Re: [OSCOM] Plan: OSCOM Revised (3 weeks for feedback)
Michael Wechner <[email protected]>
| Newsgroups | gmane.comp.cms.oscom |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
Marc Laporte wrote: > Hi! > > Here is wikified copy/paste of the plan: > http://oscom.avantech.net/Plan thanks very much. Btw, I have added a paragraph about Summer of Code: http://wiki.oscom.org/tiki-index.php?page=Plan#Summer_of_Code and also added it to OSCOM's proxy Michi > > Please note that Wiki Syntax is off (because it sometimes creates > unwanted links). If you want a link to another page, please use the > following Syntax ((LinkToAnotherPage)) > > I didn't put each project on it's own page because many are only a few > lines. I invite people to create and link to another wiki page if the > project has more info. > > Best regards, > > M ;-) > > > > Sandro Groganz wrote: > >> Hi everyone, >> >> please find my suggestions below - far from being complete! >> >> Let's use this to start a thorough discussion and brainstorming. >> >> In 3 weeks, I will summarize your input (see schedule below). >> >> Take your time to read and enjoy :) >> >> Sandro >> >> ---------------------------- >> PLAN: OSCOM REVISED >> >> * Purpose * >> >> The purpose of this plan is to identify the projects and actions it >> needs to have the international organization for Open Source Content >> Management (OSCOM) gather momentum. >> >> The proposed ideas should help to get a better understanding of the >> OSCOM goals and how they can be reached more efficiently and with >> more contributors. >> >> This draft does not necessarily formulate the official view of the >> OSCOM board, it is rather a basis for discussion. The draft is far >> from being complete, any feedback is highly appreciated. >> >> * Principles * >> >> Open and transparent: All issues concerning this plan should be dealt >> with openly and in a transparent way. >> >> Cooperation and participation: It is highly important that all >> involved persons act in a cooperative manner and that everyone can >> participate. >> >> * Vision * >> >> We want to establish OSCOM as the number one umbrella organization >> for all issues related to Open Source content management. >> >> * Brainstorming * >> >> Some brainstorming has been going on on the OSCOM general >> mailinglist. Most ideas have been included in this plan. The plan >> foresees that there will be one more round of >> brainstorming/discussion about the general content of this plan, as >> well as further brainstorming for each project of this plan. >> >> * Organizing * >> >> The detailed planning of projects will be done at a later point. >> >> * Actions * >> >> These are the next actions concerning this plan: >> >> 1. (3 weeks): discussion/brainstorming of this plan on OSCOM general >> mailinglist >> - include as many as possible from the content management area >> >> 2. (1 week): summary of input, revision of plan >> - done by Sandro Groganz + OSCOM board >> >> 3. (1 week): decision on acceptance of plan >> - by 2/3 on OSCOM general mailinglist >> >> 4. (2 weeks): planning of projects >> - priorities/schedule >> - responsibilities >> - next actions >> >> * Projects List * >> >> Please note that the term "projects" is being used in a wider sense >> and is not specifically aimed at software projects. >> >> We need dedicated persons for most projects, who volunteer to be in >> charge. Feel free to add your here: >> >> - Organization: Define Scope and Goals >> - Organizations: Define Involved Groups and Projects >> - Organization: Define Organizational Structure >> - Organization: Bylaws >> - Organization: Define Roles of President, Board, Members, Community >> - Organization: Define Decision-Making >> - Organization: Elections of President, Board, Members >> - Organization: Generate new Members/Contributors >> - Organizations: Affiliations >> - Information: OSCOM Wiki >> - Information: Definition of Terms >> - Information: Collection of Resources >> - Information: Collection of Events >> - Information: Collection of Content Management Projects >> - Information: Personal Page of OSCOM Members >> - Information: CMS Matrix >> - Information: Planet OSCOM >> - Collaboration: Software Implementation >> - Collaboration: Software Specification >> - Collaboration: Student Projects >> - Collaboration: Mailinglists >> - Events: Conferences, Roadshows >> - Events: OSCOM Awards >> >> * Projects Details * >> >> >> - Organization: Define Scope and Goals - >> >> >> To establish OSCOM as the number one umbrella organization for all >> issues related to Open Source content management, we need to broaden >> its scope. >> >> OSCOM should not only be about CMS, but include any kind of Free >> Software and Open Source content management application. This >> includes, Wikis, Weblogs, etc. >> >> The wider scope makes perfect sense, given that CMS integrate Wiki >> and Weblog functionality and vice versa. >> >> Seen from that perspective, it is one of the tasks of OSCOM to >> continuously define what is Open Source content management and bring >> the players in this area together. >> >> The main goal of OSCOM is to foster innovation in the Open Source >> content management segment by creating the potential for information >> transfer between all involved persons. >> >> To formulate the main goal in a different way: What is the unique >> selling point of OSCOM? It is the potential of becoming the main >> information hub for knowledge transfer within interest groups of the >> FOSS CMS segment (e.g. software projects, consultants, solution >> providers, etc.). >> >> In this segment, information is critical for success. In this >> respect, OSCOM can be of benefit in two ways: >> >> 1. Distribution of commoditized knowledge, which is information that >> has become standard knowledge in our segment. This could for example >> be a Wikipedia page explaining what is WebDAV? >> >> 2. Distribution of first-hand information, which is information only >> available to an exclusive group of persons. Typically, such >> information is exchanged face-to-face at conferences, during talks or >> in private talks. >> >> >> - Organizations: Define Involved Groups - >> >> >> We'd like to involve the following groups in the Open Source content >> management segment: >> - developers >> - project managers >> - consultants >> - journalists >> - vendors >> - solution providers >> - users/customers >> - others? (feel free to add) >> >> This is a list of projects which could be involved: >> - MediaWiki >> - TikiWiki >> - WordPress >> - FluxBlog >> - Drupal >> - Typo3 >> - Joomla! >> - Magnolia >> - Plone >> - others? (feel free to add) >> >> >> - Organization: Define Organizational Structure - >> >> >> In essence, we do not change the organizational structure, we just >> define roles more clearly as well as the processes of participation. >> >> The Apache Foundation-like structure of OSCOM is ok, but has been >> anticipated as too exclusive up-to-now. What is needed is a rather >> loose interpretation of the existing organizational structure, to >> give it a more inclusive spin and to allow more groups and persons to >> be involved with a low barrier of entry. >> >> We want to keep the OSCOM foundation as a legal entity, mainly for >> the purpose of financial administration. This includes that final >> decision-making concerning financial matters is bound to the rules >> defined in the bylaws. >> >> The OSCOM foundation thus only forms the very basic legal realm for >> the OSCOM community. All non-financial decisions should be made >> within the community, based on defined processes. These processes >> ensure that the community is actually in power of decision-making and >> that decision-making is effective. >> >> >> - Organization: Bylaws - >> >> >> Unfortunately, oscom.org is not accessible currently. Thus, I was not >> able to go through the bylaws and relate them to this plan. >> >> I assume, that most things stay untouched by this plan. Nevertheless, >> if we see that certain things should be changed in the bylaws, we >> should do this now, because we have enough momentum to change things. >> >> The major change I propose is that only the president and the board >> members are legal members of the OSCOM organization. The "normal" >> members, are not a legal subject of the OSCOM organization any more. >> This way, we strip down the organization to its core to have it deal >> with financial and legal matters only. (Following a suggestion by >> Paul Everitt) >> >> We need someone in Switzerland, as OSCOM is there registered as a >> legal entity, who can fix issues for us. >> >> >> - Organization: Define Roles of President, Board, Members, Community - >> >> >> The roles of the president, the board, and the members are in general >> laid out in the Bylaws, but we might need to redefine or clear them a >> bit. >> >> The president of OSCOM is in charge of representing OSCOM. He clearly >> needs to distinguish between his role as the OSCOM president and any >> other affiliations. Whenever he acts within his role as the >> president, he needs to follow the principles of OSCOM and pursuit the >> organization's goals. >> >> The board is only in charge of decision-making when it comes to >> financial issues. Other then that, the board members are part of the >> OSCOM members and community. I suggest that the board members should >> represent the groups of OSCOM, thus it should include one >> representative from each group (see above). >> >> OSCOM members are persons who actively participate in or already >> contributed to an OSCOM project, be it maintaining the events list or >> organizing a conference, etc. The term "member" is ambiguous, because >> it could be understood as a member of the OSCOM community or a member >> of the OSCOM organization. We need to make clear that someone is only >> called a member if these two criteria meet: >> - the person is currently or has been active in the past >> - and the person is elected by other members as a member >> >> The OSCOM community simply comprises all persons interested in OSCOM, >> actively or passively. >> >> >> - Organization: Define Decision-Making - >> >> >> The basic formula is that we want bottom-up decision-making. >> >> Existing members (which includes board members) can recommend new >> members. >> >> >> - Organization: Elections of President, Board, Members - >> >> >> The president could be elected every year, just like the Debian >> project does for its project manager. The goal is to ensure that the >> most dedicated persons become the president of OSCOM. >> >> The board should consist of representatives of the interest groups in >> the FOSS CMS segment. This means we need to define the interest >> groups and perform elections for each representative as well. There >> should be elections for each board member. A board member should be >> elected by the OSCOM community, i.e. active and passive persons. >> Elections could be every 2nd year and not overlap with elections of >> the president for more then 3 months. Anyone can run for the >> elections, you don't have to be a member. >> >> Members can be nominated by other members and elected by 1/4 of the >> members as long as there are less then 40 members. Max. 1/5th of >> votes can be negative. With more then 40 members, it is sufficient to >> have min. 10 positive votes. Given there are more then 40 members, >> you can become a member with min. 10 positive and max. 2 negative vote. >> >> >> - Organization: Generate new Members/Contributors - >> >> >> The goal of the proposed organizational structure of OSCOM is to >> provide an incentive for others to contribute to OSCOM. Thus, OSCOM >> invites everyone to participate and rewards active persons by >> becoming OSCOM members. >> >> Especially in the current situation, we should actively seek for new >> members and invite representatives of related software projects, >> consultants, journalists, etc. to participate. >> >> >> - Organizations: Affiliations - >> >> >> OSCOM could affiliate with other organizations and identify potential >> common interests and projects, e.g.: >> >> - http://www.odfalliance.org/join.asp (idea by Michi Wechner) >> - FSF >> - Open Source Initiative >> - Typo3 Organization >> - Apache Foundation >> - LinuxTag >> - others? (feel free to add) >> >> >> - Information: OSCOM Wiki - >> >> >> It would be great to make the main oscom.org portal a Wiki where >> everyone can contribute to. This allows for a simple way to >> collaboratively share information. >> >> Alex Kempkens suggested to use a CMS instead, like the do on the >> Joomla! portal. >> >> In the end, we need a solution which allows simple and effective >> information sharing and we need to know what kind of information is >> valuable to us. >> >> >> - Information: Definition of Terms - >> >> >> A kind of glossary on oscom.org, maintained in the Wiki. For example: >> What is an Enterprise Content Management System? What is WebDAV? >> >> If there are already pages on Wikipedia, we could simply link there. >> We could also contribute to Wikipedia and just link from oscom.org. >> >> >> - Information: Collection of Resources - >> >> >> A collection of links to online resources. For example related >> organizations, articles, news, etc. >> >> >> - Information: Collection of Events - >> >> >> A collection of _all_ events in the content management segment, not >> only those organized by OSCOM. >> >> >> - Information: Collection of Content Management Projects - >> >> >> A page for each content management software project with basic >> information. Quality of the project is not an issue here, we simply >> want all projects listed. The OSCOM Awards make the difference when >> it comes to quality. >> >> >> - Information: Personal Page of OSCOM Members - >> >> >> Just like FSFE, each OSCOM member could have his personal area: >> http://www.fsfe.org/en/fellows >> >> >> - Information: CMS Matrix - >> >> >> We need to be more active in maintaining the CMS matrix - how to do >> that? >> >> >> - Information: Planet OSCOM - >> >> >> Let's aggregate more feeds! Maybe add a contact form to the Planet >> page to provide new feeds. >> >> >> - Collaboration: Software Implementation - >> >> >> We need more thinking here, whether OSCOM should keep hosting and >> pushing collaborative software projects (like the WYSIWYG editors). >> >> I would say yes, but not with highest priority. Once we really >> achieve such collaboration, this is a sign that there is a big need >> for it and previous information sharing has actually lead to working >> on a concrete result. >> >> For the start, we should concentrate on knowledge transfer, which >> will hopefully foster collaboration in the software domain. >> >> >> - Collaboration: Software Specification - >> >> >> Maybe it would make sense to create a repository of basic >> specifications. For example, what should be included in a Weblog, a >> Wiki, a CMS, an Intranet, etc.? Not too detailed, but as a kind of >> quality assurance tool for project developers as well as >> customers/users. >> >> >> - Collaboration: Student Projects - >> >> >> OSCOM could collect information for students who would like to do an >> internship at a community/company/organization dealing with FOSS >> content management. We could provide tips, or a list of potential >> organizations. >> >> We could also collect information about ongoing student projects. >> They could be in the field of actual software implementation, as well >> as sales analysis, etc. >> >> >> - Collaboration: Mailinglists - >> >> >> We keep the mailinglists we currently have. Let's see if we need some >> more in the future? >> >> >> - Events: Conferences, Roadshows - >> >> >> Conferences are good for face-to-face conversations and first-hand >> knowledge transfer. OSCOM should support everyone in organzing >> related conferences. We could do this by sharing experiences in the >> Wiki about previous events. >> >> Roadshows are similar to conferences, but they happen at several >> places and rather focus on product presentations. >> >> >> - Events: OSCOM Awards - >> >> >> To foster the goals of OSCOM, we could issue OSCOM Awards once per >> year, where we reward persons or groups for certain achievements in >> the field of FOSS content management. The main award could be issued >> for the "Open Source Content Management Project of the Year". There >> could be other awards like "Open Source Content Management Event of >> the Year". >> >> _______________________________________________ >> General mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://oscom.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/general > > > > _______________________________________________ > General mailing list > [email protected] > http://oscom.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/general > -- Michael Wechner Wyona - Open Source Content Management - Apache Lenya http://www.wyona.com http://lenya.apache.org [email protected] [email protected]