[Consortium] Latest updates and new agenda

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/). 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(a)vt.edu http://www.music.vt.edu/people/faculty/bukvic/