[Foundation-l] How do you fully consult the community consensus?

[Brian]

Going forward, how does the Foundation plan to make large changes to the
software in full consultation with the community consensus?

Is the assumption that all of the members of the community who are
knowledgeable and interested have already signed up to the relevant mailing
lists and all that is needed is to send out a quick 'ping' and get their
thoughts?

What constitutes the community when it comes to the software?

Or is this just a guideline that has been on Jimbo's user page for many
years which is not really relevant since laymen should not really be
involved in technical decisions? Is there anyone at the Foundation who
currently takes this principle seriously? Honestly? What about the
developers - are they aware of and actively engaged in implementing this
principle?

Does the Foundation feel that it doesn't actually need to consult the
community? It can determine the technically best solution for the projects
and then implement it without soliciting feedback from as many people as
possible?

What would constitute due diligence in contacting the community? For
example, suppose that the Foundation had determined that there were 5 really
good solutions to a problem in the software and that they take full
consultation seriously. Could you then present those 5 solutions to the
community en masse using a survey, analyze the results and choose a winner
(or have a runoff?).

How large of a change to the software requires full consultation?

After consulting the community, does the Foundation feel it is within its
power to then choose something different?

Does the Foundation take the requirement that all changes to the software
must be gradual and reversible seriously, or not? What does that mean to
you?

Thanks,
Brian