Making Community Decisions Without Consensus

Explore a conference talk that delves into the challenges of making critical community decisions without consensus, using the Xen Project's response to the XSA-7 security issue as a case study. Learn about the approach taken to find a "center of gravity" for the community, ensuring all viewpoints were considered despite irreconcilable differences. Gain insights into navigating difficult decision-making processes in diverse open-source communities, from the perspective of George Dunlap, a Staff Software Engineer at Citrix and experienced Xen Project contributor. Discover strategies for balancing various ideologies, goals, and values when addressing critically important issues that lack clear consensus. Examine the talk's structure, covering the vulnerability disclosure, trust issues, goals, online discussions, analysis, and proposal recap, concluding with a Q&A session to assess the effectiveness of the approach.