Gentoo Archives: gentoo-nfp

From: Daniel Robbins <drobbins@g.o>
To: gentoo-nfp@l.g.o
Subject: [gentoo-nfp] Summary of NFP options
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2004 00:39:47
Message-Id: E1BDBxq-0005fN-41@smtp.gentoo.org
1 Hi guys,
2
3 Here is a very short summary of the NFP progress so far:
4
5 1) I have committed to get something going by the end of this month (April.)
6 This would be either an establishment of an NFP, or some kind of action plan
7 to set up multiple entities like a NFP with one or more cooperatives to
8 provide funding.
9
10 2) The main issue of concern for me is (obviously) not getting the NFP set
11 up as soon as humanly possible but making sure that whatever is really best
12 for the Gentoo community, as it is very hard to change things once things
13 have been established.
14
15 This has been very difficult because I have been trying to meet many
16 conflicting and contradictory expectations of users and developers:
17
18 A) Expectation: Gentoo will be competitive against Microsoft
19 Reality: Microsoft spends $6.8 Billion USD on R&D every year. Free
20 software
21 is lacking its own internal economic ecosystem, let alone a
22 significant R&D
23 budget. Realistically, Gentoo can do well for HPC (high-peformance
24 computing,)
25 clusters, maybe some grid computing, servers, and somewhat for
26 embedded.
27 It's not viable on the desktop, nor is any other Linux distro (this
28 is a
29 systemic problem of the Linux community, and not the fault of KDE or
30 GNOME.
31 If you don't see why this is so, just please trust me on this that
32 this will
33 be true for at least the next year.)
34
35 B) Expectation: I want to be able to work on Gentoo full-time.
36 Reality: As time goes on, Linux and free software is getting
37 supported more
38 and more by large corporations and universities. The economic model
39 driving
40 free software development is not in favor of the establishment of
41 small
42 businesses and self-sufficient local developer communities. This
43 means as the current economic model plays out, it is more and more likely
44 that people working
45 full-time on free software will be employed by big companies and
46 higher education.
47 This is not a model that gives developers the kind of independence
48 that they may be
49 used to from working in their spare time from home.
50
51 "Well why can't we just take money from companies that give it to
52 us?"
53
54 Good question. These big companies will want some return on their
55 dollar, so they
56 will expect you to do what *they* want and not what you want. Also
57 see item E) which
58 explains why this fact prevents us from taking 501(c)(3) status
59 without risking
60 revocation of that status by the IRS.
61
62 C) Expectation: Gentoo should be representative of user needs.
63 Reality: Having an open participatory model makes it easier for
64 external entities
65 (such as the dreaded Microsoft) to co-opt (ie take over) the entity.
66
67 D) Expectation: Gentoo should be set up to protect against co-option.
68 Reality: This requires a closed and non-participatory model in order
69 to implement,
70 which is contrary to the nature of having an fair and accountable
71 open
72 participatory model. This kind of system will tend to run much more
73 like a
74 dictatorship, and elections will not be held as elections always
75 allow for
76 co-options to take place.
77
78 And how does one get the benefits of C *and* D at the same time? It requires
79 *tons* of planning and complex regulations. In other words, in an attempt to
80 get both C and D at the same time, we will end up with a very complex
81 bureaucratic system that takes a very long time to design.
82
83 E) Expectation: We should have 501(c)(3) status
84 Reality: I have learned that 501(c)(3) status is for charities. It
85 is very popular
86 to apply for this status in the US, as it allows donations to Gentoo
87 to be tax
88 deductible. However, it is not the appropriate classification for
89 Gentoo. If anyone
90 gives money to Gentoo and derives some material benefit from it (ie
91 we do work
92 that benefits their company or themselves in some way,) the IRS is
93 able
94 to revoke our tax-exempt status and the 501(c)(3) entity is then
95 immediately
96 responsible to pay all back taxes that would have been collected.
97 This would
98 generally cause the not-for-profit to have to cease operations. I
99 have learned
100 that we should be classified as a not-for-profit trade association
101 (501(c)(4))
102 or NFP support organization. Otherwise the NFP will be a very
103 susceptible to
104 being shut down by the IRS. The rule here is that just because
105 others have applied
106 for 501(c)(3) status doesn't mean that they have made the right
107 decision and we
108 should follow their (erroneous) lead. It has taken me maybe 6 months
109 to be convinced
110 by my lawyer and others that 501(c)(3) status is *not* the right
111 classification
112 in the US code for our future organization, and this has also
113 significantly
114 impeded NFP progress. Again, it is the struggle of trying to find
115 some possible
116 way to meet all developer expectations.
117
118 3) Several major universities are in negotiation about setting up some kind
119 of entity to fund Gentoo development, and I am participating in some of
120 these discussions.
121
122 Based on this, my current plan was to set up a couple of not-for-profit
123 cooperatives, one for universities and another for gentoo users, that allows
124 them to pool their resources to help fund Gentoo development.
125
126 Several developers like the idea of the coop but wanted Gentoo to have its
127 own NFP entity separate from the cooperatives. I am perfectly willing to do
128 this -- just set up the NFP entity alone, and then set up the cooperatives
129 or leave the NFP to figure out how to fund itself if you want.
130
131 It certainly makes my job easier, and my desire was for the coop to be a
132 "good thing" for gentoo developers and I was trying to ensure its success by
133 setting up funding for the entity ahead of time. If you don't want it, I
134 won't do it.
135
136 Just please understand that NFP status in itself doesn't address any larger
137 long-term sustainability or software quality or "how do I work on gentoo
138 full-time" concerns. Thus, NFP status in itself does not necessarily help
139 Gentoo become a long-term success on the desktop or allow Gentoo to be
140 competitive long-term with Microsoft. Setting up a NFP does not help you
141 resolve the problem of how you will be able to work on Gentoo full-time and
142 quit your miserable day job. This is because just setting up an NFP doesn't
143 create any ties of accountability between the software users and developers,
144 nor does it necessarily create a healthy or sustainable software
145 economy/ecosystem that allows our developers and projects to be funded.
146
147 It doesn't ensure that the board of directors is accountable to your needs.
148 It doesn't ensure that the NFP will not be co-opted, and it does not ensure
149 that some company will not be able to make lots of money from your work on
150 Gentoo without compensating you (your work could always be rewritten under a
151 non-GPL license, or included as-is in some piece of commercial software that
152 someone makes millions from due to having lots of marketing resources that
153 you don't.)
154
155 You will need to choose between an "open, participatory" (and co-optable)
156 and a "closed, non-co-optable" (and non-representative/unfair) governing
157 model. So let me know which you prefer and I'll get it set up. The other
158 alternative is to try to find some kind of compromise, where the government
159 for the not-for-profit isn't too fair or open, but is more bureaucratic and
160 harder to co-opt. Let me know which one appeals to you.
161
162 Sincerely,
163
164 Daniel
165
166
167
168 --
169 gentoo-nfp@g.o mailing list

Replies

Subject Author
Re: [gentoo-nfp] Summary of NFP options Corey Shields <cshields@×××××××.edu>
Re: [gentoo-nfp] Summary of NFP options Scott W Taylor <swtaylor@g.o>