From 6cc0aaff09f450264b27b1a4c6b2fe1836f79841 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Sander Striker Date: Sun, 9 Aug 2026 23:59:28 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Rewrite the board meeting page's tools section: it is BAT, not whimsy The "Board meeting tools" section still describes the Apache Whimsy project as the thing that creates and manages the agenda and carries the report workflow. That has not been true since the Board Agenda Tool took over; the page already says as much in two other places, which is how it came to contradict itself. Rewrites the section around the tool the board actually uses, and fixes the two other stale references on the same page: - report submission is "via the mailing list and by checking into Whimsy" -> a report is posted in the agenda tool; - the "Help and Tips" section said only that whimsy's tool is deprecated; it now also points at the tool's own documentation page, which is where the role by role account of the workflow lives. The categorized minutes listing is left pointing at whimsy, because that is still where it is served from today. The section says it is moving here; the wiring for that is www-site#715, and the link changes when those pages go live. Fixes apache/tooling-agenda#525 --- content/foundation/board/meeting.md | 56 +++++++++++++++++++++-------- 1 file changed, 42 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-) diff --git a/content/foundation/board/meeting.md b/content/foundation/board/meeting.md index e1404f3df..e17ac7e34 100644 --- a/content/foundation/board/meeting.md +++ b/content/foundation/board/meeting.md @@ -70,8 +70,8 @@ agenda with the [Board Agenda Tool][2] (requires Apache login). Reminders are then sent out to all PMCs about the due dates for reports for the next meeting. An early reminder (and a followup) is helpful given the distributed and all -volunteer nature of Apache PMCs. Projects typically submit their reports to -the board (via the mailing list and by checking into Whimsy) anywhere from +volunteer nature of Apache PMCs. Projects typically submit their reports +by posting them in the [Board Agenda Tool][2] anywhere from three weeks to a few hours beforehand (which may not be accepted if the directors don't have sufficient time to review them). @@ -146,17 +146,39 @@ actions either at the next month's meeting, or in the PMC's next normal quarterl ## Board meeting tools {#tools} -With the creation of the [Apache Whimsy project](https://whimsy.apache.org/), we now have a number of -tools that aid in creation and management of the agenda; workflow -functions for submitting, commenting, and approving reports; and a handy, -categorized view of the current agenda and the minutes of past meetings. - -While most Whimsy features are restricted to Apache Committers (and much of -that is further restricted to Members, Officers, or even a specific officer), -the [categorized listing of past board minutes](https://whimsy.apache.org/board/minutes/) -is public. This allows anyone to easily review all past board meetings by -date, by PMC, or by major special resolutions. We provide this access as a convenience. The official/canonical version of this data is -in our [formal publication of all past board meeting minutes](/foundation/board/calendar.html) +The board prepares, runs and records its meetings in the [Board Agenda Tool][2], which is +maintained by the [Apache Tooling project](https://tooling.apache.org/). It replaces the +agenda tool that the [Apache Whimsy project](https://whimsy.apache.org/) used to provide. + +An agenda is still a plain text file in the foundation's private SVN repository, and the +tool commits to it in the name of whoever made the change - so command line users can +carry on as before. What the tool adds is the workflow around that file: + +- it **assembles each month's agenda** a day or so after the previous meeting, from the + board calendar, the reporting schedule in `committee-info.txt` and the business the last + meeting left open, and assigns each project report a Shepherd; +- PMC Chairs and officers **post their reports** into it, and it sends the reminders that + chase the ones that have not arrived; +- directors **pre-approve, flag and comment on** reports before the meeting, and raise + action items; +- the Chair runs the live meeting from it, and everyone attending can follow along on + their own screen at whatever item the Chair has reached; +- the Secretary **records the minutes** in it as the meeting goes, and afterwards works + through a checklist of what the meeting decided - mailing the summary, carrying out + resolutions, and publishing the minutes the board approved. + +An Apache login is required, and what you can see and do follows the roles you hold: ASF +Members and PMC Chairs can read the agenda, while pre-approving reports, running the +meeting and recording the minutes belong to the directors, the Chair and the Secretary +respectively. The tool's own [documentation page](https://agenda.apache.org/documentation) +sets all of that out role by role. + +Past minutes are public and need no login. The official, canonical publication is our +[formal publication of all past board meeting minutes](/foundation/board/calendar.html). +Whimsy additionally offers a +[categorized listing of past board minutes](https://whimsy.apache.org/board/minutes/), +which lets anyone review past meetings by date, by PMC, or by major special resolutions; +we provide that as a convenience, and it is being moved onto this site. ## How To Post A Project or Officer Report {#postreport} @@ -182,7 +204,13 @@ strictly part of the meeting, but useful for questions). ## Help and Tips About The Board Agenda Website {#whimsy} -The Whimsy Board Agenda tool has been deprecated. Please use the [Board Agenda Tool][2]. +Whimsy's board agenda tool has been deprecated; please use the [Board Agenda Tool][2]. + +The tool documents itself: its [documentation page](https://agenda.apache.org/documentation) +(Apache login required) walks through the whole monthly cycle, and shows the part of it that +belongs to each role you hold. Bugs and suggestions are welcome in the +[Apache Tooling project](https://tooling.apache.org/), which maintains it; the tool is +discussed on `#agenda-tool` in [the ASF Slack](https://infra.apache.org/slack.html). [1]: /foundation/board/reporting [2]: https://agenda.apache.org/meetings/current