MapServer Foundation - Open Letter

[Chip Taylor]

My input (and this needs to be done before the concrete sets on all this:

1. Change the name of the Foundation to something less product-pointed and
more in keeping with the purpose, such as Foundation for Open Source Web
Mapping

2. Add the Foundation moniker to the existing names for the two code bases:
     FOSWM Mapserver
     FOSWM MapGuide

3. Specify in the charter that no code from any FOSWM may be included in a
commercial product.

My input (FWIW),
  Chip "Acronym Man" Taylor
  Prepared Response, Inc.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: UMN MapServer Users List [mailto:MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU] On
> Behalf Of Gary Lang
> Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 8:01 AM
> To: MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU
> Subject: Re: [UMN_MAPSERVER-USERS] MapServer Foundation - Open Letter
> 
> OK. So here's a sincere call for input.
> 
> Here's the rub. Regardless of who made the mistake of suggesting it, I
> liked the name and agreed that we would go with it, so I'll take
> responsibility for MSE.
> 
> On the back of that, we - what can now be seen as the TSC-x cabal + 1
> ADSK person - started drifting from foundation names that had more
> umbrella-like characteristics like osgis.org, mapcommunity, maptools,
> etc. and towards something that focuses on what we were putting out
> together. Based on the fact that both products were named MapServer in
> the root, we went with "MapServer Foundation".
> 
> Now let's assume we change the name back to MapGuide. Why would I now
> want to cripple any hope of adoption by anybody by putting it in a
> foundation (that I helped name) that highlights one map serving product
> over another?
> 
> So far the community is showing more common sense than we were on this,
> so I'm interested to hear your opinions.
> 
> Gary
> 
>