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       <a href="index.html">Home</a> :&nbsp;
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       <a href="documentation.html">Index</a> :&nbsp;
       <a href="charter.html">Charter</a> :&nbsp;
       FAQ
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<br>
<h2>GNOME Foundation FAQ</h2>
<P
CLASS="COPYRIGHT"
><A
HREF="faq-ln7.html"
>Copyright</A
> &copy; 2000 by Dan Mueth and Havoc Pennington</P
><HR
WIDTH="75%"
ALIGN="CENTER"
COLOR="#000000"
SIZE="1"></DIV
><P
>  This is a list of the most frequently asked questions about the
  GNOME Foundation.
 </P
><DIV
CLASS="QANDASET"
><DL
><DT
>1. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN13"
>General</A
></DT
><DD
><DL
><DT
>1.1. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN16"
>      What is the GNOME Foundation?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>1.2. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN21"
>      Why does GNOME need the GNOME Foundation?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>1.3. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN35"
>      Is there a web page for the GNOME Foundation?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>1.4. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN40"
>      Where can I read the current draft of the GNOME Foundation charter?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>1.5. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN45"
>            Who are the members of the GNOME Foundation?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>1.6. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN50"
>         Is the GNOME Foundation an industry consortium?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>1.7. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN55"
>      Why did so many large companies join the GNOME Foundation?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>1.8. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN60"
>      Will GNOME continue to work with KDE to develop compatibility
      and desktop standards?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>1.9. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN65"
>      Who can I contact with questions about the GNOME Foundation?
     </A
></DT
></DL
></DD
><DT
>2. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN69"
>GNOME Foundation Structure</A
></DT
><DD
><DL
><DT
>2.1. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN72"
>      What does the advisory board do and who is on it?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>2.2. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN77"
>      What is the board of directors and what does it do?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>2.3. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN82"
>      What is the membership and what does it do?
     </A
></DT
></DL
></DD
><DT
>3. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN86"
>Joining the GNOME Foundation</A
></DT
><DD
><DL
><DT
>3.1. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN89"
>      Who can join the Membership?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>3.2. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN94"
>      How can I join the GNOME Foundation as a member?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>3.3. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN99"
>      Who can join the advisory board?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>3.4. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN104"
>      Should my company join the GNOME Foundation?
     </A
></DT
><DT
>3.5. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN109"
>      How can my company join the advisory board?
     </A
></DT
></DL
></DD
></DL
><DIV
CLASS="QANDADIV"
><H3
><A
NAME="AEN13"
></A
>1. General</H3
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN16"
></A
><B
>1.1. </B
>      What is the GNOME Foundation?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>       The GNOME Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to 
       advancing the GNOME Project. The GNOME Project is a free
       software development effort, intended to create an open source
       platform for home, office, and appliance desktops.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN21"
></A
><B
>1.2. </B
>      Why does GNOME need the GNOME Foundation?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>      The GNOME Foundation serves several important roles:
      <P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>         GNOME has grown to a point where we have hundreds of developers as well
         as a fair number of companies working together to improve GNOME.
         GNOME's previous, completely informal method for making decisions does
         not scale well to its current size.  The GNOME Foundation will provide
         a forum where all of the members of the GNOME community can have a
         voice and help decide the direction that GNOME moves in.
        </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>         GNOME needs a voice.  The GNOME Foundation will be 
         responsible for communicating information about GNOME to 
         the media and corporations.
        </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>         The GNOME Foundation will make GNOME more open.  All of the important
         "political" decisions which used to be made behind the scenes by the
         top GNOME hackers will now be made in public by the GNOME Foundation.
         Technical decisions will still be made by package maintainers.
        </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>          The GNOME Foundation is a legal entity that can accept donations and 
           make purchases to benefit GNOME.
        </P
></LI
></OL
>
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN35"
></A
><B
>1.3. </B
>      Is there a web page for the GNOME Foundation?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>       For now, there is no dedicated GNOME Foundation page, only 
       the GNOME Project page.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN40"
></A
><B
>1.4. </B
>      Where can I read the current draft of the GNOME Foundation charter?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>      The current draft of the charter is at 
      http://www.decrem.com/gnomefdn.html. This is an informal document, 
      which will guide the lawyers as they write the formal paperwork
      required for incorporation (such as the foundation bylaws).
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN45"
></A
><B
>1.5. </B
>            Who are the members of the GNOME Foundation?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>        Anyone who has contributed to the GNOME Project may become a member of
  the GNOME Foundation. The primary benefit of membership is the ability to vote
  for the Foundation's board of directors. If you have CVS access, become a
  member by adding your information to gnome-foundation/membership.txt in
  CVS. Otherwise, mail your full real name, your email address, and a sentence
  or so describing your contribution to GNOME to membership-committee@gnome.org, and they
  will add you. Contributions need not be code - documentation, webmastering, etc.
are also considered GNOME contributions.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN50"
></A
><B
>1.6. </B
>         Is the GNOME Foundation an industry consortium?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>      No.  In the current draft of the charter, corporations are represented on
      an advisory board, which has no decision-making power.  Individuals
      working for a corporation may be elected to the board of directors by a
      popular vote of the GNOME Foundation membership (i.e. GNOME developers and
      contributors). Also, the GNOME Foundation charter specifies that the
      board of directors cannot have a majority of individuals affiliated with
      any single company.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN55"
></A
><B
>1.7. </B
>      Why did so many large companies join the GNOME Foundation?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>       These companies wanted to see the Linux and UNIX desktop move forward
       decisively, so put their support behind GNOME.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN60"
></A
><B
>1.8. </B
>      Will GNOME continue to work with KDE to develop compatibility
      and desktop standards?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>       Yes. The GNOME Foundation is simply a response to the increasingly
       difficult task of managing a project as large as the GNOME Project. It
       does not represent a significant change in technical direction or overall
       goals. It is not intended to be an attack on anyone else, simply a positive
       step for GNOME.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN65"
></A
><B
>1.9. </B
>      Who can I contact with questions about the GNOME Foundation?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>      If you're a contributor or community member, you might mail
      foundation-list@gnome.org, where discussion of the foundation is
      ongoing. It's probably a good idea to read the current draft of the
      charter first, to avoid repeating issues we've already covered.  If you're
            a member of the press, you might mail gnome-press-contact@gnome.org.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDADIV"
><H3
><A
NAME="AEN69"
></A
>2. GNOME Foundation Structure</H3
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN72"
></A
><B
>2.1. </B
>      What does the advisory board do and who is on it?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>      The advisory board is comprised of companies and organizations which want
      to further the progress of GNOME.  This is a forum for them to communicate
      with each other and the GNOME Foundation membership.  They have no power
      to make decisions about GNOME. We've invited the Debian Project and the
      Free Software Foundation to join the advisory board in addition to the
      companies who announced their support at LinuxWorld this year.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN77"
></A
><B
>2.2. </B
>      What is the board of directors and what does it do?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>      The board of directors is a group of GNOME contributors who are elected by
      the membership (i.e. every person who contributes to GNOME). This group
      oversees the GNOME Project and does its best to keep things running
      smoothly, making decisions that need to be made. Typical activities of the
      board might include approving the purchase of a new server, talking to
      companies about getting involved with GNOME, making sure we have a release
      roadmap and release coordinators, and so on.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN82"
></A
><B
>2.3. </B
>      What is the membership and what does it do?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>      The GNOME Foundation membership is comprised of everybody who
      contributes to the GNOME project.  Thus, it it primarily
      comprised of volunteer GNOME contributors (even with all the
      corporate contributions to GNOME, volunteers still make up the
      majority of contributors - GNOME is a huge project).  The
      membership's primary role (aside from participation in the GNOME
      Project) is to elect the board of directors.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDADIV"
><H3
><A
NAME="AEN86"
></A
>3. Joining the GNOME Foundation</H3
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN89"
></A
><B
>3.1. </B
>      Who can join the Membership?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>      Anybody who contributes to GNOME can become a member.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN94"
></A
><B
>3.2. </B
>      How can I join the GNOME Foundation as a member?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>      Send an email to membership-committee@gnome.org with your name, email address,
      and a description of how you have contributed to GNOME.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN99"
></A
><B
>3.3. </B
>      Who can join the advisory board?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>      Any company or organization with an interest in GNOME can join the
     advisory board.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN104"
></A
><B
>3.4. </B
>      Should my company join the GNOME Foundation?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>     The advisory board is a forum where your company can discuss GNOME with
     other companies and key figures from the GNOME community. Joining the
     advisory board also allows you to show your support for the GNOME Project.
     </P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="QANDAENTRY"
><DIV
CLASS="QUESTION"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN109"
></A
><B
>3.5. </B
>      How can my company join the advisory board?
     </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="ANSWER"
><P
><B
> </B
>      In the current charter (which is not yet official, because we have not yet
      legally incorporated the foundation), there is an annual fee of $10,000 to
      join the advisory board. This money is used to support the GNOME Project,
      by purchasing servers, attending conferences, etc. The companies that
      announced their participation at LinuxWorld were expressing their intent
      to join the foundation once it is formally incorporated. The primary benefit of 
            joining the advisory board is the opportunity to discuss GNOME issues
            with the other companies on the board, and the opportunity to show your
            support for the GNOME Project.
     </P
><P
>       If you're interested in discussing membership in the advisory board,
       mail Miguel de Icaza (miguel@helixcode.com) and he'll put you in touch 
       with the interim steering committee we've established to handle 
       Foundation details until formal incorporation is complete.
          </P
></DIV
></DIV
></DIV
></DIV
></DIV
>

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      <a href="mailto:membership-committee@gnome.org">the GNOME Foundation Membership and Elections Committee</a>
      and was designed by <a href="mailto:jpsc@users.sourceforge.net">JP
      Schnapper-Casteras</a> and <a href="mailto:bart@eazel.com">Bart Decrem</a>.</font></center>
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