Debian secretary resigns in vote controversy

The Debian secretary, Manoj Srivastava, has resigned from the post in the wake of heated debate about the options available in the vote on the future of non-free binary blobs. Debian Lenny was due in September, but a debate ensued over whether proprietary firmware incorporated in device drivers was compatible with the Debian Free Software Guidelines. Srivastava announced a vote on December 13th, but project members questioned the options that had been placed on the ballot.

In his resignation email, Srivastava said "It has been made clear to me that the project no longer trusts me, and many consider that I have been the epitome of sleaze over the years, manipulating votes for my own ends. That hurts. I have also read planet. The amount of vitriol there makes it untenable for me to participate in any efforts to recover from this mess." He also said he had noted the calls for him to be removed from the Debian project entirely and was considering his options. In responses to Srivastava's email, a number of developers voice opposition to these calls with some adding they would leave the project if Srivastava was removed. Where the controversy leaves the release of Debian 5.0 Lenny is not known; the voting process is still ongoing.

(djwm)