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This is a repost of Kurt's original reply, which was quite helpful to me. |
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|
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-----Original Message----- |
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From: Kurt Lieber [mailto:klieber@g.o] |
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Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 7:11 PM |
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To: gentoo-nfp@l.g.o |
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Subject: Re: [Fwd: [gentoo-nfp] Summary of NFP options] |
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|
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> Several developers like the idea of the coop but wanted Gentoo to have |
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> its own NFP entity separate from the cooperatives. I am perfectly |
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> willing to do this -- just set up the NFP entity alone, and then set |
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> up the cooperatives or leave the NFP to figure out how to fund itself if |
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you want. |
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> |
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> It certainly makes my job easier, and my desire was for the coop to be |
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> a "good thing" for gentoo developers and I was trying to ensure its |
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> success by setting up funding for the entity ahead of time. If you |
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> don't want it, I won't do it. |
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|
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I think the coop idea is a good thing and I think it may be something that |
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Gentoo should take advantage of. However, I think Gentoo should be |
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completely decoupled so that both organizations are able to decide freely |
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for themselves what is best for each group. |
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|
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The coop is a brand new idea. Nobody has really done anything like it |
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before, so it's likely to take a great deal of thought and effort to get set |
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up correctly. I'd hate to see the Gentoo NFP efforts get delayed as a |
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result. |
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|
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When the coop is finally set up and ready to go, each organization can look |
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at the other, ensure they still share the same values and goals and then |
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decide how best to partner at that point. |
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|
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> You will need to choose between an "open, participatory" (and |
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> co-optable) and a "closed, non-co-optable" (and |
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> non-representative/unfair) governing model. So let me know which you |
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> prefer and I'll get it set up. The other alternative is to try to find |
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> some kind of compromise, where the government for the not-for-profit |
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> isn't too fair or open, but is more bureaucratic and harder to co-opt. Let |
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me know which one appeals to you. |
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My personal $.02: |
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I'd like to see a closed, non-co-optable model. Both models have their |
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weaknesses, but I think the open one is more susceptible to groupthink, not |
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to mention coersion. I think a closed model, combined with an active, vocal |
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community (which Gentoo certainly has) allows for a solid feedback loop |
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without running the risks of coersion. |
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|
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--kurt |
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-- |
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gentoo-nfp@g.o mailing list |