On Sat, May 10, 2008 at 12:13 PM, Rodney M. Dyer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Your "benefit back" is the continual improvement and debugging of OpenAFS. > You should have already contracted with either "Secure Endpoints" > http://www.secure-endpoints.com, or "Sine Nomine" > http://www.sinenomine.net/openafs/ for a "maintenance contract". We have > one, and it has served us well. Since OpenAFS is essentially "free", the > "maintenance contract" is more of a consulting contract really, but it > serves the same function. Talk to Jeffrey Altman about these arrangments at > the workshop, or call him directly. I'm sure he would be happy to work with > you. > > If you care about whether OpenAFS sees a future or not, then you NEED to do > this. With no disrespect intended toward Sine Nomine or Secure Endpoints -- both do tons of fine work and contribute back to the OpenAFS community, I recommend contracts with them highly for those who need help with support, training and development -- there's something to be said for being able to contribute directly to OpenAFS. There have been mechanisms in the past to directly fund OpenAFS; the AFS & Kerberos Best Practices Workshop raises money for OpenAFS, and there is a fund through Usenix, to take advantage of it being a 501c3. As it's own 501c3 corporation OpenAFS would be able to accept donations without a third party, something that would probably make it easier -- and more comfortable -- for many sites to do. Additionally, there are resources that neither company can always directly provide, especially things like hardware. Moose Disclaimer: I have worked for Sine Nomine Associates. Nothing stated here reflects the opinion of them or any other current or past employer. Or probably myself... _______________________________________________ OpenAFS-info mailing list OpenAFS-info@openafs.org https://lists.openafs.org/mailman/listinfo/openafs-info