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Martin Schulze Steps Down As SPI Vice President
Tina Gasperson reports on NewsForge that Martin Schulze, Vice President of Software in the Public Interest, is resigning his position there to protest the lack of time he says fellow SPI higher-ups are devoting to the organization. Since SPI serves as a coordinating body for several large-scale Free software projects (like GNOME and OpenOffice.org), discord there should concern a lot of people. Update: 11/26 03:14 GMT by T : That should read "OpenSource.org," not "OpenOffice.org." Sorry.
You might not agree with him, but that took some guts to do. I wish more people were so dedicated to their beliefs.
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Bite Me Fanboy!!
Since SPI serves as a coordinating body for several large-scale Free software projects (like GNOME and OpenOffice.org), discord there should concern a lot of people.
Wait, so they have an organization where all the bloated and out-of-control projects go to congregate? Is it like AA or Overeaters Anonymous? Wow, they've got everything on the Internet these days!
Citing frustration over the operations of Software in the Public Interest, its Vice President Martin Schulze gave an ultimatum: either the President, Secretary, and one of the board of directors resigns, or he does. Guess who's leaving? Schulze asked Nils Lohner, president; Wichert Akkerman, secretary, and Ian Jackson of the B.O.D. to step down because he felt they weren't dedicating enough time and effort to their positions. "All three of them have shown in the past that they are able to give valuable input to various issues. However, all three have also shown that they are too busy to work on the tasks they signed up once. Hence, they should resign and let less busy people to the work instead," he wrote in a petition to the SPI membership.
"I don't see how SPI can work properly without a functioning Secretary and Board members who are too busy to make it even to the meetings. If those people wish to work on SPI matters and if their input is valuable, they should rather act as formal advisor, so SPI doesn't suffer from their overload but can benefit from their input," he added.
"In our current situation, with the currently assembled Board of Directors, with too many too busy Board members who are permanently not able to attend IRC Board meetings, join discussions and votes via mail and - from my perspective - a non-functioning Secretary with too many pending issues and problems writing and correcting minutes etc., I don't see a chance for SPI to work as our members and affiliated projects deserve.
"I believe that the Board requires a large change and that these members need to free their position so new people with more time and enthusiasm can join the Board and work on behalf of SPI."
Schulze wrote that, of the three he asked to resign, only Nils Lohner responded - and according to Schulze he has agreed to step down from his position as president. "Nils Lohner told the Board half a year ago that he will be absent for half a year. Once he was back, he let us know that he intends to resign since his new work environment did not leave enough room for SPI and he would not be able to act a Board member accordingly. Neither Wichert nor Ian even raised a word," says Schulze.
Barring voluntary resignations, Schulze noted article seven of the SPI by-laws, which provides for the forced removal of a director when "sufficient causes exist for such removal."
But ultimately, Schulze decided to remove himself from the situation, rather than pursue the matter further. "I hereby step down as vice president of Software in the Public Interest, Inc. I have announced the intention to step more than two weeks ago, and I also asked for help about a week later with no responses," he announced.
Software in the Public Interest, Inc., was established as a non-profit in 1997 and acts as an umbrella for Free Software projects such as Debian, GNOME, and OpenSource.org. The last published minutes are from a July 2002 board meeting, when the group officially approved GNU Texmacs as a sponsored project. At that meeting they also turned down Bruce Perens' request for the organization to get on board with his Sincer Choice initiative, because of its claim "We support a broad range of copyright policies, from Public Domain through Open Source and Free Software to Proprietary." SPI board members stated that it is a Free Software organization and does not agree with any policy that supports proprietary software.
Since Schulze's resignation on Sunday, 19-year-old Debian developer Jimmy Kaplowitz threw his hat into the ring, stating "Right now, SPI membership means very little other than a subscription to spi-private. We should involve the members, so that we can receive their input and ideas. This would involve more use of the public and members-only mailing lists, wherever it wouldn't violate confidentiality. I am thinking now of Nils Lohner's message to spi-general when membership was first introduced, and we need to again ask the members what they want the board to be doing.
"I would be honored to serve as an SPI board member, and I hope that I am given the chance."
I swear the open source community is often it's own worse enemy. Since (almost) noone is making money doing it, the primary form of compensation is ego gratification. If someone doesn't get their way, they throw a temper tantrum and go off on their own. The end result is forked code trees, huge amounts of duplicated effort, and projects that never go anywhere.
Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
Since Schulze's resignation on Sunday, 19-year-old Debian developer Jimmy Kaplowitz threw his hat into the ring, stating "Right now, SPI membership means very little other than a subscription to spi-private. We should involve the members, so that we can receive their input and ideas. This would involve more use of the public and members-only mailing lists, wherever it wouldn't violate confidentiality. I am thinking now of Nils Lohner's message to spi-general when membership was first introduced, and we need to again ask the members what they want the board to be doing.
"I would be honored to serve as an SPI board member, and I hope that I am given the chance."
This must be some prestigious organization if a 19 year old is offering to serve on the board...
when good things run into problems because of personal issues.
And while all parties involved will (of course) deny that the cause is personal issues, it seems rather obvious.
I mean, the VP resigns because he feels the other high ranking officials aren't "dedicated" enough? In whose opinion? And why not appoint other functionaries to do the jobs that need doing?
No, resignations like this (especially the sort where you have "either they all resign or I do...") are almost always personally motivated out of a feeling to "show someone" how much in the wrong they are.
And it almost never helps. This is a lose-lose situation. Imagine if the rest of the board had resigned... credibility would fly out the window.
Like I said, it is always saddening when a good organization has problems because of people not getting along. While I don't know a lot about SPI, it seems they do, uhm open source stuff (:P their website is kinda hard to understand in that it is very very generalized. Slashdot could have the same mission statement as them and not change significantly).
Martin, aka "Joey", is one of the many unsung free software heroes of SPI/Debian. Joey deals with everything from helping newbies to organizational tasks to technical issues in a way that few can do -- either because of a lack of time, patience, and/or skills.
This is a case of someone dedicating huge amounts of time in the best traditions of free software -- something that few can do, either because of finances, other life pressures, or simply human limitations. This makes Joey an overachiever in the best sense of the word.
The poster was right: this resignation spells trouble for free software. It's a sign of distress and it should cause some thought to be given to the issues of time/work and free software: Is there a better way we can encourage people to commit their time to free software projects? Is there a way we can give these hard working people who do all of the non-glamorous -- but necessary -- work behind the scenes the recogition they deserve?
Seriously, he is resigning because he thinks others aren't putting enough time in. One could assume that he was most likely putting a good amount of time in. Now he is resigning, accomplishling what? Even less time being put in.
I understand what he is trying to do, but maybe its not the best of going about it, good luck to him though.
Moderation Totals: Flamebait=2, Troll=1, Redundant=1, Insightful=6, Overrated=1, Underrated=1, Total=12. (not mine)
Even worse, the latest news is from 1999...
Concrete proof noone's putting in the efforts...
As much as I like gnome and openoffice, one of the great things about open source is the redundancy in projects. If I don't like gnome or the direction the project is going, I can just choose an alternative. Disarray at the top would be bad, but not disastrous.
Back the actual question, nobody is claiming that 19 year olds are subhuman. The claim is that they are inexperienced. You are right that "young" and "inexperienced" are non-synonymous. But one is a proper subset of the other, pretty much by definition.
Saying young people are inexperienced isn't maligning their character. It is akin to saying black people are poor. An unfortunate and to-be-mended, but nonetheless entirely factual circumstance.
Wow you passed preschool. Now you go on to what, trolling the First Grade holding mommy's hand?
1 tequila 2 tequila 3 tequila floor
Is there a better way we can encourage people to commit their time to free software projects? Is there a way we can give these hard working people who do all of the non-glamorous -- but necessary -- work behind the scenes the recogition they deserve?
According to the article, this was the problem:
Schulze asked Nils Lohner, president; Wichert Akkerman, secretary, and Ian Jackson of the B.O.D. to step down because he felt they weren't dedicating enough time and effort to their positions.
Shit, even if true! More is better. When someone is not getting work done, throw more people at it. Devide the tasks, appoint new people, get the work done. The secretary missed a few meetings? Get two. The president is unable to make enough decisions, get another vice president. What good is done by humiliating people? What good is done when you quit? None. If there really are people rearing to go, sign them on.
Sigh, I know, resources are finite and all that. Barf.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Quitting to protest the lack of effort by others? I'll just do nothing to protest you doing less than perfection!
/. should make better summaries.
I don't know the guy, but I'm sure he has his reasons.
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
Nah, no one wants free software to go away except vendors of crappy closed source software. Free and Open software folks can have their differences but the commonality is much greater.
Since (almost) noone is making money doing it, the primary form of compensation is ego gratification.
What a crock, lots of people are making a good living with free software. Even pioneers such as RMS got by. Now that free software is universally recognized as superior to other software, there is a much larger demand. Show me someone who does not get some ego gratification from their job and I'll show you someone who should be doing something else.
If someone doesn't get their way, they throw a temper tantrum and go off on their own.
This is unique to free software? -Bangs his fist and insults a federal judge- Have you ever seen the monkeyboy dance? If your eyes don't convince you, just read this article. I would never ever want to work at a place like that. It looks like they treat each other worse than they treat the rest of the world.
The end result is forked code trees, huge amounts of duplicated effort, and projects that never go anywhere.
Said another way, free software could never make a working operating system, an easy to use GUI, it's chaos, blah, blah, bull shit on a stick This message posted with Mozilla and Windowmaker on X11 under Debian, software so superior to comercial junk I can never ever go back.
SPI will survive this little tussle and free softare will survive SPI.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Once again proving that Time = Money...
Sucks when the real world interupts a nice daydream...
"This must be some prestigious organization if a 19 year old is offering to serve on the board... " I'm 19 years old and am currently CEO of a fortune 500. Guess who I am, and you get a surprise. Respect is earned, not granted due to age.
.[[erax0r]].
Joey did send a mail, forwarded by Bdale Garbee to debian-devel-announce@lists.debian.org that essentially stated:
Some members of the current Board of Directors of Software in the Public Interest would like to expand its Board.
In that e-mail he solicited nominations and suggested that candidates must have time to devote to the board.
It is true, without a doubt that SPI, and its Board of Directors, have not done anything in the last year that makes me consider SPI to be anything other than a formality designed to collect money for Debian and other worthy causes. I think the SPI website explains it best:
News
No items for this year.
So, I applaud Joey's decision. Maybe someone will wake up and realise, SPI has a role to fulfill and it's not doing it right now.
And maybe Joey will have even more time to write the Debian Weekly News, since nobody else is willing to do it
For geeks of a certain age and background (myself included), the acronym "SPI" stood for Simulations Publications Inc., a fairly important wargame publisher whose prime was the 1980s. They concentrated on historical wargames, though I did once own their WWIII in Northern Europe game, The Next War, which was massive and retailed for $30-50 in 1980s money! They also had a D&D knockoff called DragonQuest, and a bi-monthly magazine, Strategy & Tactics, which included a complete wargame in every issue!
IIRC (and if not, this being Slashdot, I'm sure someone will correct me), they were bought out by Avalon Hill, which in turn was bought out by TSR, which in turn was bought out by Wizards of the Coast, which in turn was bought out by Hasbro.
Anyone who remembers the original SPI now has permission to feel very. very old...
Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)
http://www.lawrenceperson.com/
Oops.
"The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than that of whether a submarine can swim" -EWD
No items for this year."
Must more be said? They dont actually do anything... according to their website anyway. It seems they're just a source of funds for smaller entities that do something.
Long before I became a GNU/Linux user I marveled at the some of the managment idea's generated by Microsoft. This resignation is a volunteer managment crisis issue and IMHO managment idea's are Microsoft's best output.
Think of the centuries of business history being generated. So with this in mind:
"Let's look at what David Thielen revealed in his book The 12 Simple Secrets of Microsoft Management
1 Hire the best
At Microsoft, the single most important contributor to productivity is regarded as the quality of the employees. Without the very best staff, it is unlikely you will realise your full business potential.
2 Bet the company
Bill Gates has never been afraid to completely alter the direction of Microsoft if he believes it necessary to maintain the dominant position of the company (consider his heavy gambles on Windows). If you are convinced that your company needs to move into new areas to stay ahead of the game, have the courage of your convictions.
3 Require failure
Microsoft not only forgives genuine mistakes by its employees, it positively expects them! Employees are required to show initiative and take responsibility. Reasonable failures are therefore expected.
4 Managers must be qualified
Microsoft's managers are required to have a good detailed technical knowledge of the work being carried out by their teams. This means they have the respect of their staff and can make informed decisions.
5 Measure employees on performance
The value of a Microsoft employee is judged entirely by his or her actual day-to-day performance. This is valued far above length of service, experience, loyalty or past successes. The highest standards are therefore certain to be maintained.
6 Spend money frugally
Microsoft insists on a corporate culture of modest spending on peripherals: employees do not take expensive flights; offices are uniformly simple, even for the top executives; and entertaining is never unnecessarily lavish.
7 Keep it small
Microsoft attempts to maintain the advantages enjoyed by small businesses, such as autonomy, good communication and mobility. It divides itself as far as possible into small work groups which, while still pursuing a common goal, are each functionally independent.
8 Think 'Domination'
Microsoft cultivates a culture where every employee is focused on 'total world domination'.
Encourage your employees to think of every project in terms of winning market share and dominating the marketplace.
9 'Bill is watching'
The very top level of Microsoft management, and that includes Bill Gates him-self, exert enormous control over every aspect of the company. They do this by insisting on a hands-on approach and always finding time to investigate the detailed workings of specific projects. They are never wholly 'out-of-touch' with the day-to-day running of the business.
10 Great morale is essential
Morale directly affects employee productivity. Microsoft make sure their staff are happy and have a great team spirit. This means allowing them freedom, ownership of projects and good reward packages, including share options."
*You can't get better ownership plan than the SPI.
"11 Cut the bureaucracy
Microsoft is very conscious of eliminating any unnecessary red tape that reduces its efficiency. Employee complaints about bureaucracy are taken seriously, and meetings are always expected to produce real decisions.
12 Make staff feel at home"
Pure "Microsoft"?
Small managment lesson for SPI?
Just make you giggle?
I remember and I feel very old. I loved "Strategy and Tactics"!
Wow, the good old days!
Bruce
Bruce Perens.
Martin "Joey" Schulze deserves our sincere gratitude for all the hard work he has put into Software in the Public Interest and all of its member projects as the organisations Vice President. As the Vice President he effectively ran SPI for months in the absence of the President and I have had opportunity to work with him since this summer in his capacity as vp of SPI. I can assure you all that he is a very dedicated and principled individual and he would not leave his post if he did not feel that it was in the best interests of SPI.
Remember that being a board member of SPI is not a paid position. Not even an honourarium comes with the role. It is a serious time commitment and not everyone has the time necessary to commit to such endeavours.
I'd like to point out that Joey has not resigned from SPI's board, but only as the Vice President. He has not indicated he will dedicate any less time to the project, nor has he given up on its success. He is offering the opportunity for someone else to carry the torch.
For my part, I'd like to say:
Joey, you're an asset to the community and I look forward to continuing to work with you. Thank you.
David "cdlu" Graham
OFTC: By the community, for the community
Bruce
Bruce Perens.
...was "eh?"
I mentioned this article to Ian Jackson just now, and it was the first he'd heard of any of this.
But rather suggesting that, in general, "resigning on principle" is a bad thing for all involved. Especially when the action is set up so that either the most productive person resigns, or the prominent figureheads resign.
As I said, the organization would likely have been better served by change from within: hiring additional people, re allocating tasks, and so on.
I think that resignations of this sort are not a productive behavior for the company involved. Sure, it may have been the *right thing* for him to do, due to personal issues with the people, but I seriously doubt that his resignation has helped SPI.
It is interesting, however, that you indiscriminately flame me on the suspicion of critizing Martin Schulze. "FUCK YOU" is not really an educated or helpful retort. Saying Martin "contributed a lot" to the program just proves my point--as his leaving can only hurt SPI. As I said, I was not analysing his personal decision, but rather saying that resignations of this sort are bad for the company.
And, again, like I said before, if the entire board resigns, SPI loses credibility and looks ineffectual. If the primary contributor resigns, SPI end up being ineffectual. So it is lose - lose.
It sounds like a typical large american corporation. Total lack of leadership higher up. Those guys are too out of touch with what the organization is doing to have any real impact. Then, as often happens, the few people who really care get frustrated and leave - this happens at all levels. BTW, this tends to happen less at companies that promote from within, rather than import a management team from XYZ corp. I'd expect better from a non-corporate organization though.
Sorry, just had to prove this was slashdot. And that I'm very, very, old ;)
Joey Schulze is stepping down as Vice-President, but that doesn't mean he is giving up his position as a member of the SPI Board of Directors. The bylaws do not require him to do so, and we have clarified this on the SPI Board mailing list today. To the relief of the active Board members, Joey's current intention does appear to be to remain on the Board. We'll need his energy and input.
This article did do at least one good thing, in that it apparently prompted Ian Jackson to check his SPI Board email...
Anyway, SPI is currently soliciting self-nominations for positions on the SPI Board of Directors. If you're a member of the Free Software and/or Open Source Software communities, and find that you share the goals listed in SPI's bylaws (see section two), you may want to submit yourself for consideration.
Also, SPI can be strengthened with regular memberships as well (yes, I know the SSL cert needs to be renewed). Historically, only SPI's Board has been particularly active, and sometimes not even that. If you'd like to change SPI for the better, we sure could use your help.
Thanks for listening; I hope we can turn this disappointment into an opportunity for SPI to improve. We need your help to do it.
Branden Robinson, SPI Treasurer
Address-collecting spam robots don't know how to crack ROT13. Do you?
I think you're wrong. What you're describing may be considered tendencies, but youth is not necessarily related to experience. There are a large number of inexperienced middle-aged people around. This is, amongst other things, a result of retraining. I worked with someone in his 40s who had less experience than I did, because he'd been a diesel mechanic for 20 years. I was not much older than 19 myself, and had a management position. And I've met people younger than that with a great deal of experience in selected areas. Granted, a young person is presumably less likely to be a polymath, but there are young people who have expert knowledge in defined fields.
Alister
Will the last SPI board member standing please remember to transfer opensource.org to OSI?
-russ
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
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