Open Source Initiative

This isn't posing a question so much as proposing a possible model.

I envision there being regional/country OSI representatives who can be contacted by local organisations or governments to find out what the local OSI membership feeling/position is about things. Possibly even poll the membership with questions posed by the government, and bring the answer back.

Should OSI be open to organisational memberships as well as individuals? (Or only organisation with no individual members?) What would the criteria for organisational membership be?

1. Fee-based
2. Nominated/voted on by OSI board or members
3. Something else..?

What would membership get for an organisation?

1. Banner/logo placement on the OSI site
2. Franchise to vote (on what topics, ...)
3. Something else..?

What would someone get for being a member of OSI?

• A name@opensource.org eddress
• Ability to vote on OSI issues (directors, licences, members, ...)
• Access to internal resources? (mailing lists, strategic discussion fora, ...)
• Other.. ?

How would this fit into a tiered model (see the membership level thread)?

How would one become a member of OSI?

1. Just by saying 'I want to be a member'
2. Paying some sort of registration fee or dues
3. Having demonstrable participation in one or more open source projects
4. Being nominated/voted on by the OSI Board
5. Being nominated/voted on by the existing OSI membership

[The last one obviously wouldn't apply until there was an existing membership.]

This is the basic question. From 1998 through 2007, the Open Source Initiative has consisted solely of its board of directors. New directors have been selected by the existing ones.

This is not a terribly representative model. Does it work adequately? Should OSI be representative? Should it be a membership-based organisation?

When it was formed in 1998, the OSI consisted of a small number of dedicated individuals with a shared aim of furthering the goals of open software. Although the composition of this board of directors changed over the years, it wasn't until 2005 that the size was increased from 5 to 9, and actively began expanding the organisation's focus beyond licence evaluation.

Also in 2005 several initiatives were identified, among them this one: to investigate the feasibility of changing the OSI to be a broad-based membership organisation.