Minutes of SunPy Board Meeting 20161026

Date of Meeting

26th October 2016

Attendance

Present: Steven Christe (Chair), David Perez-Suarez (Vice-Chair), Andrew Inglis (Secretary), Albert Shih, Juan Carlos Martinez Oliveros, Stuart Mumford, Russell Hewett, Kevin Reardon, Jack Ireland

Absent: Tom Robitaille

Agenda

• NumFOCUS
• Code of Conduct

Minutes of Meeting

• Discussion on whether SunPy should join NumFOCUS:

  • Background: SunPy is considering whether to join NumFOCUS, which is a charitable organisation that aims to promote the development of open-source code. Other similar projects are part of NumFOCUS, e.g. NumPy, SciPy, AstroPy, Pandas. SunPy currently has no vehicle to accept funds or donations, or to make payments or purchases. This means that many things are taken care of on an individual basis. For example, the SunPy domain is currently paid for out of pocket by Steven. NumFOCUS provides the capability to accept and manage funds in exchange for a small overhead (10%).

  • Advantages:

    • Gives us a legal vehicle to accept donations/funds, and access to bank account. Also charity tax rules apply.
    • Also improves visibility of SunPy, and potential for marketing. Will be alongside other groups, e.g. NumPy, iPython, Jupyter, pandas, AstroPy. NumFOCUS has a big presence at conferences.

  • Concerns

    • Cede some rights to NumFOCUS. Ownership of assets would technically transfer to NumFOCUS.
    • Requires a Steering Committee, which is not the same as the SunPy Board. Relationship with and control of this committee is ambiguous and not entirely under SunPy Board control - i.e., NumFOCUS can remove Steering Committee members.
    • Leaving NumFOCUS. Were SunPy to decide in the future to leave NumFOCUS, assets would be for NumFOCUS to dispose of as they see fit.

  • The Board agrees (9-0 decision) that a vote on whether to join NumFOCUS should take place by email.

  • Action: Steven and Albert need to consult NASA legal representatives on whether they are able to sign the NumFOCUS agreement and serve on the steering committee. May be a conflict due to being federal employees.

  • Action: Steven will contact NumFOCUS regarding amending the proposed agreement. Main concerns/questions are:

    • Steering Committee: the SunPy Board should have control over who is appointed to the Steering Committee. Can the agreement be amended accordingly?
    • Hiring/paying developers: how does NumFOCUS manage payment/employment of developers who are paid to work on SunPy? Is this done through a third-party contractor?

• Code of Conduct:

  • The Board intends to adopt a code of conduct for SunPy. This is also a requirement for joining NumFOCUS.
  • Proceed by proposing an amendment to SEP-002, which defines the SunPy organisation. Albert will do this.
  • Revised SEP will set an outline for what the Code of Conduct should contain (i.e. minimal requirements). Actual text of the Code of Conduct will be decided in consultation with the community.