!
> - Friday 8th of May 2026, 18.00 UTC: Candidate list is finalized.
> - Friday 8th of May 2026, ~19.00 UTC: Online election starts.
> - Friday 22nd of May 2026, 19.00 UTC: Online election ends.
> - Results will be announced immediately after the election ends.
>  
> The voting period is two weeks long and ballots are sent out via email.
>  
> And how do you end up on the voter list? See below. :)
>  
> IMPORTANT: New voters will NOT be added once the election is started.
> You MUST try to get on the voter list before the 8th of May 2026
> or you will NOT be able to vote. If your Email has changed please try
> to make sure it is changed on the list of voters before the election
> starts.
>  
> --------------------------
>  
> If you were invited to vote last year you are already on the voter
> list, no worries! If you are a new Squeaker and wish to vote you
> should do ONE of the following:
>  
>  * Get a "known" Squeaker to vouch for you. If a known Squeaker
> sends an email to voters (at) squeak.org giving me a name and email
> for you, then I will add you.
>  
>  * Send an email to voters (at) squeak.org yourself (and CC to
> squeak-dev if you like) with information/arguments showing me that you
> are indeed serious about voting and that you are indeed a Squeaker.
>  
> When the voting period starts all voters will receive an email with
> instructions and a link to the voting website.
>  
> If there are any further questions, just reply *in this thread* and I
> will closely track it - or send email to voters (at) squeak.org which
> is updated and points to me.
>  
> ...so let's get on with it!
>  
> All the best,
> Patrick
>  
>  
> Squeak-dev mailing list -- [email protected]
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