On 12 December 2011 23:44, Louis Suárez-Potts <lsuarezpo...@gmail.com>wrote:
> HI, > > > On 12 December 2011 18:24, Ross Gardler <rgard...@opendirective.com> > wrote: > > forum for > >> ecosystem activity. > >> > >> Q: Would Apache be the site for that? > > > > That all depends on what you mean by "ecosystem activity". Apache > > exists to produce open source software for the public good. > > How nice. :-) > > I mean civil as well as governmental commercial (and not) activity > utilising and normalising within the warp and woof of the everyday the > work produced by the commons-based peer network. In short, the stuff > that earns the keep of those who keep the urn: but without burn or > churn. (sorry, dinnertime) > > At OOo we had a simple policy that sought to promote disinterested > ecosystem activity. I'd be a lot more inclined to relax the > strictures, as the situation here is quite different. But there were > some provisions that made sense, and which I long advocated for. These > included promoting sponsors of work via regulated icons (not garish or > distracting from the thing of value produced itself), as well as > unedited listings of service/support providers. I had started a list > but the DE group under André did a much better job, though it was > rather unwieldy, as they were the first to admit. Better technology > now would make for better listing. The extant list: > http://bizdev.openoffice.org/ > > (The history of posting sponsors' ads is tedious but the risk is > always one of bleeding volunteers of that which moves them in the > pursuit of the lucre that moves others. But we can manage that. And > Ian and I have had historical discussions on this point, though we now > pretty much agree on the what's what of it.) > If OpenOffice is to reach its impact in terms of potential it needs vehicles for promotion and distribution beyond just making the code available from a web site. If that is not possible in the Apache Way with the Apache web sites, alternatives need to be found. The main issues I'd anticipate is the use of logos and trademarks and the motivation of the people involved in terms of a positive effect on development. That is never going to be easy and has associated risk but there is also risk in doing nothing simply to avoid that risk. -- Ian Ofqual Accredited IT Qualifications (The Schools ITQ) www.theINGOTs.org +44 (0)1827 305940 The Learning Machine Limited, Reg Office, 36 Ashby Road, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 8AQ. Reg No: 05560797, Registered in England and Wales.
