As noticed by Genady and others, the Eclipse Foundation is in the running to join the SE/EE Executive Committee of the Java Community Process. The question, of course, is why? I thought I would share our answer via my blog as well.
…because we think we have a lot to offer the community.
We are intimately tied to Java at Eclipse, and the future success of Java is critical to our future success. You can be sure that the Eclipse Foundation will be a tireless advocate for greater openness and transparency at the JCP.
FWIW, the Eclipse Foundation has been an independent not-for-profit for almost four years.
If elected, I will be Eclipse’s representative on the EC, and will be voting based on the Eclipse Foundation’s independent view of what is best of the Java Community. You have to remember that once you are on the board of any entity (from a publicly traded company to your local hospital charity) you are duty bound to act in the interests of that organization. That is a responsibility I take seriously.
On a somewhat related note, since the Eclipse Foundation itself has a very large board (~30), I’ve had lots of personal practice in consensus building. I suspect that might be of some use at the JCP as well
I hope many of the companies and individuals who are both members of the JCP and supporters of Eclipse will take the time to vote for our community.
