Change to self-governance (#8)

* Change to self-governance * .
JelleZijlstra · Oct 4, 2023 · Sep 23, 2023 · Sep 23, 2023 · Sep 23, 2023 · Sep 23, 2023
commit 487a5ffe91124f40ad9d24deff9f7610250a958b
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ The Typing Council's mandate is to ensure that the Python type system is:
   by :pep:`484`, the primary use case is static analysis, but there are others,
   such as runtime type checking, static compilation, IDE support, and documentation.
   The Typing Council should consider all of these use cases when making decisions,
-  and be open to supporting additinal use cases as they come up.
+  and be open to supporting additional use cases as they come up.
 * **Usable**: The type system should be easy to use for Python developers. It
   should be ergonomic to write well-typed Python code that is accepted by type
   checkers. There should be good documentation for the type system.
@@ -144,12 +144,31 @@ The Typing Council's mandate is to ensure that the Python type system is:
 Operations and process
 ----------------------
 
-The council has three members, which are appointed by the Steering Council among
-prominent community members, such as Python core developers and maintainers of
-major type checkers. Normally council members serve one-year terms, renewable
-indefinitely, but they may resign or be removed by the Steering Council at any
-time. (Removal by the Steering Council should be an exceptional situation in
-case of major misconduct, inactivity, or similar situations.)
+The council would have three members, comprised of prominent community members,
+such as Python core developers and maintainers of major type checkers.
+
+The Steering Council would appoint the initial Typing Council. There is no term
+limit for council members. Council members may resign their position at any time.
+There is a norm that at least one person will voluntarily resign from the
+Typing Council each year.
+
+To determine replacements, nominations will be collected from the typing
+community. Self-nominations are allowed. The Typing Council will then decide
+the replacement member(s) from the nominees. The expectation is that this would
+be done by fiat, but the Typing Council can choose a replacement by any means
+they see fit, including a vote.
+
+The Typing Council remains accountable to the Steering Council. At any point,
+for any reason, the Steering Council could (publicly or privately) make a
+specific change or request a non-specific change to the composition of the
+Typing Council.
+
+We acknowledge that this is a not particularly democratic structure and puts
+a lot of faith in the Typing Council. However, the Python community has a long
+history of success with not particularly democratic structures! We believe
+self-governance, cycling of membership, and accountability to the
+Steering Council will be sufficient to ensure that the Typing Council is meeting
+the needs of the community.
 
 The council would operate primarily through reviews of GitHub PRs. Regular
 meetings are likely not necessary, but the council may set up video calls, a
@@ -333,3 +352,19 @@ but it means that the Typing Council can immediately start making a difference
 anywhere in the type system by improving and clarifying the specification.
 A formalization effort can still proceed by gradually replacing sections of the
 specification.
+
+Alternate governance mechanisms
+-------------------------------
+
+An earlier draft of this PEP suggested that the Steering Council appoint
+members of the Typing Council each year. The current Steering Council suggested
+that it would be better to have the Typing Council self-organise and avoid
+the need for the Steering Council to continuously supervise the Typing Council.
+
+Alternate governance mechanisms are possible, including more democratic ones,
+but these typically raise several thorny questions, require much heavier
+amounts of process and are potentially more divisive. For example, see the PEP
+8000 series, or recent discussions about alternative governance in other Python
+subcommunities. Ultimately, the Typing Council exists at the behest of the
+Steering Council, and so can rely on it to bootstrap governance and serve as an
+accountability mechanism.