UPDATED: to provide clarity on key sections and fix poor wording choices

I applaud Joshua McKenty’s recent Open Letter. Cloudscaling has had similar concerns about the OpenStack Foundation governance model. We participated in a variety of discussions including the recent governance meetup during Cloud Connect, discussions with other community members, and discussions with Rackspace–the current Foundation steward–in private and public. We encourage all frank, even-handed, and open dialog about the governance of such a critical community as OpenStack. We look forward to working with all of the companies, both small and large, that are bettering their businesses on the success of OpenStack.

A rising tide raises all ships, and a stable, fair, and equally representative governance model is the foundation of all successful communities. We believe the OpenStack Foundation and the community it represents is at a cross-roads now where we can work towards an equitable and fair model that represents the interests of all participating members, be they large or small. It’s incumbent upon us to embrace such a model.

We will not be able to achieve such a model if we don’t have further conversation about the ultimate governance model of the OpenStack Foundation. A conversation that understands that a level-playing field is, ultimately, in the best interest of all. Even the large players.  A plutocracy will not facilitate OpenStack’s ultimate success.

We will have more to say on this soon.

–Randy Bias, CTO & Co-founder, Cloudscaling