It is generally assumed that free and open source communities are best served by governance rules that are open and transparent. I will argue that while openness and transparency are necessary, they are not sufficient. Particularly as the number of open source communities governed by trade associations grows, additional principles are necessary such as vendor neutrality, and ensuring a level playing field. This talk will provide an overview of the (often legal) control points that exist in open communities, and various strategies used by corporations to seize them. It will also provide some examples of existing community governance rules which openly and transparently ensure special rights to particular organizations. A few simple governance hacks to help make trade associations better stewards of open communities will also be discussed.
Speakers: Mike Milinkovich