Volunteers for GNU and GNU management [Was: Re: Subprojects in Savannah]

[Luis Falcon]

Dear Christopher, dear all
On Tue, 1 Dec 2020 17:01:56 +0100
Christopher Dimech <dimech@gmx.com> wrote:

> I head submarine search and rescue and can attest to that.  In this
> type of operations, volunteers are fully on.  We have had volunteer
> diving teams taking tasks that would not be tackled by police forces.

Thank you Christopher for sharing and for the work you do! Sadly, many
times the amazing work done by volunteers as in your organization is
taken for granted, and that's part of the reason I wrote the email.

About the responsibility and commitment of being a volunteer... First of
all, being a volunteer is a *personal decision*. Normally, no one asks
you to volunteer. Now, at the moment that you decide to volunteer, then
you should commit to the task, whatever that task might be. People
depend on you as a volunteer, and this can not be taken for granted or
as a frivolity. 

Sayings things such "Savannah is something that is done in volunteer's
spare time when they feel like doing it" is wrong and we should avoid
it. It's not the right message to send to the community. We all make
mistakes and say wrong things, but we should be mindful.


Moving forward, I propose that each official GNU project becomes a
volunteer entity, providing one or more volunteers for GNU. We can
get organized in a federated way, with different tasks, timezones, etc.
The more we are, the more sustainable and efficient will be managing
the GNU resources. We can elect an international board, with RMS being
the head of it. GNU belongs to all of us, and we should be able to
manage it in an efficient and sustainable way.

Let me know your thoughts.

PS: I don't want to cross-post, but this discussion can be moved to
another mailing list if this is not the right place to continue the
discussion.

Best,
-- 
Dr. Luis Falcon, MD, MSc
President, GNU Solidario
GNU Health: Freedom and Equity in Healthcare
www.gnuhealth.org
Fingerprint: ACBF C80F C891 631C 68AA 8DC8 C015 E1AE 0098 9199