Re: A summary of some open discussions

[Brandon Invergo]

Ludovic Courtès writes:

> As a side note: I think authority is not something one should take for
> granted.  We’re a group of volunteers, and each one of us has just as
> much authority as the others consent to give them.

No.  When you join an organization, you implicitly or explicitly agree
to work within the existing structure of that organization.  There is
nothing inherently wrong with trying, within those confines, to effect
change in the organization.  However, to say that as a volunteer one can
simply start doing things differently, against the existing structure,
because one's opinion changes amounts to subversion.

In this case, the existing structure is that Richard is the leader of
the project.  Richard granted me authority to appoint new maintainers
for existing projects.  That authority is not contingent upon the
consent of other volunteers, because that simply is not how the project
is structured.

I will remind you that GNU is not a government.  "Consent of the
governed" arguments do not make sense in a voluntary organization.  In
fact, consent is reversed from that of governments: the volunteers
participate at the consent of the organization.

--
-brandon