[Libreoffice] Proposal to join Apache OpenOffice

[Tor Lillqvist]

> So here is my suggestion: I propose the everyone here head over to the
> Apache Incubator and join the proposal as an initial member.  

Well, at least for me the problem is:

I *work* on LibreOffice. I f I wasn't paid to do it, I doubt I would touch it. Or maybe I would, hard to know. As far as I have understood, "membership" in ASF poslings/projects (or in the organisation itself) is for *individuals*. I am strongly opposed to the idea that my employer would force me to join some organisation. That is against basic human rights. (That holds for TDF, too.)

And the other way, even if I wanted to contribute to the eventual OOo podling at ASF, and then later presumably OOo project (or whatever the term is for what a podling becomes when it graduates), I obviously can't contribute stuff that I have done on my employer's time to which my employer holds copyright. Or can I? I am not a lawyer nor do I have any wish to get involved in legal battles.

And finally, whether it would make any sense from the technical point of view for LibreOffice contributors to even try to participate in OOo at ASF depends very much on what actually ends up there, and in what direction it is taken by the presumed main driving force, IBM. For all we know, it might be that the code that is eventually dumped in ASF's SVN (!) is a subset that doesn't even build, and then IBM starts adding its own hitherto proprietary stuff including build mechanisms that makes it into a completely different beast than what we are used to. I suspect lots of Java is involved, and that is not necessarily that popular around here. As if understanding and using the "old" OOo build mechanisms which have been somewhat adapted at LO wasn't hard enough.

--tml