Re: A Resolution^W hope

On Fri, Jun 01, 2007 at 10:22:08PM -0400, Benjamin Long wrote:
> So, I came up with another plan in an attempt to save the project,
> with it's original name. I called together as many Opie devs and
> others involved as I could on IRC and made a proposal. I'd like
> everyone to read carefully and try to understand the nuances of this
> situation.

I read the log. But I think it would be helpful if you tried to write up
the proposal. The IRC log does not lend itself to conciseness.

So in an attempt to help, I am going to try to sum up what you have
proposed.

The proposal you have put forward is that the domain name
opie.handhelds.org is going to point to a host that is under the control
of your employer and that you will administrator. The mailing lists
opie_at_handhelds.org and opie-devel_at_handhelds.org will actually go through
this host and the archives at:
http://www.handhelds.org/hypermail/opie/current/
http://www.handhelds.org/hypermail/opie-devel/current/

Would also be hosted at this host. And the cvs repo at cvs.handhelds.org
would move to this host in whatever SCM system it provides. The IRC log
says that the current available SCM is subversion and that trac is
available for the webified pieces of this. I currently have no issues
with that SCM. I prefer to stay with the current mantis system at
oszine.de for bug tracking. But it may be desirable to move that system
to this new proposed host.

Ben gets permission to use the Opie trademark. This has actually already
been granted. There is no dispute on my part to this move. I think it is
an excellent step.

Ben or someone else we all agree to gets 'control' of the IRC channel
#opie on freenode. Is there another channel worth lumping into this
agreement?

The project that is "OpieII" has to move from linuxtogo to opie.hh.org
to continue to use that name. This includes any repo, mailing list,
archive, bugs (I recognize that we will not receive anything in the
linuxtogo bugzilla but the OpieII bugs) and website.

There is mention of using both the hh.org community council and the code
of conduct. But it is not exactly clear what capacity that is in or who
should be on the community council. I suggest that Opie get at least one
person on that council who isn't me and that it be a position that
someone in the Opie community always has w/in the council. That person
would have to be agreed on by the Opie community.

I consider this a good starting point. I think we have some important
details to hammer out. But these steps are agreeable to me. I would
likely endorse this proposal as it stands so far to Rene, George
and Russ.

Some things I consider important but are not mentioned:
1. Anyone involved with this deal has to agree to the code of conduct. I
   have already agreed to it myself as a familiar developer.
2. Anyone involved with this deal has to agree to follow any
   instructions that come out of the community council.
3. The hatchet has to be buried. If there is anything that has to be
   worked out between individuals, they get a set period to work that
   out. But after that, the slate is basically wiped clean. Mention of
   any of the things that happened during the "dark period" will likely
   be interpreted by the Opie community as bad form if the invoker is
   not very careful in how they bring it up.
4. We have to work out the long term contingencies of the consequences
   of Ben's relationship with his employer and who backs up Ben. This is
   a reality highlighted by the CRL closure that we cannot ignore.
5. We could use some guidelines as to who is a community member. How
   they come in, how they retire and how we audit who stays and who goes
   (how do we determine who to ask if they still want to be in the
   community based on inactivity).
6. We should have an agreement on what happens to the trademark once it
   finishes the USPTO process or if the process should be stopped. I
   don't personally think it should be stopped, someone we all trust
   should own it. If that is Ben, hh.org or a different third party I
   have no problem discussing that.
7. There ought to be a process or policy on how Opie can choose to leave
   hh.org and what the community takes with them. It seems obvious, but
   it is helpful to be explicit.

Please don't consider what I say as terms. They are discussion points to
help us figure out how to move forward. As a long time Opie user and
only recent developer I recognize that I work within the system of
greatness that Lorn, Max and Ben were a part of.

If anymore discussion is going to happen via IRC, I would appreciate if
it were announced on this list and that if George, Rene, Russ or myself
want or think we need to be there that the community work with us to get
a time when we can make it. I promise to do my best to make myself
available for that.

E

-- 
Erik Hovland
mail: erik_at_hovland.org
web: http://hovland.org/
PGP/GPG public key available on request