Re: [gentoo-nfp] Tax return and accounting discrepancies

[Rich Freeman]

So, I'm not going to go point by point as this is getting out of hand.

First, I'm inclined to trust the current trustees until I see evidence
that we shouldn't.  Certainly if elected I would ask to see evidence
that filings have been made, and I'm sure that in this capacity
everybody would be cooperative.

Second, my points in general were that we need to focus on moving
forward and not in correcting mistakes ages ago that might not be
correctable.

I wasn't trying to suggest that we can afford to not follow the law.
I'm just saying that we need to have our current ducks in a row before
we try to fix the past.  From the sound of things this may already be
in order, and so we can look into the past at our leisure.

My example of what can go wrong with community-driven projects wasn't
intended to suggest that we shouldn't accept money, or that these
problems are going to happen.  My point was that we aren't Canonical,
and that what works for Canonical might not work for Gentoo.

I certainly support expanding the foundation, and its financial
impact.  I'm even fine with paying for more consistent professional
help with the books if it makes sense.  I'm not sure that funding a
bunch of devs makes sense right now, though perhaps it could in the
future.  I'd rather see money spent on hardware, infrastructure, or
perhaps on expenses if they're judicious and don't create a lot of
resentment if some benefit more than others.  A Gentoo conference is
nice in theory - although people who aren't near clusters of devs
might feel left out (how likely is a dev in Zimbabwe to get to attend
a local conference ever?).

Bottom line is that spending money can create problems in a community,
and we need to think about that.  This isn't a reason to never spend
money - it is a reason to keep this in mind.

Rich