Dave Cridland Application 2019

Obligatory Data

I'm Dave Cridland (or, very formally, David Alan Cridland), and I usually lurk in chatrooms as 'dwd'. I work for Threads Styling Ltd on messaging systems, and I also work on Metre and (though recently, I've been rubbish) on Openfire.

Why Accept Me as a Member?

Good question, and it's excellent you asked that. XSF Members have, in effect, two responsibilities, and neither of those need to have much to do with the code or specifications I write. So to decide, here's the two things I think XSF Members should do, and the ways in which I do (and intend to keep doing) them:

Item 1: Help Operate the XSF

There are certain tasks that the XSF reserves for members. Mostly these are anything which is critical to the operation of the XSF as a standards body, or as an organization. In our bylaws, these are codified as "Work Teams", alongside the special team of Council. The XMPP Editor team, SCAM, and others fall into this category, though Board curiously does not - in part because it's useful to have an outside view of the XSF at that level, much as companies often have Non Executive Directors for the same reason.

I try to pitch in, mostly on Council, though I have served on Board before (and may do again). I also try to lend a spare pair of hands over FOSDEM in particular - I think it's really valuable outreach.

Item 2: Choose the Members and Leadership of the XSF

While volunteering for various work teams (and other odd jobs) is useful, the only truly mandatory task for an XSF Member is to vote on membership applications and the leadership, both technical and business.

I try to vote carefully, aiming to select people who will contribute their time and effort to improving the XSF. But it's hard to select people based on their ability to select others.

Who We Need as Members

People not like me, really. I'm just another white guy. We have precious few members who are anything else. Positively selecting people who aren't yet more white guys might help the diversity of people fitting Item 1 in the long term, by in the short term finding more diverse people by Item 2. I think it's worth seeking out people who are different, in order to broaden the experience and skills of the XSF.