[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Interesting proposal about approachingEvergreengovernance

[Jason Stephenson]

Quoting Deanna  Frazee <dfrazee at ci.killeen.tx.us>:

> I disagree that a foundation is needed.  A properly incorporated users
> group can serve the same purpose as the foundation, much as we did in
> CODI.  CODI held the source code for the various Dynix incarnations in
> escrow and handled collecting and prioritizing enhancement requests.  At
> the time I was on the board, we had 5 or 6 at-large members in addition
> to the standard officer positions.  Each at-large member was voted in by
> the membership to fill a specific purpose such as for their expertise in
> a particular module or to coordinate with the company on enhancements.

A users' group works well when there is a proprietary vendor.  
However,in an open source project, with whom would this users' group  
coordinate? You would end up needing an Evergreen Foundation anyway to  
direct development and to coordinate with the users' group.

I am, of course, assuming a traditional users' group along the lines  
of CODI (of which my employer is still a member) where the users  
prioritize development goals and request feature enhancements. That  
kind of arrangement doesn't work in open source unless there is  
already some foundation setup with whom the users' group can coordinate.

However, if that users' group is composed of the people contributing  
to the project with code, time, money, and other resources, then it  
might work, but after a while it would likely need some corporate  
structure in the form of a foundation.


>
>
>
> Deanna Frazee
>
> Killeen City Library System
>
> (254) 501-8995
>
> (254) 501-7704 (fax)
>
> dfrazee at ci.killeen.tx.us
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org
> [mailto:open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of
> Karen Schneider
> Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2009 9:35 PM
> To: Evergreen Discussion Group
> Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Interesting proposal about
> approachingEvergreengovernance
>
>
>
> On Thu, May 21, 2009 at 5:30 PM, Thomas Corbett <tcorbett at cwmars.org>
> wrote:
>
> Hi Karen,
>
> Speaking for the folks at the nearby "starting a users group" discussion
> table, we'd like to see a foundation developed first and then a User
> Group considered later -- if needed (depending on the role and success
> of the foundation).
>
>
> This is at least a good kickoff discussion. :-) Did your table have some
> insights to share into the organizational structure and roles of the
> foundation? (Don't forget there are still lightning talk slots tomorrow
> morning..!)
>
>
> 	One question: what kind of detail are you (speaking for the
> group at the table!) considering when you suggest an online spreadsheet
> listing acquisition "projects?"  For selfish reasons, it would be most
> helpful for us to have these projects described in as much detail as
> possible, preferably listing out specific software requirements.
>
>
> The level of detail wasn't spec'd out in this discussion, but it would
> seem desirable to have more than less detail, accompanied by
> prioritization. Just tossing this out, what if initially each Evergreen
> project provided all of its "required" requirements and then a set
> amount (10? 25?) of its "highly desired" requirements?
>
>
> 	Also, without a foundation's "pool of money," independently
> financed projects will trump all others (not necessarily a bad thing) no
> matter what this informal group decides are the top priorities.
> Nonetheless, I think such a pilot project would be worth pursuing.
>
>
> Tom, that's a good point, though if such a list existed, it's possible
> the money would follow. When there is collective prioritization, there
> is finally something to collectively fund. It would not actually take a
> foundation to be in place for projects to decide to jointly fund
> development. It would be more cumbersome (and therefore prove the value
> of a foundation) but unless I'm missing something it would not be
> unfeasible.
>
>
> --
> --
> | Karen G. Schneider
> | Community Librarian
> | Equinox Software Inc. "The Evergreen Experts"
> | Toll-free: 1.877.Open.ILS (1.877.673.6457) x712
> | kgs at esilibrary.com
> | Web: http://www.esilibrary.com
> | Be a part of the Evergreen International Conference, May 20-22, 2009!
> | http://www.lyrasis.org/evergreen
>
>