Nominated for OGB

I was slightly surprised - but highly gratified - to be nominated for membership of the OpenSolaris Governing Board.

I had to think about this, as being on the OGB clearly isn't a walk in the park. There's a lot of work to be done - for whoever gets elected this time around.

There are obvious mismatches between the existing constitution and the actual functioning (if that's the right word) of the community. As such, there are a few constitutional amendments already under discussion.

One of those amendments (554) is that candidates should disclose their interests. In accordance with this:

1. I'm a systems administrator employed by ProQuest in their Cambridge office. We use Sun and Solaris, so are a customer of Sun. My management are happy for me to accept the nomination, provided (as always) that my OpenSolaris work does not interfere with my professional responsibilities. As such, the views and opinions I bring are my own, and are not representative of my employer beyond the fact that I'm working in a context where I'm paid to use Solaris. I do not believe that a conflict of interest exists.

2. I've been a user (and beta tester) of Solaris for years, and have been a long-term participant in the OpenSolaris project. As a user rather than a developer I believe I would broaden out the OGB, and can make a useful contribution towards developing our fine community.

3. I'm a core contributor in the Systems Administration and Installation and Packaging Community groups. While not a programmer by trade, I have made some modest code contributions to OpenSolaris.