--- Begin Message ---
- From: "Lalo Martins" <lalo@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Subject: FSU CALL FOR VOTES: what are our goals and course of action?
- Date: Sat, 14 Feb 1998 22:10:06 -0200
- Organization: Free Software Union (http://www.fslu.org)
- Message-id: <19980214221006.33922@lalo>
It's very unclear where FSU should stand in the "new" Free
Software, or Open Source Software, community. It's been proposed
that we re-evaluate our goals and course of action. Please reply
this message (PLEASE use the reply-to header - the vote must go
to lalo@xxxxxxxx and NOT lalo@xxxxxxxxxx). In your reply, delete
all text, then type the number of the option you chose (and the
short description if you want to be sure).
Please post votes in the time between:
VOTES START: Sunday, February 15, 6:00AM UTC
VOTES END: Friday, February 20, 10:00PM (22:00) UTC
This vote is open for all Free Software (or Open Source) lovers,
not just members of FSU and people subscribed to this list. You
can forward this message to anyone interested in the future of
Open Source Software (BTW please do), just make clear that the
vote must be sent to mailto:lalo@xxxxxxxx
This is a call for votes, not for comments. If you don't agree
100% with any of the options below, vote on the one closest to
your point of view. Please don't send comments with your vote,
they will be ignored.
************* VERY IMPORTANT ************
In every option below except 1, FSU will not "have" projects
anynore. FSU will "host" projects - or better, its SIGs will
host projects. This means the project gets web space
(signame.fslu.org/projectname), one or more mailing lists
(@signame.fslu.org), and anything else we can provide; but most
important of all, the project gets the chance to _COMMUNICATE_
with other projects and with users, since (except per option 1)
FSU's main goal is to be a communication central.
************** The Options **************
*****
1: Just make projects
FSU will be another project-making entity. We start some
projects that we think would be useful and just contribute by
developing them.
*****
2: Start with big projects
FSU will be "the central discussion point" for the Open Source
Software and Free Software community. We start pursuing this
goal by starting some projects; then, when these projects
start to attract attention, we use them as a tool to show all
the community how useful this kind of "central point" can be.
These projects should be ambitious and large, as Ox and the
Free Software Database, so they would attract a lot of
attention quickly.
*****
3: Start with small projects
The same as 2, but don't start any big, ambitious project;
instead start lots and lots of small projects - small, but
things that are lacking. When these spread, people will start
to think "but damn, what the blazes is this FSU that's
everywhere?" I have a small list of such projects at my site:
http://www.webcom.com/lalo/fs/projectlets
*****
4: Start with community-related projects
Same as 2 and 3, but don't start any _software_ project.
Instead, start projects meant to benefit the Open Source
community - like the Free Software Database (would that be
renamed to Open Source Software Database?), our magazine
(name in discussion), and so on. And integrate existing
projects: try to make the Database use a format similar to
Debian package databases, integrate the Database with the
Linux Software Map, Linux Project Map, Linux Projects
Catalogue - lots of duplicated effort - and with our own
project "Free Software Task List".
*****
5: Start with a call
FSU will be "the central discussion point" for the Open Source
Software and Free Software community. We start pursuing this
goal by advocating it to all organizations and individuals we
can. Actually, I already gave two steps in this direction by
sending a CC of this message to Bruce Perens and by opening
the vote for people who are not officially "members" of FSU.
One of our members mentioned that people would ask "why the
FSU". The answer is: "This is the goal of the FSU. If GNU
would become a central discussion point, this would make they
waste a lot of time they could be using to write software,
for example. And FSU is impartial."
One approach our President proposed is, getting the 15 or so
ongoing Word Processor, 12 spreadsheet, etc projects together
and see why do they need to duplicate so much effort. In his
words, "initiate and hold the discussion" amongst them.
Our President also has a different wording for this option,
which I think is worth quoting:
> Present individuals and different FS groups around the
> world with the facts about the [desperate] situation in FS.
> Build the common talk place, the central communication
> point, and invite the groups and individuals to
> communicate, contribute, remove confusions and reach
> conclusions, upon which many millions of most useful and
> cooperating lines of FS code would be written.
************** End Options **************
Ok, 6 is enought :-) I think if we use the FSU appropriatly in
this critical point we're going trough, it can make a quite
impressing difference towards success.
Being more harsh, I would say something like the FSU is
ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for the Open Source community to succeed.
But if FSU fails now, someone else will do it later.
[]s,
|alo
+----
--
I walk the maze of moments...
http://www.webcom.com/lalo mailto:lalo@xxxxxxxxxx
pgp key in the web page
Free Software Union -- http://www.fslu.org
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