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[edit] Backgrounder: Mandriva and Mandriva Linux
Mandriva is a software company based in France with offices in Brazil. They produce several products, aimed at coporate, enthusiast, and beginner markets, all based on the Mandriva Linux distribution. In the past, they have also been known as Mandrake and Mandrakelinux.
Mandriva Linux is developed by a small number of paid employees in France, Brazil, Norway, Canada, and elsewhere, as well as a larger number of volunteers.
Mandriva Linux includes two branches, "main" and "contrib". Generally, both employees and volunteers have access to change both main and contrib packages. The most frequently cited difference between the two are official updates (bug and security fixes) for the former, and only optional, volunteer fixes/updates for the latter. A few packages such as the linux kernel are restricted by one or a small number of individuals.
Mandriva Linux enjoys a long history of worldwide community support. While its original fame grew out of user-friendliness (especially for non-experts), its current fortes are: desktop neutrality, ease of use, and versatility. In recent years, it has become more accepting of non-free or partially-free software.
[edit] Mandriva Foundation: Summary
The basic premise behind a "foundation" is to better separate the distribution and the community from the company.
EDIT: is it to separate the distribution from the company, or to separate the community from the company?
It is intended to formalize people's roles, provide better organization, etc.
EDIT: what does etc mean? let's make this list exhaustive and accurate
The foundation will be of more interest to volunteers and the community at large than to employees.
In creating a foundation independent of the company, the community must provide the involvement and initiative in order to achieve success.
The purpose of this wiki is to work out the specifics of the foundation, and all it entails, prior to its official introduction. It is intended to share ideas, gather information, and formalize a proposal.
Much of the content on this wiki may be just ramblings and thinly-sketched ideas. As a result, it may at times seem disorganized; feel free to contribute content and/or organization.
[edit] What the Foundation is
The foundation is:
- A way to better formalize involvement by volunteer contributors and the community at large
- A way to better organize individual roles independent of employment
- A symbiotic relationship between the company and the community
- An initiative to better care for the community's interests
- A way to unite users, contributors, employees, partners and any other supporters in an open and non-commercial environment
- A way to secure the future of the distribution
- A way to take over community-oriented infrastructure which is currently maintained but failing on Mandriva-side (notably /incoming, also maintainership database)
- A logical and comfortable place for former employess
- Idealism and passion
- ... <add stuff here!>
[edit] What the Foundation is not
- A conspiracy or plot to conflict with or against the company
- A fork of Mandriva Linux
[edit] Premise for a Foundation
There are some perceived issues with the current situation within the Mandriva corporation that have led to the idea of a community-driven non-profit foundation from which Mandriva would derive its products. These issues are outlined below.
Apart from Francois, there are no key people with an obvious dedication to the Free Software/Open Source/Linux ideals. There are also no visionaries dedicated to bringing solutions to people. This need can be seen on several levels:
- Corporate guidance and management
- Technical guidance and management
- Advocacy
- Communication
As a result of Gael's layoff, which resulted in a PR disaster, there has been a lack of a visible spokesperson for the company. The perceived need is an engaging spokesperson (such as Mark Shuttleworth for Ubuntu), who can draw attention to their words and actions.
Another perceived problem is bad morale within the company and community. The bottom line is that people are leaving. Several people have resigned recently, others have been laid off. There is a feeling in the community that both are caused by recurring internal issues.
In addition, the apparent unwillingness of management to replace people who have left is leading to more work for others and bad morale amongst those who are left. This issue affects not only employees, but contributors, users, partners, and customers. The effect is more work per capita for volunteers, and more decision making power per capita for employees.
Very few individuals stay involved with Mandriva Linux after they leave the company. Even when individuals have started out as contributors, become employed, and then have left, they do not tend to stay involved as contributors. The belief here is that this is again caused by controversy concerning the company and its actions. As well, when people leave they no longer have a formalized position related to the distribution, thus there is less keeping them dedicated to the distribution. In other words, bad morale is causing a brain drain, and the foundation may act as a catch-all for former employees.
By forming a foundation, volunteer roles can be formalized and their involvement will be presumably be more dedicated. Several former employees and contributors have expressed disinterest in Mandriva as a corporation, but would be interested in getting involved again via a foundation. Some current vounteers and employees express similar concerns, and the idea of a foundation may renew faith and motivation. With a foundation, there is a distinct possibility of attracting many former employees and contributors (and users!) to get involved with the distribution again.
Finally, as a minor issue, unofficial perception is that Mandriva Linux has lost market share vis-a-vis other Linux distributions in the last few years. The creation of an independent, volunteer run foundation could help reverse this trend by:
- reinstilling faith and confidence in the distribution regardless of the company's situation or fate
- promoting volunteer effort in general
- attracting new talent and labour
- generating positive press
[edit] Similar Foundations
[edit] Next steps
The following elements of the foundation will need to be prepared before a launch is possible:
- constitution (or similar guiding document)
- name
- official recognition by Mandriva
- board of directors
- list of members at large
- list of initial tasks to be performed after launch
