Re: [gentoo-trustees] c3 or c6 status

[Kurt Lieber]

On Thu, Jul 15, 2004 at 02:28:26PM -0700 or thereabouts, Seemant Kulleen wrote:
> My question about the c3 status basically arises when we ponder "what
> exactly makes Gentoo a charity?"  Until we can come up with any sort of
> satisfactory (and legally non-murky!) answer, I'll have to maintain that
> c6 is where we need to be, anyway.


  charity
       n 1: a foundation created to promote the public good (not for
            assistance to any particular individuals)


Our operating system is distributed freely and Freely.  We allow and
encourage others to take our work and build upon it for other purposes,
without requiring any remuneration in return.

We have a forum with 60,000 members and 1.3 million posts that helps people
learn how to install, use, maintain and tweak Linux.  We interface with the
community in multiple different capacities: trade shows, mailing lists,
LUGs, etc.

As for legally murky, well, that's why we're seeking counsel!  While I
appreciate all the hard work that Daniel's lawyer has done for us over the
years, he's not an expert in this particular field.  It's entirely possible
that he overlooked something or misunderstood a particularly complex piece
of law.

All we're doing here is seeking a second legal opinion.  No decisions have
been made. Our charter is to ensure we're making the best choice possible
for our user base. I don't understand how we can be fulfilling our roles as
Trustees without seeking this information.    

--kurt