Open Mainframe Project TAC Meeting - July 10, 2025

All meetings are listed on the Open Mainframe Project calendar at https://lists.openmainframeproject.org/calendar, subject to the mailing lists to which you are subscribed.

Conference call details

Meetings are hosted on the LFX Meeting Management platform. More details on how to register are at https://tac.openmainframeproject.org/meetings.

Meeting Recording

A recording of the meeting and the transcript are both available at this link.

Attendance

Voting Member Attendance

  • Andrea Orth - GenevaERS Representative
  • Joe Bostian - International Business Machines Corporation
  • Sean Grady - Zowe Representative

Quorum Not Achieved.

Voting Members Not in Attendance

  • Lauren Valenti - Open Mainframe Education Representative
  • Sudharsana Srinivasan - COBOL Programming Course Representative
  • Giancarlo Frix - Rocket Software
  • Phil Tully - Citi
  • Mike Friesenegger - Feilong Representative
  • Gregory MacKinnon - Broadcom Corporation

Other attendees

  • Tom Slanda, The Linux Foundation
  • John Mertic, The Linux Foundation
  • Daniel Horak, Red Hat
  • Jeff Brown, EMMA
  • Cam Seay, East Carolina University
  • Len Santalucia, Converge Technologies Solutions

Agenda

  • TAC Strategy Session [#763]
  • TAC Vice Chair Election [#725]
  • Create process for reporting conduct and tool usage violations [#832]

Notes

General Updates

TAC Strategy Session

John Mertic reported that volunteers are still needed to lead the “Directory of Experts” group and the “AI Chatbot for Project Documentation” initiative.

TAC Vice Chair Elections

Mertic reported the election for the 2026 TAC Vice Chair will be held in December - Mike Friesenegger will transition to the main chairperson role and Phil Tully will step down.

Create process for reporting conduct and tool usage violations

John Mertic reported the projects have a Code of Conduct policy, but an enforcement policy is currently missing. Mertic added the proposed policy aims to provide transparency and a structured approach, serving as a default for sub-projects unless they choose to deviate.

Sean Grady raised concerns about the practical enforcement of bans, particularly on platforms like Zoom and GitHub. Mertic responded that project-owned channels, such as Slack and GitHub often have mechanisms for account removal or limiting participation. Mertic added that a Linux Foundation sign-on process for meetings provides some visibility.

Andrea Orth inquired about the timeframe for addressing reported incidents. Mertic suggested a typical response time of around 3 business days for initial investigation and due diligence. Mertic added that the process involves Linux Foundation staff, potentially Linux Foundation Counsel or external Code of Conduct counsel, and then a private session with the TAC to align on the response. Mertic added that Linux Foundation staff would execute the enforcement on behalf of the TAC to avoid personal awkwardness and a public Code of Conduct incident report would be posted summarizing the incident, violation, and committee action without identifying individuals.