[Fsfe-ie] OpenIreland.org

[James Heald]

James Heald wrote:

> Are we in touch with these people ?
> 
>     http://www.openireland.org/
> 
> Announced in LWN:
> 
>     http://lwn.net/Articles/67173/
> 
> 

A bit more information:

They appear to be setting up as an Irish affiliate of OpenForum Europe,
as "a forum for Open Source Software in Irish Business".
-- ie an association for open-source businesses to organise 
education/PR/lobbying for the uptake of Open Source products by other 
businesses and the public sector.

Their Nov 2003 minutes
http://www.openireland.org/forums/public/136895283563/file/
give those present or sending apologies as:

Attendees: Brian Farrell (SecurLinks), John Herron (IBM), Ciaran McCabe 
(OpenApp), Stephen Lawlor (SpokeSoft), Braun Brelin (OpenApp), Tony 
Kenny (Beaumont Hospital), Chris Kearns (Sybernet), Mel McIntyre 
(OpenApp), Con Hennessy (OpenApp), Kevin Buckley (Mandrakesoft),
Liam Chambers (Propylon), John Ewins (Sabeo)

Apologies: John Gray, Barry Flanagan, Brendan Lawlor, Paul Geday, 
Brindsley Sheridan


OFE do some very good work, in making a corporate/government case for 
the good business sense of going Open Source. (See some of the papers 
linked from the OpenIreland front page, http://www.openireland.org/).

However, OFE came *horribly* unstuck over the patents issue -- their 
Governement clients wanted a statement that patents weren't a problem 
for OpenSource, and OFE's membership of corporates rather than 
grass-roots people didn't understand the dangers (or wouldn't, or were 
told not to).


Recommendation:

To help avoid such a thing happening again, and to maintain close links 
with non-corporate grass roots opinion, it would be a good and useful 
thing for OpenIreland to welcome IFSO as a full member.

Their rules might demand a membership fee, but on the other hand perhaps 
you could persuade them to give IFSO matching sponsorship to pay it, and 
maybe even to sponsor IFSO events.

To enhance IFSO's credibility as a grass roots partner, it might be 
useful to have a statement from FSFE that they regard IFSO as their 
'official' Irish affilate organisation, even if still only at a 
probationary stage.