[RFC 0074] Community Coordination Hub

rfcs/0074-community-coordination-hub.md

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+---
+feature: community_coordination_hub
+start-date: 2020-07-30
+author: David Arnold <[email protected]>
+co-authors: Doron Behar <[email protected]>
+shepherd-team: (names, to be nominated and accepted by RFC steering committee)
+shepherd-leader: (name to be appointed by RFC steering committee)
+related-issues: (will contain links to implementation PRs)
+---
+
+# Summary
+[summary]: #summary
+
+Adopt goals, spirit, concept and execution of [`kubernetes/community`]
+where it _does_ fit [us](https://nixos.org/).
+
+[`kubernetes/community`]: https://github.com/kubernetes/community
+
+# Motivation
+[motivation]: #motivation
+
+We lack an optimum level of _empowerment_<sup>[1](#empowerment)</sup> on distinct vital aspects for
+the best [leverage](https://nav.al/least)<sup>[2](#leverage)</sup>. We don't have:
+
+- Efficient Management Processes, that bias the whole community towards 
+  _coordinated and optimal Resource Employment_.
+- Organizational Structure, that enacts necesary degrees of _Division of Labor_ 
+  and _Coordination_.
+- Organizational Culture, that helps to overcome the complexity bias. ([KISS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle))
+
+<sub><a name="empowerment">1</a>: In the sphere of organizational theory, 
+"empowerment" often refers loosely to processes for giving members greater
+discretion and resources: distributing control in order to better serve 
+the organization (adapted from 
+[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empowerment#In_management)).</sub>
+
+<sub><a name="leverage">2</a>: Increasing leverage is the act of scrutinizing every decision or choice
+as to potentialize it's desired outcome. You can be leveraged by code, community,
+media, capital, labor and other ways. We need to better leverage our community
+resources (tools, knowledge, people).</sub>
+
+# Detailed design
+[design]: #detailed-design
+
+A repository shall exist, named `NixOS/community`, which will act as central hub
+for coordinating the community's efforts.
+
+It shall make it easy to mentally grasp how the community coordinates as a whole.
+Getting involved with the community should feel as natural as skimming through
+code on github (or on a local clone).
+
+It shall be a place where established truths or conclusions that (have) emerge
+from the communities conversations and decision making processes are recorded.
+
+Therefore it shall act as single source of truth for aspects of:
+
+- Communication
+  - Channels
+  - Modes & Policies
+- Governance
+  - Processes
+  - Structure
+- Onboarding
+  - Code Contributions
+  - Community Engagement
+
+It shall _not_:
+
+- document the standard library (or any other highly specific and established technical subject).
+- act as discussion forum (but document outcomes).
+- implement code (but coordinate it's implementation).
+
+To implement, myself, and anyone interested, will review https://github.com/kubernetes/community
+to the smallest details.
+
+Based on this review, we'll create a clean new repository at
+`NixOS/community`, with what we considered was worth porting from
+[Kubernetes' community portal](https://github.com/kubernetes/community).
+
+As a general guideline for this review, we'd acknowledge the success
+and impressive dynamics of the Kubernetes ecosystem.
+
+## Brainstorm
+[brainstorm]: #brainstorm
+
+This section exposes loose ideas we might put into `NixOS/community` collected during
+this RFC's review process.
+
+- [Community Event Calender](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/tree/master/events)
+- Explain and Support an Efficient Code Review Process.
+- Move non-technical aspects of nixpkgs' manual here
+- Record Meeting Minutes of working groups
+- Evolve Design Prototypes before moving to RFC with in special interest groups
+
+# User Stories
+[user-stories]: #user-stories
+
+If this RFC is implemented ...
+
+## As a newcomer
+As a newcomer, I'd be able to quickly find my way around, and start beeing
+useful before beeing turned down by inconsistent and spread-out onboarding.
+
+## As a veteran
+As a veteran, I'd be able to promote some ideas, that I care about,
+towards completion while suffering from less friction and overly complex
+coordination. I can leverage my experience and skills more effectively
+for the benefit of the community.
+
+## As a mentor
+As a mentor, I can inform my efforts with a clear and consistent reference.
+It helps me to more effectively maintaining those high quality human 
+interactions that the NixOS community is known for.
+
+# Drawbacks
+[drawbacks]: #drawbacks
+
+There _can_ be a better solution to achieve _optimum levels of empowerment_
+for our community. We _could just **wait**_ for them to unveil themselves.
+
+# Alternatives
+[alternatives]: #alternatives
+
+- [Benevolent Dictatorship](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-bdfl-of-nix/6949)
+- Ephemeral Conversations (Discourse)
+
+The only current viable alternative for _coordination of resources and effort_
+are ephemeral conversations in Discourse. While they lend meaning to the 
+individual's interpretations and views onto the ecosystem, they lack important
+features such as:
+
+- Structure<sup>[3](#structure)</sup>
+- Consolidation<sup>[4](#consolidation)</sup>
+- Ability to act as _Reference_<sup>[4](#reference)</sup>
+
+<sub><a name="structure">3</a>: Discourse does have inherent _structures_ that make people talk, it does 
+not have (optimal) inherent structures to make people act.</sub>
+<sub><a name="consolidation">4</a>:  In conversational style, a _conclusion_ lexically is nothing more than 
+another agent speaking: we cannot systematically _establish_ ("consolidate") conclusions.</sub>
+<sub><a name="reference">5</a>:  Lack of structure and consolitation make efforts of referencing arbitrary
+in contrast to a legtimate single source of truth.</sub>
+
+A portal page might at first sight seem like an alternative mean to establish
+a community coordination hub, especially for the above features. But, _optimum
+empowerment_ requires low barriers to interaction and amendment. Hence we suggest
+a GitHub repository. Repository tooling can provide the means to make this body
+of resources available through a complementary portal page.
+
+# Unresolved questions
+[unresolved]: #unresolved-questions
+
+Is this the right level of abstraction to act as an enabling RFC for future
+improvements and thereby resume the author's stance in a way that effects
+the highest leverage over time?
+
+What can we do to prevent proliferation of unhelahty overahead 
+("excessive talking about doing, instead of doing")? Contributions
+that are a collateral of a person's or company's own need _must_
+not be discouraged.
+
+What process should constitute an acting body such as a special interest group,
+working group (or anything else)? - Should they be enacted through RFCs?
+Or should RFCs be reserved for technical progress and acting bodies
+constitute via a separate mechanism defined in `NixOS/community`?
+See [Future Work](#future).
+
+# Future work
+[future]: #future-work
+
+## Legitimize Acting Bodies
+
+We need to define by which process acting bodies can legitimately conform, 
+so they can rightfully excercise their entrusted authonomy.
+
+## Constitue Acting Bodies
+- Constitution of Woring Groups, such as (examplifications):
+  - WG Contribution Workflows
+  - WG Onboarding
+- Constitution of Special Interest Groups (examplifications):
+  - SIG Rust
+  - SIG Security
+  - SIG Golang
+  - SIG Python
+  - SIG Contributor Experience
+  - SIG Command Line Interface "nix 2.0"
+  - SIG Tooling & Automation
+  - SIG Testing & Infrastructure
+- Constitution of User Groups (examplifications):
+  - UG NixOS
+  - UG Flakes
+
+(those might be way too many, of course)
+
+# Credits
+
+This analysis is somewhat inspired by the following schools of thought:
+
+- [New St.Gallen Managament Model](https://cio-wiki.org/wiki/The_New_St._Gallen_Management_Model)
+- [Viable System Theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viable_system_theory)
+- [Complexity and Self-organization](http://pcp.vub.ac.be/Papers/ELIS-complexity.pdf)