[Incubator] [Fwd: [Incubator Application] OpenDragon]

[Arnulf Christl]

On Fri, March 9, 2007 18:57, Frank Warmerdam wrote:
> Folks,
>
> We have received the following expression of interest in incubation
> on the application list.  I am forwarding it, but plan to respond to the
> authors about general principles, and how things might work for their
> project.
>
> Best regards,

Hi,
yet again here we have a terminology issue (don't worry, I will not shy
them off). But please let me interject - just for the sake of consistency.
This has nothing to do with the project, its involvement with OSGeo, Kurt
or anything else, it is just a good example to make my point. Or rather
make "our" "Open Source fundamentalist", "Freedem-berserker's",
"ideologist", "communist", etc. point... never turn off humor.

Kurt seems to be quite knowledgeable about Open Source, GPL and more
relaxed licenses, etc. Additionally he seems to be knowledgeable about
software development, quality assurance, etc. A typical high-class
developer. Yet he uses the nonexistent term "commercial software" as the
opposite to Open Source which - as we all know now - is not correct.

This is just an example to suport some of the arguments following the long
thread about Free (in quotes) on discuss. If it is not "our" job as a
foundation to make this point clear who else will?


 ---o---


The project sounds really cool btw., to me especially the focus on the
rest of the world is appealing. (Although this is sometimes also used as
an excuse to be able to set a software Free, sort of "it is for a good
cause").

I can hear a low level undertone of "we might need some money to turn Open
Source and expect the it could potentially come from OSGeo". This also
makes sense as we advertise this on our very first page. I suggest to tuck
the financial supporting aspect of OSGeo a little further down the innards
of the web site. Funding is definitely not on the main agenda of OSGeo.

If the software is also commercially viable then OSGeo will address this
very real need by pushing it with the help of VisCom, website, and so on.
I think OSGeo by now has a status where this is a strong argument in the
class of "What can OSGeo do for its projects?"

Hmmm. Yet again I ended up strange. This does not belong on this list,
does it?

Best regards,
Arnulf.

-- 
Arnulf Christl
http://www.osgeo.org