Architecture committee/2014-10-08

People present: Tim, Mark, Brion, Roan, Daniel, Quim.

Pending action items

Tim to send email to wikitech-l requesting suggestions of RFCs that people are interested in working on. Also mention in public IRC meeting.
- Done
Tim to note, as part of another email, that we are expanding the committee, details to follow.
- Done
Mark to email all committee (+Quim) about expansion, plans for meetings, meeting attendance, etc.
- Half done
Tim to create Architecture committee. Others to please edit.
- https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T489
- Quim kindly started it
EVERYONE: think about architecture committee roles page
Quim to publish committee minutes for now
- Done

https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Requests_for_comment/image_and_oldimage_tables
- For discussion next week
- Daniel notes that multimedia team are discussing integration between file history and desc page history
- https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T589
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Requests_for_comment/Graph
- Daniel interested in this
- Brion interested also
- need to flesh out the implementation details -- I think we're basically fine with the premise but need to kick it back for more info
- Schedule later
- https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T590
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Requests_for_comment/Removing_bad_database_abstractions
- probably would drop mssql, oracle, might drop postgres <- narrow scope would be just do this
- if people reaaaaally want better abstraction we need better systems -> make a separate RFC later to figure that out
- for discussion next week
- https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T591
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Requests_for_comment/ChangesList_formatting
- approved by consensus -> kick back to aude for implementation
- https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T592
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Requests_for_comment/Allow_styling_in_templates
- Brion interested in this
- will update the RfC w/ implementation plans and schedule it for next weekish
- https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T483

recommend rotating between current time (Wed 1pm PT / 10pm Europe) and mark's alt time (Tue 11pm PT / Wed 8am Europe)
- also rotate the RFC meeting adjacent to it
- let RFC maintainers request one or the other
- start the rotation week after next

Daniel suggests each member having a veto power, rather than looking for unanimity
- i like this (brion)
what _is_ an rfc? better define their use, scope, aim
- some need an approval ("go/no go")
- some need resources. this is something we need to discuss. (push things towards directors' agendas after our approval -- this is potentially hard :D )
  - influence over resources, not management/assignment
- https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T341

when we identify things that need doing, help push them.... possibly through the RfC process (but need to make things happen! need resources...)
have a better plan for making recommendations to WMF, WMDE etc engineering prioritization
- (follow up on that spreadsheet from a couple weeks ago?) (in private draft still) -> be more formally in that process next quarter
- put together our own shortlist of priorities

check in w/ bryan davis on status of this with logging lib etc?
- probably wait for that to happen before we start pushing on new stuff

brion: prep announcements
- https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T340
Tim: ask RFC authors to specify their timezone or preferred meeting slot
prep ideas for Dev Summit for discussion next week
- (note: not all committee members will be at the dev summit)
- finish formalizing the roles!
- plan for formal expansion/maintenance policy -- approval, target size, need for membership levels/associates/delegates?
- https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T593
All, please join https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/tag/architecture/
for next quarter make sure we've got good plans on prioritization
- someone put this into phab!
- https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T594
brion: flesh out Graph rfc w/ Yuri