Luis, thanks for posting these discussion starters! Really appreciate it.

1. If OSI could do only one thing, what would it be? (Obviously it can do more, but not much more, so I’d love to understand your #1 priority for the org.) 

Fundraise and hire a small team to execute on the organization’s mission. We all have ideas about what the OSI should do. Before we can do any of them, we need to create the organizational capacity to execute. I’ve seen this work with other open source groups (like TODOGroup) that benefited considerably from a small team to help execute on the long wish list of goals.

2. Should OSI move towards a board that advises more and does (on a day-to-day basis) less? If so, what will you do to help bring about that change? If not, why not?

Once staffed beyond the current volunteer base, the board would provide more of an advisory role guiding the organization to do more day-to-day.

3.  If OSI has to choose between being an agent of change and a stabilizing force, which should it prefer?

The tech world is full of change. Cloud-installed open source packages are changing the way open source vendors are looking at the market. Open Source itself is still a change to the way many businesses operate. People are even suggesting that we change what open source means. I think the best role for the OSI is to be a stabilizing force that takes change as input and helps process it rationally, effectively, and professionally to the benefit of the open source ecosystem.

4.  What should OSI do about the tens of millions of people who regularly collaborate to build software online (often calling that activity, colloquially, open source) but have literally no idea what OSI is or what it does?

The OSI needs to expand partnerships with other organizations in the open source education space. We have to get clear messaging about open source into the universities, hackerspaces, and boardrooms.

Why? Because open source means different things to different people. For some, it’s just a way to find shared code, or an ethos encouraging us to share code, or it’s a crowdsourcing development methodology, or a legal workaround copyright laws, or a marketing buzzword on a product’s website. In reality, it’s all that and more. But we are also seeing the very meaning of open source being challenged in a way that can erode it. OSI needs to lead the way educating people what Open Source means and doesn’t mean.

5. You have 24 hours in the day, and are talented enough to do many different things. Why do you want to give some of those hours to OSI?

The best way to make things better is to work on them together with others who share the same passion and vision. That’s at the heart of the open source movement. I’m passionate about open source and want to invest in making it better. I’ll also benefit from engaging even more closely with the OSI board, members, and open source community. I’ll learn what works and what I can do to solve pain points for all of us.

6. If an Ethical Software Initiative sprung up tomorrow, what should OSI’s relationship to it be? (If you’re uncomfortable answering this about ethical software, consider instead answering with regards to the FSF or LF, or another hypothetical institution that to some extent competes with OSI for resources and influence.)

Source code can be labeled many ways. Code can be open, secure, expensive, old, beneficial, accessible, harmful, profitable, etc. The OSI preserves and encourages the facet of code that we call “open” as codified in the OSD. Other initiatives help define if code is secure, accessible, sustainable, etc. OSI should welcome those initiatives to exist and thrive as parallel independent endeavors.

All open source projects compete for resources, influence, and attention. The ones that provide the most value get a better shot at getting more support. The ones that successfully partner with others get the benefit of win-win outcomes. I’ll encourage OSI to be a value-added partner with those initiatives that help further our goals.