Hello, There's a fair amount of information out there on establishing corporate open source policies, but not much that seems appropriate for the company profile I'm interested in:
* Web startup. * Software based around an open source ecosystem. * Actively recruits open source contributors to staff the engineering department. It doesn't have to be a "web startup", but that's a good example. Here's an article which is typically ill-fitting: http://olex.openlogic.com/wazi/2009/create-open-source-policy/ Companies often start drafting an open source policy when somebody in management realizes they don’t know how much their IT department or software products depend on open source software. If management is shocked to find that the company is reliant on open source... well, then it's not the kind of company I'm talking about -- and not the kind of company I'd want to work for! I'd like to see some example policies that establish guidelines for ongoing open source participation that feel unencumbered to suitably trained employees. Of course compensated participation in open source will never be as freewheeling as solo participation, and employees have to expect clearance processes and to educate themselves thoroughly about IP and licensing concerns. Nevertheless, many, many developers participate in open source without causing problems for their employers, and open source contribution policies should be crafted so that safe, responsible common practice places the employee in compliance rather than in violation of the policy. The first objective of this more liberal open source participation policy is to secure a business advantage by attracting and retaining the best and brightest engineers from the open source community. It's common knowledge that open source hires are low-risk: * Success within an open source community is highly predictive of success within an organization. * It is easy to evaluate the code and social interaction of candidates who have an open source track record. * Participation in relentless meritocracy hones technical skills. In a competitive recruiting environment, companies that liberate such individuals while still providing sufficient IP safeguards enjoy an edge over companies where employees must overcome significant institutional friction to make open source contributions. The second objective is to encourage open source participation by existing employees for the same reason that companies pay for conference attendance or subsidize continuing education: open source collaboration is a great way to polish your skills, to get unfiltered feedback on your code, and to keep up-to-date with evolving trends and techniques. Any pointers towards sample policies or articles that help achieve these objectives? Or commentary on what aspects of typical open source polices noticeably constrain or don't constrain participation? Cheers, Marvin Humphrey --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: community-unsubscr...@apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: community-h...@apache.org