Haskell-Platform Committee Action!

[Isaac Dupree]

On 12/15/10 06:23, Duncan Coutts wrote:
> On 15 December 2010 06:36, Isaac Dupree<id at isaac.cedarswampstudios.org>  wrote:
>> I need to ask y'all: are library patch proposals (like "Proposal: Add chop
>> function to Data.List") part of our mission?  Mostly all the libraries
>> maintained by libraries at haskell.org are part of the Haskell Platform now
>> (though not vice versa), so I imagine so.
>
> No, that's not the situation currently. If we want to extend the role
> of the platform committee then I think we need to get the appropriate
> community buy-in.
>
> Remember what we told the community when we set up the platform committee:
> http://haskell.org/pipermail/libraries/2009-July/012139.html

History: it's good to re-read it.  A portion of that message is in 
http://trac.haskell.org/haskell-platform/wiki/Members (which is the only 
wiki-page I remember finding anywhere that mentions this Committee).

> Perhaps we (the committee) can first agree that we'll use the "assign
> a committee member to each HP proposal" idea and then we propose to
> the libraries list that we could do the same thing for libraries
> proposals.

You're right.  So, let's see if I'm clear what an HP proposal is 
specifically: To add a package, or to remove a package.  But not to 
upgrade a package or change a package (except where it adds new 
dependencies that are not in the Platform).  Is that right?  (It's a 
mechanical definition like that?)

> However, I think it still needs to be clear that there's no extra
> decision making power given to the committee members. If there is,
> then it needs a decision on the libraries list to delegate (and we'd
> need to worry more about how committee members are selected and cycled
> etc).

Here's what I wrote supporting that (but left out for brevity) :

Let's try to remember to explicitly wear our Steering Committee hats 
when we're steering (say "(on behalf of the Steering Committee)" or 
such).  Remember, steering has no authority, and exerts no opinions of 
its own regarding a proposal.  That's its strength.

(I wonder if we can make it easy for the libraries list to remember that 
we're being authorityless.  We could have a standard signature, 
something like "On behalf of the powerless Steering Committee" except it 
should sound honest rather than ironic.)

-Isaac