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Journalism is the 1ˢᵗ draft of history.

10 months ago, @lwn published¹ that 1ˢᵗ draft re: #OSI 2025 Board of Directors elections.

At @fosdem, @jzb'll moderate a panel writing the 2ⁿᵈ draft of history of OSI's ballot tampering & related shenanigans.

Time remains to sign the petition: Ask #OpenSource Initiative to release the real election results: https://codeberg.org/OSI-Concerns/election-results-2025

& If you're at #FOSDEM, visit UB5.230 on SAT at 17:00² for the panel!

¹ https://lwn.net/Articles/1014603/
² https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/QZN3GR-foss-election-governance-open-source-initiatives/

FOSDEM 2026 - Unique Challenges in Elected Governing Bodies for FOSS

LWN.net

OSI election ends with unsatisfying results

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) has announced the results of its recent board of directors ele [...]

Codeberg.org

election-results-2025

Petition to Open Source Initiative to publish 2025 Board election results. Sign using pull request (see below).

Joe Brockmeier (jzb)

@jzb@hachyderm.io replied · 2 hours ago

@bkuhn I'm wondering if you saw today's news?

Bradley M. Kühn

@bkuhn@fedi.copyleft.org replied · 2 hours ago

@jzb Probably not? I have literally been in transit the last 24 hours and just got to my hotel room a short time ago.

In the words of Jefferson from _Hamilton_ “What'd I miss!?!?!”

Joe Brockmeier (jzb)

@jzb@hachyderm.io replied · 2 hours ago

@bkuhn https://opensource.org/blog/2026-osi-elections-update

"The board has made two decisions:

1. OSI will not run the 2026 spring board election cycle.

2. The board has established a Board Working Group to review and improve OSI’s board member selection process and stakeholder engagement mechanisms and to return with recommendations by September 2026."

Bradley M. Kühn

@bkuhn@fedi.copyleft.org replied · 2 hours ago

@jzb Yeah, just saw it as you were writing that, on LWN of course: https://lwn.net/Articles/1056376/

This is a good decision, but it's all the more reason for the prior election results (using the untampered ballots) to be published to the public. THAT will be an essential process in this work.

I am admittedly amused that OSI now uses the phrase that I used through the election cycle: that the elections were performative since they were non-binding.

And yet, we're in fro a great panel!!!!

LWN.net

OSI pauses 2026 board election cycle

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) has announced that it will not be holding the 2026 spring boar [...]

Michael Downey 🧢

@downey@floss.social replied · 2 hours ago

@bkuhn @jzb

It's an interesting choice that have apparently pre-decided to "align our director selection process with our bylaws" instead of the other way around.

Bradley M. Kühn

@bkuhn@fedi.copyleft.org replied · 2 hours ago

@downey

I read the statement as an admission of error (in political speak). #OSI's by-laws created a self-perpetuating Board, & it has never been any different: elections were advisory, not binding.

This was the root cause of all the problems: folks hear “election” & think “my vote COUNTS!”. But it never did.

What's missing is remedy for the past. What happened in March 2025 mattered, & Step 0 is remedy for that. Doing the rest of what they propose as Step 1-N seems fine to me.

Cc: @jzb

~2 more replies (not shown)

Michael Downey 🧢

@downey@floss.social replied · 2 hours ago

@bkuhn

I don't disagree that they're entitled to move forward in the way described. But it's an interesting choice (especially nowadays) to move further away from democratic choices and not toward them.

And I don't think that the bylaws were the cause, per se, of the election anomalies. An enabler, yes, but those bylaws certainly don't seem to require the disputed process choices that were made in 2025.

@jzb

Bradley M. Kühn

@bkuhn@fedi.copyleft.org replied · 2 hours ago

@downey

I have a lot more to say on this, but I'm going to totally spoil the panel if I keep, as I said, giving all my best material away on Fediverse days before the panel.

I'll post a summary of my thoughts as a wrap up with a link to the video recording of the panel a few weeks after.

@jzb

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