by After a great deal of effort through the summer, the Governance Committee struck at the 2010 Evergreen Conference is pleased to provide for your review and feedback the proposed rules of governance for the Evergreen Software Foundation. These rules can be found at the top of the “governance structure” space of the Evergreen wiki in wiki format, OpenDocument format, and Word format.
The proposed rules of governance describe the purpose of the Evergreen Software Foundation as having the mission to:
(i) promote, support, and advance the Evergreen software;
(ii) support and facilitate the growth of the international community of Evergreen users;
(ii) foster and protect the Evergreen assets;
(iii) serve as a resource and communication device for Evergreen users; and
(iv) serve as a funding and grant seeking source for cooperative
development projects.
Hopefully these goals are self-explanatory, but some explanation of (ii) (the second ii – heh – some editing still required): the “Evergreen assets” are the trademarks, logos, domain names, and some hardware currently held by GPLS PINES and Equinox, as well as copyright over portions of the code, should institutions or individuals for some reason opt to contribute their copyright to the foundation. The assets would also include funds that result from donations to the project, revenues from conferences, etc.
The Governance Committee has chosen to submit a membership application to the Software Freedom Conservancy (http://sfconservancy.org) as the most expedient route to functioning within a 501(c)(3) non-profit structure that offers tax benefits for donations made by residents of the United States. The membership application is also visible at the top of the “governance structure” space of the Evergreen wiki.
These are significant steps for the Evergreen community, and your feedback on the proposed rules of governance for the foundation is genuinely desired. For the foundation to be successful, we need to be sure that we have the confidence and trust of the community to move forward with the proposal. If, after reading the documents, there are aspects of the plans or documents that you find confusing, or that you find worrisome, please raise your concern on the Evergreen General mailing list – you probably won’t be alone! If you have suggestions for amendments, please post those suggestions to this mailing list as well.