Hello,

The F-Droid Board’s first effort to start an F-Droid Community Council – an important step toward ensuring a safe, constructive, and empowered community – was not successful despite an excellent initial group of members and a strong desire all around to see the effort succeed. After reflection and discussion, we have learned some lessons from this experience, including about how to set up newly elected Council members for success. With that in mind, we are ready to open a new call for nominations for the Community Council.

The Community Council will primarily be responsible for enforcing the Code of Conduct (CoC). As part of that responsibility, the Council will be charged with drafting new language for the Code of Conduct and establishing content guidelines for applications published by F-Droid. This first Council will also help to build out protocols and establish precedent for how the Community Council relates to the project, the community, and the Board.

In order to execute its responsibilities, the CC will be given requisite permissions to moderate in all official F-Droid channels. Of particular note, CC members will receive developer privileges on F-Droid Gitlab repositories to be used only for moderation purposes because Gitlab lacks a specific moderator role.

In addition to enforcing the Code of Conduct and helping establish the Community Council as an institution, prospective Council members should also be willing and able to mediate conflicts and disagreements before they rise to the level of Code of Conduct violations. As such, they should be trusted, established members of the community with at least “Reporter” status on Gitlab. They should also be willing to listen to multiple parties in disagreements and seek the most equitable solution for the given circumstances.

If these traits and roles fit you or someone you know, first ensure your nominee is willing and able to fill the position, then email elections {at} f-droid {dot} org with your nomination. The nomination should describe the nominee and their relationship to F-Droid, why they consider the Council important, and a summary of past experience or skills relevant to this position. Nominations will close on December 15th, 2024.

Once nominations are closed, the Board will announce nominees and accept community feedback until January 1st, 2025. The Council members will then be appointed at the next Board meeting, subject to Board review.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Thanks, Juliana Sims, on behalf of the F-Droid Board of Directors