Governance

Asahi Linux is led by our community of open source developers. If you want to work on something, work on it! We welcome contributors from different backgrounds. By and large, we make change by “doing”. Asahi Linux is about the code, and the code comes from anyone who wants to write it. Development uses a “lazy consensus” model: the work happens when people do it. Other developers can veto to force a discussion, but developers don’t need to chase people for trivial issues.

To support that code, we need infrastructure and funding, to run servers and support developers. While development happens with a “lazy consensus” model, these logistical issues are governed by our project board.

There are seven board members, aside from temporary vacancies. The current members are:

The board is responsible for project governance, infrastructure, and money. It also acts as the ultimate arbiter in case of conflict, including code-of-conduct enforcement. The board meets monthly by video call to do business in meetings. Our meeting minutes are public.

The board appoints specific members to the following roles by majority vote:

  • Treasurers have access to our Open Collective and implements the financial decisions the board makes by vote. They do not themselves decide how to spend money.
  • The secretary schedules meetings, drives meetings, and maintains meeting minutes.
  • Administrators have access to project infrastructure, including our servers. Like developers, they operate by “lazy consensus”.

The board votes on how money should be spent. If the money’s recipient is a board member, that member is ineligible for the vote. For example, if a developer needs a new Asahi development machine, the rest of the board would approve that expense. The treasurer then handles the transaction. Finally, the board audits transactions after the fact, aided by Open Collective’s transparent documentation of transactions.

Board members may be added (when there are vacancies) or removed by vote. These bylaws may be amended by vote. A vote passes with the approval of four members.

It is sometimes necessary to vote between meetings, occurring in our public Matrix room.