Wow, just wow.  I have to say, I think even broaching this topic is a
mistake.  "Self-fulfilling prophecy"? Not even that, it'll be a "3rd party
fulfilling prophecy" as soon as this hits the press.  There are a lot of
people out there who seem to have it in for AOO and have for a while... now
you *know* there will be a headline appearing in the next week, reading
"Apache OpenOffice Mulls Retirement" or "AOO Begins To Wind Down", etc.
Yeah, it's crappy journalism, but it's almost 100% certain to happen.  And
that's just going to dampen enthusiasm even more.

I wish I could say I had a magic bullet of an answer for how to get things
moving again, but I don't.  But I don't think opening a discussion about
retirement and giving AOO's enemies more ammunition is a strong tactical
move.


Phil


This message optimized for indexing by NSA PRISM

On Thu, Sep 1, 2016 at 7:37 PM, Dennis E. Hamilton <orc...@apache.org>
wrote:

> Here is what a careful retirement of Apache OpenOffice could look like.
>
>               A. PERSPECTIVE
>               B. WHAT RETIREMENT COULD LOOK LIKE
>                  1. Code Base
>                  2. Downloads
>                  3. Development Support
>                  4. Public-Project Community Interfaces
>                  5. Social Media Presence
>                  6. Project Management Committee
>                  7. Branding
>
> A. PERSPECTIVE
>
> I have regularly observed that the Apache OpenOffice project has limited
> capacity for sustaining the project in an energetic manner.  It is also my
> considered opinion that there is no ready supply of developers who have the
> capacity, capability, and will to supplement the roughly half-dozen
> volunteers holding the project together.  It doesn't matter what the
> reasons for that might be.
>
> The Apache Project Maturity Model,
> <http://community.apache.org/apache-way/apache-project-maturity-model.html>,
> identifies the characteristics for which an Apache project is expected to
> strive.
>
> Recently, some elements have been brought into serious question:
>
>  QU20: The project puts a very high priority on producing secure software.
>  QU50: The project strives to respond to documented bug reports in a
> timely manner.
>
> There is also a litmus test which is kind of a red line.  That is for the
> project to have a PMC capable of producing releases.  That means that there
> are at least three available PMC members capable of building a functioning
> binary from a release-candidate archive, and who do so in providing binding
> votes to approve the release of that code.
>
> In the case of Apache OpenOffice, needing to disclose security
> vulnerabilities for which there is no mitigation in an update has become a
> serious issue.
>
> In responses to concerns raised in June, the PMC is currently tasked by
> the ASF Board to account for this inability and to provide a remedy.  An
> indicator of the seriousness of the Board's concern is the PMC been
> requested to report to the Board every month, starting in August, rather
> than quarterly, the normal case.  One option for remedy that must be
> considered is retirement of the project.  The request is for the PMC's
> consideration among other possible options.  The Board has not ordered a
> solution.
>
> I cannot prediction how this will all work out.  It is remiss of me not to
> point out that retirement of the project is a serious possibility.
>
> There are those who fear that discussing retirement can become a
> self-fulfilling prophecy.  My concern is that the project could end with a
> bang or a whimper.  My interest is in seeing any retirement happen
> gracefully.  That means we need to consider it as a contingency.  For
> contingency plans, no time is a good time, but earlier is always better
> than later.
>
>
> B. WHAT RETIREMENT COULD LOOK LIKE
>
> Here is a provisional list of all elements that would have to be
> addressed, over a period of time, as part of any retirement effort.
>
> In order to understand what would have had to happen in a graceful
> process, the assumption below is that the project has already retired.
>
> Requests for additions and adjustments to this compilation are welcome.
>
>  1. CODE BASE
>
>     1.1 The Apache OpenOffice Subversion repository where code is
> maintained has been moved to "The Attic."  Apache Attic is an actual
> project, <http://attic.apache.org/>.  The source code would remain
> available and could be checked-out from Subversion by anyone interested in
> making use of it.  There is no means of committing changes.
>
>     1.2 Apache Externals/Extras consists of external libraries that are
> relied upon by the source code but are not part of the source code.  These
> were housed on SourceForge and elsewhere.  (a) They might have been
> archived in conjunction with the SVN (1.1).  (b) They might be identified
> in a way that someone attempting to build from source later on would be
> able to work with later versions of the external dependencies.  There are
> additional external dependencies that might have become obsolete.
>
>     1.3 Build Dependencies/Tool Chains.  The actual construction of the
> released binaries depends on particular versions of specific tools that are
> used for carrying out builds of binaries from the source.  The dependencies
> as they last were used are identified in a historical location.  Some of
> the tools and their use become obsolete over time.
>
>     1.4 GitHub Mirror.  For the GitHub Mirror of the Apache OpenOffice SVN
> (a) pull requests are not accepted.  (b) Continuation of the presence of
> the GitHub repository might be shut down at some point depending on GitHub
> policy and ASF support.
>
>  2. DOWNLOADS
>
>     2.1 The source code releases, patches, and installable binaries are
> all retained in the archive system that is already maintained.  There are
> no further additions.
>
>     2.2 The downloading of full releases is supported on the SourceForge
> mirroring system.  There are no new downloads.  How long until SourceForge
> retires its support for downloads is not predictable (and see 4.3).
>
>     2.3 The Apache OpenOffice Extensions and Templates system is an
> independent arrangement hosted and curated on SourceForge.  Whether and how
> long the download service is preserved by SourceForge is not predictable.
>
>     2.4 The mechanism for announcing updates to installed versions of
> OpenOffice binaries is adjusted to indicate that (a) particular versions
> are no longer supported.  (b) For the latest distribution(s), there may be
> advice to users about investigating still-supported alternatives.
>
>  3. DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT
>
>     3.1 The Apache OpenOffice Bugzilla is mirrored in The Attic.  The
> Bugzilla is read-only and preserved for historical purposes.
>
>     3.2 The Pootle materials used for the development of localizations are
> exported and archived.
>
>     3.3 The Confluence Wiki operated by the project is preserved in a
> read-only state:<https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OOOUSERS/>.
>
>     3.4 The commits@ and issues@ mailing lists are shut down although
> archived.
>
>  4. PUBLIC PROJECT-COMMUNITY INTERFACES
>
>     4.1 All public discussion mailing lists are shut down.  They are all
> archived and accessible from The Attic.
>
>     4.2 The dev@ list was the last to shut down, having been used during
> orchestration of the retirement.
>
>     4.3 The http://openoffice.org site is static and uneditable.  The CMS
> functions for contribution to the site are disabled.  Over the course of
> retirement, key pages of the site were updated to reflect the retirement
> activity and to eventually end some of the functions, such as information
> on how to contribute, how to obtain the software, how to obtain help,
> branding requirements, etc.
>
>     4.4 The Wikimedia subsite of openoffice.org is read-only and static.
> No contributions or edits can be made.  At some point, the Wikimedia server
> will need to be shut down and (a) the server is shutdown/moved with
> openoffice.org indicating that the wiki is unavailable.  (b) Only a
> static form of the pages is provided. (c) Alternative hosting and
> rebranding is achieved.
>
>     4.5 The OpenOffice Community Forums were semi-autonomous.  (a) The
> server is retired.  (b) The site is rehosted and rebranded by agreement
> with the Apache OpenOffice project and the ASF.
>
>
>  5. SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE
>
>     5.1 The Apache Planet OpenOffice Blog is terminated with the
> announcement that Retirement is complete.
>
>     5.2 The Twitter account is terminated.
>
>     5.3 Any Facebook page under control of the project is closed.
>
>     5.4 The announce@ list is terminated and archived with the
> announcement of Retirement completion.
>
>
>  6. PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
>
>     6.1 With completion of the retirement, the private@ and security@
> openoffice.org lists were shutdown (although archived as are all such
> lists).
>
>     6.2 The Project Management Committee is disbanded and the Chair is
> relieved.
>
>     6.3 There is no longer any identified operation for continuation of
> the project except as specified for The Attic.
>
>
>  7. BRANDING
>
>     7.1 With the cessation of releases, it is made widely known that
> official releases other than the last ones provided by the project are not
> the work of Apache OpenOffice and any claimed association, justification
> for charge of fees and for carrying of advertising are not in support of
> the Apache OpenOffice project.  This notification will also be made to
> those organizations that carry offerings to the contrary (e.g., eBay).
>
>     7.2 There is no point of contact, other than branding@ apache.org,
> for request to make use of the brands.
>
>     7.3 There is no active attention to preservation of the trademarks
> related to Apache OpenOffice.  (a) Inappropriate use of Apache and its
> symbols in names of offerings will be defended when brought to the
> attention of branding@.  (b) Uses of OpenOffice, Open Office,
> openoffice.org and other similarities without attribution to Apache are
> not addressed.
>
>                                     *** end of the list as of 2016-09-01
> ***
>
>
>
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