On Dec 10, 2007 9:31 PM, Alan Coopersmith <alan.coopersmith at sun.com> wrote:
> Shawn Walker wrote:
> > On Dec 5, 2007 10:32 PM, Shawn Walker <swalker at opensolaris.org> wrote:
> >> * Is there any constitutional requirement that all content on
> >> opensolaris.org be controlled via an OGB-approved entity? (such as a
> >> Community Group, Project, Board, or Committee)
> >
> > I assume then that either no-one knows or that no such constitutional
> > requirement exists?
>
> You can read the Constitution as well as we can, but since you asked,
> the closest I can see is:

Yes. However, even when two people read the same document, they may
obviously reach entirely different conclusions.

>    The OpenSolaris Community has the authority and responsibility for
>    all decisions pertaining to the OpenSolaris software and collaborative
>    infrastructure within the scope defined by the OpenSolaris Charter.
>
> So if you define opensolaris.org as "collaborative infrastructure", we
> have the authority to make all decisions concerning it, including the
> authority to delegate control of portions of it to others.

The catch to that then, is the charter, which states:

"However, nothing in this charter shall be construed so as to confer
to the OGB: (a) any title or right
under copyright, patent, trademark, or other intellectual property
law; (b) control of or interest in
any asset, tangible or intangible, of Sun Microsystems, Inc. or any of
its subsidiaries; (c) control of
or interest in Sun Microsystems, Inc. or any of its subsidiaries."

I'm going to "play devil's advocate" for a moment; so please don't
take this as my personal view:

* Technically, the server(s) that opensolaris.org, etc. is hosted on
are a tangible asset of Sun Microsystems

* Any decisions that pertain to one of the above areas are not under
OGB control (direct or indirect)

> > Example pages might include the trademark usage guidelines page that
> > Sun provides here:
> > http://www.opensolaris.org/os/about/faq/trademark_faq/
>
> Frankly, I think if we were to decide the community got to change the
> pages regarding Sun's trademarks on opensolaris.org, they'd just be
> moved to sun.com, and perhaps that isn't a bad thing anyway.

I'm not so sure. I think legally, we have to have certain content on
our website, and according to the charter and law, only Sun can
control that content.

I'm not wanting to start a flame war here, I'm looking for some
confirmation of my interpretation.

How much control do we really have as a community?

-- 
Shawn Walker, Software and Systems Analyst
http://binarycrusader.blogspot.com/

"To err is human -- and to blame it on a computer is even more so." -
Robert Orben

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