I would like the Nix community to be composed of a broad coalition of very different people, almost all of whom disagree intensely, but only rarely rancorously.
I have been a member of one such community, Python, since 1999. While it did once go through at least one civil war over similar political issues, it survived, and is now the largest programming community on Earth. It is also famously welcoming and diverse. It is also very decentralized, but at its core is the Python Software Foundation. Like many others in the Nix community, I am a Fellow Member of the PSF.
Here are the PSF’s bylaws: PSF Bylaws | Python Software Foundation
I will be advocating on behalf of adopting a model like it in the upcoming governance discussions, am I invited to participate. I have some vague sense that there was some pushback to a similar model (the Apache Software Foundation) by existing Nixers. Can someone tell me what to look at to see this pushback? Or, of course, post it here.
EDIT: a brief description of how the PSF operates: it has a huge base of nonvoting members (you become a member simply by applying), a smaller base of voting members whom are either code/community contributors or have a financial stake, a board of directors, and a set of officers. The voting members vote for the board, the board votes for the officers. There are term limits for all board members and officers. Nonvoting members can become voting members if they are vouched for by a voting member and agreed on by a plurality of board members. Motions are cast, and issues are considered on a regular basis.
