MapServer Foundation - Open Letter

[Tyler Mitchell]

On November 28, 2005 15:51, John Craddock wrote:
> Viewing all this through the looking glass, it seems to me that we have
> just witnessed the largest reverse takeover of a community brand name by a
> commercial organisation in corporate IT history...

John,
The takeover scenario is a moot point, especially in light of the 
establishment of the foundation.  That is the whole purpose of having an 
arms-length, community-run organisation to manage and protect things.

Finding a way for diverse companies, non-profits, individuals and government 
has been what MapServer is all about.  That is why MapServer is what it is 
today.  That is what this announcement is all about too.  Rather than go it 
alone, we believe that the result can be greater than the sum of its parts.

We sought to find common ground and even common names so that we can be seen 
as cooperating rather than competing, sharing rather than trying to take 
advantage.  Autodesk didn't push over the developers and grab the name from 
them, the use of the name was a mutual idea and discussed.  To make it out 
that Autodesk "took" something is not fair nor accurate.

Commercial groups have been building on MapServer for years, they've provided 
some of the excellent support and development we've enjoyed.  Our 
relationship with Autodesk need not be any different - another developer and 
supporter, at the table with the rest of us.  This isn't about MapServer vs. 
Autodesk - it's about finding a way to work with a new group in the open 
source web mapping community.  I believe that we have common goals and that 
Autodesk is not interested in stacking the deck or doing a power-play on the 
rest of us - it wouldn't fit within our community and would be counter to a 
foundation.

You can turn them away to do their own thing or work together for  a common 
goal.

Tyler