Did the shiny new DPL just put his foot down? [LWN.net]

Did the shiny new DPL just put his foot down?

Posted May 4, 2005 1:22 UTC (Wed) by lordsutch (guest, #53) [Link]

I don't think the DPL has that sort of authority (even though all the people on the release and FTP teams are technically DPL delegates, "delegate" != "can be told what to do by the DPL" but instead = "can exercise authority of the DPL in a certain area, and not even the DPL can veto it", which is the fundamental origin of Debian's massive principal-agent problems).

Did the shiny new DPL just put his foot down?

Posted May 4, 2005 3:45 UTC (Wed) by mem (subscriber, #517) [Link]

Although that theory is nice and many of us would like it to be true, some people are clinging to the idea that the FTP masters haven't ever been appointed as DPL delegates, therefore they are not. IIRC the same holds true for the release manager.

But you are generally right, this is a large part of the reason why Debian's shape is what it is now.

Did the shiny new DPL just put his foot down?

Posted May 4, 2005 6:43 UTC (Wed) by lordsutch (guest, #53) [Link]

True, the "they aren't really delegates" argument has been bandied about... although, if they aren't, they're extraconstitutional.

I do find it fascinating that Canonical hired a few of the people perceived as the real bottlenecks in those teams... one hopes it was for their technical expertise rather than their interpersonal skills.

Did the shiny new DPL just put his foot down?

Posted May 4, 2005 9:26 UTC (Wed) by lolando (subscriber, #7139) [Link]

> True, the "they aren't really delegates" argument has been bandied about...
> although, if they aren't, they're extraconstitutional.

I hope that doesn't diminish their legitimacy. As an Alioth admin, I suppose I'm extraconstitutional too (although I've been asked by an ex-DPL and a DPL candidate)...

Did the shiny new DPL just put his foot down?

Posted May 4, 2005 20:11 UTC (Wed) by cjwatson (subscriber, #7322) [Link]

Not so much. Branden has been around, supplying a few helpful nudges, and does seem to be making a genuine effort to grease wheels; but most of the pieces have been coming together for a while now.