[Osmf-talk] Funding of iD Development and Maintenance

[Roland Olbricht]

Hello altogether,

I'm pleased to read that getting and staying independent from third
parties is an objective we share.

> If you have a better idea, the Board is all ears.  It's the best idea
> we've had so far, but if there is a better one, great.  Type it up and
> send it, please!

Why not ask the mappers themselves? This is why I had suggested to vote
on the job descriptions. There is quite a reason to call a piece of
infrastructure "core" if a majority of the mappers is willing to earmark
money for that.

More explicitly, the purpose of that process is to take over existing
software that has proven mission critical. It is intentionally designed
to not incubate new software. We may define extra rules for clarity:

1. an open source license (and complete installation instructions) such
that the OSMF can in particular sublicense and scale the software as we
see fit
2. a certain minimum lifetime before funding, avoiding pipe dreams and
buzzword vaporware

It ensures that the so far maintaining persons are indeed invested
because otherwise the software could not have proven useful to the
community before any funding.

It also leaves open the freedom to develop entirely new software at all.

Finally, it avoids the power delegation to a newly formed EWG:
- no vision is required, we draw from software that has proven to be useful
- no legitimacy problem. For the cost intensive parts the community
speaks for itself.

This opens up the avenue to run the EWG for development coordination
without a millstone of responsibities.

Best regards,

Roland