[Consortium] linuxaudio.org

[Marek Peteraj]

First i'd like to say, that i'm not going to subscribe to the consortium
mailing-list, because as i see it, by subscribing to this ml i would
silently agree to the idea of a consortium.

> > So, with these sorts of issues in mind, would it be possible to
> > characterize the group by means of a less intimidating term? 
> > "Advocacy group" works for me (it is, after all, a purely voluntary
> > association that carries no legal obligation with it), although 
> > I'd
> > be glad to talk about alternatives.

The only alternative i see is a non-profit organization consisting of
natural persons, a legal entity. 

> It is the case that we've already announced linuxaudio.org as a 
> consortium. 

This was another reason why i asked to postpone it.

Just to demonstrate how easy it is to get confused:
"[linux-audio-announce] LINUXAUDIO.ORG CONSORTIUM LAUNCHED TO CREATE PROFESSIONAL AUDIO TOOLS Daniel James (Thu Jan 15 2004 - 16:04:08 EET)"

Was a consortium really launched to *create*?

Who will be given credit if the linux audio apps become widely used? The consortium? It's members? Which members?

> However, once the management board is in place - 
> hopefully next week - they could discuss this issue. We certainly 
> don't want to put anyone off from joining.

The problem is that projects aren't organisations from a legal point of view.
Combining them with companies doesn't make much sense. 
A foundation would offer additional protection as it would 
consist of developers participating in linux audio projects 
which are subject to such additional protection.
Problems such as those Fred pointed out could be easily avoided.

The problem with the domain is - the term 'linuxaudio' has become a "trademark", sort of.
It represents the linux audio developers, the linux audio users, linux audio applications/projects.
I hoped it to be a home for LAD, LAU and LAA, and to offer more - community news, documentiation and tutorials, etc.

Unfortunately this isn't happening. It puts a consortium of companies in the spotlight while keeping the community aside.

I was surprised to see how many of lad subscribers and you guys underestimate the issue that LAD is not "only a" mailing list anymore.

Just an example - 2 job offerings were posted on LAD during this week. Having a job bulletin board on linuxaudio.org would come very handy 
for those searching for *linux audio* related jobs. Per analogiam, *linux audio* users, developers etc would find *linux audio* related information. 

Marek