[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Is it time to begin retiring open-ils.org?

[Karen G. Schneider]

> Question: will the domain name, mailing lists, etc continue to be
> owned by GPLS, or will it be taken over by Equinox (whois says Equinox
> registered evergreen-ils.org back in July, presumably to avoid the
> curse of domain name squatters), or by some other entity? For the
> paranoid amongst us, this is where an Evergreen Software Foundation or
> something like that could play a role. I'm not worried, personally,
> but we should be clear about changes that might have side effects
> beyond just the name.

I raise my hand and say I did it, and also quickly add that as you
suggest, it was to avoid domain squatting. That said, I quickly turned it
over to Equinox (in case I got hit by a truck) and at that, we're all
aware that the domain names should really be in the name of a separate
entity for Evergreen. Currently they are here and there.

Actually I would say that many people involved in Evergreen (including and
even particularly Equinox) are in favor of establishing an entity for
Evergreen.

I will be frank and say that when I came on board with Equinox -- well,
actually well before this -- I kept hearing talk of a "foundation" for
Evergreen and I thought, well maybe. But after a while I realized that
people were saying "foundation" (which made me think the focus was on
soliciting funds--not a bad idea but a not well-gelled) when what I
/think/ they mean is nonprofit organization (as in a legal entity specific
to Evergreen, which could in fact be used for fundraising, which is a very
different emphasis). This is a very sound idea.

I have been (partly) down this road in another life and have some sense of
the nonprofit landscape. I also have a lot of familiarity (actually too
much) with managing a project that had no legal status, and I have peers
(even two in the OSS world) in a similar position. Once a project achieves
a certain age and size, it is much, much better for everyone concerned if
it has its own legal identity.

I have certainly seen changes happen -- sometimes overnight -- that have
adversely  affected a project that really should have had its own destiny.
Even when all the principals are fully on board -- and I think I can say
in all sincerity that is completely true with Evergreen -- things happen.
As Joan Didion wrote, "Life changes in the instant." In my experience, it
takes longer to get a nonprofit established than it does for most of these
changes to take place.

I have never actually brought a nonprofit to fruition, though I came very
close and have spent a lot of time reading up on them, attending nonprof
conferences, etc. I know enough to believe nonprofit status is a very
rational path for Evergreen and would be willing to help make this happen
(in fact, uh, I bet there are some people, including my boss, who actually
consider this part of my job...). I also think some of our stakeholders
are similarly interested and would be willing to work to help establish
this entity.

Karen G. Schneider
Equinox Community Librarian
kgs at esilibrary.com