[linux-audio-dev] Re: linuxaudio.org

[Fred Gleason]

On Wednesday 14 January 2004 07:10, Daniel James wrote:

> What matters to me is that corporate interests don't overrule other
> interests. Linuxaudio.org is mostly composed of libre software
> projects, who get a seat on the management board, just like companies
> - regardless of size. If you check the management boards of
> organisations like OSDL or CE Linux Forum, you'll notice that libre
> software projects don't get any representation there at all.

And I think there are some good reasons for that.  Think about it for a 
moment:  *who* is empowered to speak authoritatively for a "project"?  Who 
has the right to decide who gets the seat on the management board?  The 
copyright holder?  What about others?  Should it be limited to those who have 
made substantial contributions of code?  What about the folks who write 
documentation, or maintain web sites?  And who decides what constitutes 
"substantial"?  While some projects (Apache comes to mind immediately) have 
instituted a more formal organization, for most projects, this lack of 
structure gives rise to thorny issues of governance and control.  This is 
precisely why an organization such as the FSF exists:  to provide a legal, 
authoritative entity to hold and (if needs be) enforce copyright.

A good working definition of what constitutes a "project" is needed here as 
well.  One person with an account on SF can found a "project" -- does that 
entitle that person to a seat on the board with rights and powers equal to 
those of ALSA, Jack and the others?

You see, Daniel, there are some real questions here that need clarification. 
I've just scratched the surface.  That's what a community is for.  *None* of 
us have all the answers -- you can't do this alone!  "A couple of weeks" is a 
miniscule amount of time to spend in organizing an initiative of this scope.

Cheers!


|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Frederick F. Gleason, Jr. | Director of Broadcast Software Development  |
|                           |             Salem Radio Labs                |
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| Ninety-Ninety Rule of Project Schedules:                                |
|         The first ninety percent of the task takes ninety percent of    |
| time, and the last ten percent take the other ninety percent.           |
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