[EuroPython] thoughts

[Martijn Faassen]

Michael Hudson wrote:
> I have a feeling this talk of legal structures and decision procedures
> may somewhat be missing the point.
> 
> The "EPC community", as I see it, has one (1) decision to make:
> 
>     Whether to hold the next EuroPython conference in Gothenbourg or
>     Charleroi.
> 
> (I don't think that there are any other serious contenders for
> location).

I think there are two other points where a structure can help and
where unclarity right now exists:

  * transparancy of the budget

  * who is responsible for the important decisions (such as location,
    but this is not the only thing. Imagine I was organizing the
    conference and announced we were going to have a C++ and a Java
    track)
 
> _Everything_ else should be pretty much up to those who do the work,
> especially the local organizers but also to some extent the track
> chairs.  It would be nice if these workers' discussions were open and
> others could contribute, but I strongly believe that the only real
> mandate to make decisions comes from willingness to do the work they
> imply.

I agree that the mandate should go to those who are willing to do
the work and are capable of doing the work. A more formal structure
can help in making this mandate clear; this mandate goes to the 
elected board (which may delegate). Of course people who are not
willing to do the work should not stand for election. People who
are not deemed to respresent the interests well enough can also
be voted out. Generally it's not all that formal, but the idea
that you *can* have a voice if you want to is important; just
like I like having the feeling I can dive into the Python source
code if I really want to, even though normally I don't have to.

Regards,

Martijn