OSGeo FAQ

This page is provisional, and the following declarations are not appoved by the OSGeo board.

Governance

What is the legal form of the foundation?

The foundation is planned to be a 501(c)3 charitable corporation incorporated in Delaware.

Who owns/controls the foundation?

The foundation is controlled by it's members who select a board of directors to control day to day operations.

Who are the members?

There are currently 21 members, and 24 more are being added via a temporary Membership Process that should be completed soon.

Can I become a member?

Beyond bringing the membership up to 45 members, details of the membership process have not been determined. However, all members of the community are encouraged to participate in foundation mailing lists, committees, and projects. Membership is not required for most forms of participation.

Who are the board of directors?

The Interim Board of Directors were selected at the Chicago meeting, and will be extended to extended to 9 directors in the coming weeks (after the membership has been broadened to 45).

Is the foundation controlled by Autodesk?

No. Autodesk has provided generous support (legal, organizational and financial) to help establish the foundation, but only three (2?) members and one board member are from Autodesk. MapGuide Open Source, from Autodesk, is only one of seven initial projects.

What are the detailed rules of governance of the foundation?

The detailed rules of governance have not yet been defined. It is expected that they will be drawn up, approved by the board and ratified by the membership in the coming months.

Open Source

Is the foundation against commercial software?

No. Open source software is commercial software. Much open source geospatial software is used in commercial projects by for-profit companies offering a variety of kinds of services. Free and open source software is quite compatible with commerce. Perhaps you were thinking of proprietary software?

Is the foundation against proprietary software?

Proprietary software is non-free (non-open source). The foundation respects the important role that proprietary software plays in our industry, and is not trying to get rid of it, or the companies that produce it. However, the foundation takes the position that free and open source software can also play an important role in the geospatial industry. Furthermore, that having quality open source alternatives to proprietary software can be good for the end user, the industry and even the proprietary software vendors. In fact, most proprietary geospatial software is built on open source software to some extent.

Does OSGeo support "Open Source Software" or "Free Software"?

Sometimes a distinction is made between "Open Source Software" and "Free Software". "Open Source" is thought to emphasize the technical benefits of developing software with the source available for use with a set of guarantees. "Free Software" emphasizes the importance of the freedom of the software, and the societal benefits of those same guarantees. The foundation uses the name "Open Source" in it's title and some of it's material for clarity and simplicities sake, but it considers both the societal and technical aspects of Free and Open Source software important.

Projects Joining the Foundation

What software projects are currently part of the foundation?

On it's formation the GDAL/OGR, GeoTools, GRASS, Mapbender, MapBuilder, MapGuide Open Source, MapServer and OSSIM projects declared their support and joined as initial projects.

What does a project need to do to join?

Detailed rules for new projects to join the foundation have not yet been determined. Some tentative ideas on the Proposed Project Submission Process have been written up and are being refined prior to approval.

So when can my project join?

We anticipate it will be at least a month or two for the initial projects to complete the incubation phase, and for the foundation to be ready to consider additional projects.

Do foundation projects need to sign over copyright to the foundation?

This is not a requirement, but is an option. This is most practical for projects where all copyright holders are available and willing to agree to such a copyright assignment.

Do foundation projects need to turn over project control to the foundation?

No. The foundation is not interested in controlling foundation projects. However, foundation projects are expected to follow some foundation rules, mostly around the need to ensure that project code is not legally encumbered (ie. not stolen, or improperly contributed), and that appropriate controls are in place to ensure code is not improperly contributed. Some additional expectations may exist around projects operating in an open and accountable fashion, handling foundation provided funding appropriately and not taking actions that will cause legal problems for the foundation. The foundation also encourages, but does not require, projects to support foundation goals, such as implementing standards based interoperability.

Can my projects operate as a benevolent dictatorship?

Detailed requirements for project administration have not yet been worked out, but it is anticipated that rules somewhat related to those for Apache will be followed. Projects should have a Project Management Committee responsible for technical decisions and these committees should operate openly and with a consensus based approach. A benevolent dictatorship is not likely to

be considered suitable open and consensus based.