The community gives strength...

In my mind, the best type of governance for open source projects is that comes for the community of active contributors and it's users.

Active contributors and users should at least have a voice to express where the project should go, and what features should be included or excluded. After all, the project benefits most when most of it's core base believes on what's being done and what's to make it work in the best way possible.

This approach also has to be pragmatic, since not everyone will be pleased with the choices made. And sometimes, features have to be dropped since there wouldn't be a practical way to keep them going within the project.

Discussion and dialogue should be encouraged, since when it's done in a constant way it helps to bring the community together. Also, it helps to spot errors or areas where there is a need to work on faster since things that can be overlooked by someone can be picked up by other.

When people are encouraged to collaborate with their peers freely, and on equal terms, is the way when the best results are most often achieved.

Any structure with in the project should come naturally. The structure should be allowed to be fluid, to change according to need of the moment so it can better adapt to the context of the moment the project is in.

If a project want to harness the best of the people that work on it, and use it on regular basis, it need to be open to have an easy and effective way to communicate with them. Any project is as strong as the community that supports it. The projects needs more of the people who support them, than the people need the projects themselves.

Great projects can become stronger when the community behind them come to own them, and work with them. When the community truly takes ownership of the project, it starts working harder on it to make it grow in ways than many might have not intended or seen. Some times, it may give rise to forks that take the core ideas to paths that are not interesting for others to pursue, yet still render great results.

The creations of the communities truly take a life of their own, and pull us to a better place.