View source for Decision panels/SOAS/Report

<center>'''''This is a draft, and not a final report.'''''</center>

===Introduction===

This constitutes the report of the SoaS decision panel (DP), [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/iaep/2009-September/008746.html convened by SLOB].

The structure of this report is:

# Introduction (this section)
# Executive Summary
# Mandate
# Members
# Report on Questions 1-3
# Conclusion
# Appendices


===Executive Summary===

The Decision Panel was [[#Mandate|mandated]] to answer three questions.  The Decision Panel's answers are below:

;Question 1: "Should Sugar Labs be a GNU/Linux distributor, rather than just an upstream producing Sugar releases?"
;Answer: Consensus trending towards '''yes'''.   There has been some discussion about what is involved in 'being a GNU/Linux distributor' and what the risks and benefits would be; specifics have been suggested but not clearly enumerated, making consensus building harder. [[#Question_1|TBD - see below for opinions]]

;Question 2: "Should SL be neutral about distributions containing Sugar, and refuse to endorse one over another?"
;Answer:  Consensus is '''yes'''.  There are requests for clarification of how SL can promote effective ways of distributing Sugar, and endorse all good distributions.  [[#Question_2|TBD - see below for opinions]]

;Question 3: "Should 'Sugar on a Stick' be a phrase that SL asks its community to avoid using unless they refer to the SoaS-Fedora distribution?"
;Answer:  A plurality of people with definite opinions say ''yes'', SL should ask its community to avoid using 'Sugar on a Stick' in a confusing way.  There is consensus that whatever name is used for common distributions should not be used in a confusing way, but disagreement over whether SOAS should refer to a specific distribution or a broad class of them.   [[#Question_3|TBD - see below for opinions]]


In addition, [[#Mandate|the mandate]] allows the Decision Panel to raise and answer any other question the DP deems required to provide an answer to the original question: "Is the current SoaS going to be the primary way Sugar Labs distributes a Sugar-centric GNU/Linux distribution?" (Question 0).

The Decision Panel has not raised any additional questions, outside of requesting clarification of terms in questions 2 and 3.

===Mandate===

{{Box|
:"Investigate the situation of how SoaS should be treated by Sugar Labs, and related questions, including answers to the following:
:* "Should Sugar Labs be a GNU/Linux distributor, rather than just an upstream producing Sugar releases?"
:* "Should SL be neutral about distributions containing Sugar, and refuse to endorse one over another?"
:* "Should 'Sugar on a Stick' be a phrase that SL asks its community to avoid using unless they refer to the SoaS-Fedora distribution?"
:* Any other question the Decision Panel deems required to provide an answer to the original question:"Is the current SoaS going to be the primary way Sugar Labs distributes a Sugar-centric GNU/Linux distribution?"
}}

===Members===

* Sebastian Dziallas
* Luke Faraone
* Martin Dengler
* Bill Bogstad
* Faisal Khan
* Benjamin M. Schwartz
* Samuel Klein
* Sean Daly
* Tabitha Roder
* Caryl Bigenho
* Daniel Drake
* Abhishek Indoria


===Report on Questions 1-3===

==== Q1: OS distributor v. upstream ====


Question 1: "Should Sugar Labs be a GNU/Linux distributor, rather than just an upstream producing Sugar releases?"

'''Proposed answers:'''

{| border="1" class="wikitable" style="border-collapse:collapse;"
|-
!width=25%| Yes
!width=25%| No
!width=25%| Invalid
! Undecided
|-
| valign="top"|
# Yes.   Without it Sugar Labs has nothing to encourage the use of or promote that is of direct use to anyone other then programmers or the people who assemble Linux distributions. [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-September/000029.html (reference)] [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-September/000032.html counterpoint].  There is real interest and are real plans to do this [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000100.html (reference)].
# Yes. We greatly appreciate the work of those who have contributed to SoaS Strawberry and Blueberry.  We regard these products as valuable, critical distribution mechanism for Sugar, and we will do what we can to ensure their continued development. [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/iaep/2009-September/008681.html (reference)]
| valign="top"|
# No, not now. SL is not now a full-service GNU/Linux distributor and being one is not in SL's [[Sugar Labs#Mission|mission statment]]; "[[What_is_Sugar%3F|Sugar learning platform]]" is *not* a GNU/Linux distribution. [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-September/000056.html counterpoint] [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-September/000057.html counter-counterpoint].  However many contributors volunteer to help with individual tasks thereof; and an official plan is part of a number of SugarLabs' members published plans.  Sugar Labs is better off spending its scarce resources on the [[What_is_Sugar%3F|Sugar learning platform]].   Distribution work is is really hard and labour-intensive and being done by major distro vendors already (Debian, Fedora [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000168.html (reference)]
| valign="top"|
# Invalid question.  An answer to this question is not needed for Sugar Labs' members to get on with their work, and the results from a decision panel will not have any effect [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/iaep/2009-September/008751.html ref].
| valign="top"|
# Undecided.  The two sides of the argument don't seem to be speaking directly to one anothers' issue [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000175.html (reference)] [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000178.html counterpoint]
|}


==== Q2: distro endorsement v. neutrality ====


Question 2: "Should SL be neutral about distributions containing Sugar, and refuse to endorse one over another?"

'''Proposed answers:'''


{| border="1" style="border-collapse:collapse;"
|-
!width=25%| Yes
!width=25%| No
!width=25%| Invalid
! Undecided
|-
| valign="top"|
# Yes.
| valign="top"|
# No.  Sugar On a Stick, the Fedora-derived distribution, will be the endorsed distribution.  SL needs to influence the distribution so drastically that it is effectively controlling it [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000125.html (reference)] [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000128.html counterpoint]
| valign="top"|
# Invalid question.  An answer to this question is not needed for Sugar Labs' members to get on with their work, and the results from a decision panel will not have any effect [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/iaep/2009-September/008751.html ref].
# Invalid framing.  Sugar Labs should be able to endorse the best methods of distributing Sugar, and not feel their hands are tied with a need to endorse all distros, regardless of their quality, or of how prominent Sugar is in the distro.  
| valign="top"|
# Undecided: what do "neutral" and "endorse" mean?  We need to be more clear about these definitions in order to answer [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000169.html (reference)]
|}

==== Q3: SoaS name ====


Question 3: "Should 'Sugar on a Stick' be a phrase that SL asks its community to avoid using unless they refer to the SoaS-Fedora distribution?"

'''Proposed answers:'''

{| border="1" style="border-collapse:collapse;"
|-
!width=25%| Yes
!width=25%| No
!width=25%| Invalid
! Undecided
|-
| valign="top"|
# Yes.  Sugar on a Stick is the central pillar of our marketing strategy [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-September/000048.html (reference)].  It's not trademarked, but should be [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-September/000045.html (reference)].  SL does not want to confuse its users and a light touch like this is all that's needed [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/iaep/2009-September/008403.html (reference)]
| valign="top"|
# No.
| valign="top"|
# Invalid question.  An answer to this question is not needed for Sugar Labs' members to get on with their work, and the results from a decision panel will not have any effect [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/iaep/2009-September/008751.html ref].
# Too specific a question.  Limiting SOAS to referring to a Fedora distribution is not necessary to avoid using names in a confusing way. 
| valign="top"|
# Undecided. While it's reasonable for SL as a community to have a "don't be confusing" policy that applies equally to all of its projects, that has nothing to do with trademark per se. [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000175.html (reference)]
|}

=== DP Conclusion===
''to come''

===Appendices===

==== Recorded opinions ====

{| border="1" style="border-collapse:collapse;" cellspacing=2 cellpadding=2
|-
|colspan=5|
===== Question 1 =====
"Should Sugar Labs be a GNU/Linux distributor, rather than just an upstream producing
Sugar releases?"
|-
!width="30%"| Yes
!width="20%"| No
!width="20%"| Invalid
!width="15%"| Defer
! Undecided | 
|-
| valign="top"| <!-- yes -->
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000100.html Sean Daly]
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-September/000029.html Bill Bogstead]
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000149.html Abhishek Indoria]
# Luke Faraone
# Sebastian Dziallas
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000289.html Benjamin M. Schwartz]
| valign="top"| <!-- no -->
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-September/000028.html Martin Dengler]
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000154.html Tabitha Roder]
# Caryl Bigenho
| valign="top"| <!-- invalid question -->
| valign="top"| <!-- defer -->
Samuel Klein
| valign="top"| <!-- undecided -->
Faisal Khan, Daniel Drake

|-
|colspan=5|  
=====Question 2=====
"Should SL be neutral about distributions containing Sugar, and refuse to endorse one over another?"
|-
!width="30%" | Yes
!width="20%" | No
!width="20%" | Invalid
!width="15%" | Defer
! Undecided 
|-
| valign="top"| <!-- yes -->
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-September/000028.html Martin Dengler]
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000154.html Tabitha Roder]
# Caryl Bigenho
# Luke Faraone
# Sebastian Dziallas
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000289.html Benjamin M. Schwartz] - <small>SL should make specific, not blanket endorsements</small>
# Sean Daly - <small>SL should make only context-specific endorsements</small>
| valign="top"| <!-- no -->
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000149.html Abhishek Indoria]
| valign="top"| <!-- invalid question -->
| valign="top"| <!-- defer -->
Samuel Klein - <small>SL should support effective distros; this can be done neutrally. </small>
| valign="top"| <!-- undecided -->
Bill Bogstad, Faisal Khan, Daniel Drake

|-
|colspan=5|

=====Question 3=====
"Should 'Sugar on a Stick' be a phrase that SL asks its community to avoid using unless they refer to the SoaS-Fedora distribution?"
|-
!width="30%"| Yes
!width="20%"| No
!width="20%"| Invalid
!width="15%"| Defer
! Undecided 
|-
| valign="top"| <!-- yes -->
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-September/000045.html Sean Daly] <small>SL should reserve the right to determine which distro to associate with SOAS, today Fedora, but possibly another later.</small>
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000149.html Abhishek Indoria]
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000154.html Tabitha Roder]
# Luke Faraone
# Sebastian Dziallas
| valign="top"| <!-- no -->
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-September/000028.html Martin Dengler]
# Caryl Bigenho
# [http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/soas/2009-October/000289.html Benjamin M. Schwartz] - <small>use a more specific name</small>
| valign="top"| <!-- invalid question -->
Samuel Klein - <small>The question is too specific.  I agree with both Ben and Sean, who feel they fall on 'Yes' and 'No' sides of the fence.</small>
| valign="top"| <!-- defer --> 
| valign="top"| <!-- undecided -->
Bill Bogstad, Faisal Khan, Daniel Drake

|}