On 11/10/06, Eelco Hillenius <eelco.hillenius@gmail.com> wrote:
> Yes. But a project hosted at say Sourceforge can share those values
> equally (or sometimes even better imo, as they don't have to cope with
> politics).

Exactly!

It's important that we *discourage* dilettante applicants who decide
to join the ASF for the wrong reasons.

* The right reasons are because a community shares our values, our
mission, and our vision.

* The wrong reasons are because a community wants access to our brand,
our infrastructure, or our legal shield.

Once the "right" reasons are accepted, then the "wrong" reasons become
added value. The  right reasons are our functional requirements, and
the wrong reasons are our non-functional requirements.

We do not have an incubator because we are *trying* to grow the ASF. A
lot of Members are concerned about unbridled growth. We have the
incubator because the ASF is going to grow whether we like it or not,
and the incubator's job is to ensure that first, a new project belongs
here, and, then, that the community is indoctrinated to our culture.
(Including our culture of strict IP oversight.)

My concern is that applicants don't always grok that the ASF is a
volunteer organization run by the volunteers for the volunteers. I'm
not sure that people realizes that we expect everyone to roll up their
sleeves and chip in.  Unlike SourceForge, the ASF is *not* a free
ride. There is a heavy price to pay for being here, a price many of us
pay gladly, but applicants need to understand that there is a price
before they belly up to the bar.

IMHO, we should make it very plain that the ASF is *not* for everyone.
Projects should *not* apply for incubation unless they share our
values, mission, and vision. Projects should *only* apply if they are
willing to volunteer time and energy to the Foundation itself, and not
just to their own project.

-Ted.

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