GLEP:7

Abstract
This GLEP proposes that we extend the current proposed management structure by adding a position of Ombudsman that would fall under comrel, qa, and pr. An ombudsman is one who has been assigned to impartially investigate complaints and settle disputes.

Motivation
Given the impressive numbers of both Gentoo developers and users, it is inevitable that there will be occasional clashes between developers and managers, developers and developers, and developers and users. Right now there is no mechanism to prevent such disputes from escalating out of control.

Specification
One developer (and one backup) will be appointed as ombudsmen. This positions should be far from a full-time job. It would appear as part of the comrel, qa, and pr projects (inasmuch as qa and pr both involve developer-user relations). Infrastructure requirements are an ombudsman.gentoo.org web page and a ombudsman@gentoo.org e-mail alias.

Rationale
One traditional method (circa early 1800s in Sweden, apparently ) for managing disputes is to have an impartial individual whose job it is to investigate complaints and mediate settlements. A quick search on Google reveals numerous government agencies, universities, and industries that employ official ombudsmen. The key requirement for an ombudsman to be effective is support from management and trust from users and developers -- the ombudsmen must be considered by all to be reasonably impartial.

Backwards Compatibility
No conflicts.

Copyright
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/.