[Consortium] Latest updates and new agenda

[Ivica Ico Bukvic]

Greetings all,

It is my pleasure to announce that the concern recently brought up by one of
our management board members in respect to Ubuntu membership has been
resolved. The current membership remains as is and as such it is also
setting a precedent for admitting other commercial entities who have, are,
and/or aim to contribute to the Linux audio scene and subsequently
Linuxaudio.org. For those interested in specifics, the vote was 6 for (the
inclusion of Ubuntu and the like), 3 abstentions, and 1 against.

Having resolved this matter, I would like to urge everyone to chip in
regarding the ongoing agenda as well as present you with the new proposals.

Ongoing agenda:

Please review the latest versions proposed by Patrick Shirkey
(http://djcj.org/LAU/logos-lao.html) and Thorsten Wilms
(http://affenbande.org/~thorwil/wordpress/2006/04/10/linuxaudioorg-logo-4/).
>From the latest comments, it appears that currently Thorsten's shouting
penguin has generated the most interest.

New agenda:

Considering that we have not received any opposing votes to the idea of
incorporation, I would like to propose the next 3 steps towards this goal:

I. Expanding consortium's membership into following categories:

1) Developers/software projects
2) Organizations, societies, and/or corporations supporting LA endeavors
(these could be subdivided further)
3) Academic institutions
4) Hardware vendors
5) Artists/end-users

Currently, my suggestion is to keep all of the categories free, and, once we
incorporate, to offer members (apart from the continuing free membership) a
paying membership option which will entitle them to other perks as well
(details TBA), but I digress. Right now, we need to figure out whether this
is the first step we wish to take. In my opinion, this is going to be
instrumental as with such a membership base we will have an ability to serve
as liaisons connecting developers with hw vendors, artists with
organizations, etc. It will also allow us a greater outreach through the
aforementioned interfacing as well as programs which will cater to
particular groups of members (i.e. annual CD compilation of compositions, an
annual award for the best Linux audio project, or an annual recognition for
the institution/corporation/organization which has provided most support to
Linuxaudio.org and subsequently Linux audio scene).



II. Discussing country of incorporation.

As you may be already aware, my proposal is to incorporate Linuxaudio.org as
a non-profit organization. Personally, I feel that incorporating in US will
allow us to have a significant access to the sponsorship from various tech
companies (especially considering that a vast majority is incorporated in
US) while in return offering them ability to make their contributions
tax-deductible. Granted, US may not be the most Linux-friendly but at the
same time IMHO such considerations may not have any bearing on the
consortium as our mission does not encompass patents and/or other authorship
concerns (beyond the obvious prerequisite that a member project/whatever
needs to be legal). FWIW, I also have some experience with incorporating the
so-called 501c3 (non-profit) organization in US, so this would also provide
us with some head-start. Ultimately, whatever country we choose, we must be
able to find at least 3-4 devoted and responsible board members in that
country who will be able to conduct the every-day business and easily
communicate with each other as well as the general membership.



III. Seeking dedicated webmaster as one of the first (currently
volunteer-based) positions of the executive core.

I am proposing to make a call for a webmaster with solid HTML skills to help
out with updating the website. As of right now, I would not want to make any
significant alterations simply because the website is just fine in its
current form, but also because this volunteer position should be structured
so that it does not require too much time. I would propose to make this
position available to anyone who wishes to nominate themselves and then have
the board choose from the nomination pool by vote.
 
Best wishes,

Ivica Ico Bukvic, D.M.A. Composition
Virginia Tech
Dept. of Music - 0240
Blacksburg, VA 24061
(540) 231-7047
(540) 231-5034 (fax)
ico at vt.edu
http://www.music.vt.edu/people/faculty/bukvic/