Hi :) The users list got an unusual email from a fairly vast organisation that is primarily a vast distribution network.
A couple of people pointed them towards the marketing list but i think there are other issues that might require a dialogue with the Steering Committee and/or BoD and/or the Advisory Board. I have included my verbose response to their initial enquiry but please skip that and focus on their request at the bottom of this email. Two other people responded before me with RTFM type answers pointing them towards Marketing. I think we need to be more prepared next time but it's not really something that is easy to prepare for as it is unlikely to happen again. Regards from Tom :) ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Tom Davies <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Sent: Fri, 24 June, 2011 10:51:58 Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] Steam Distribution Inquiry Hi :) I think the main people you need to contact are the Steering Committee [email protected] General discussions about other aspects of TDF are on a separate list [email protected] but the steering discuss is the more useful list for your needs i think. LibreOffice is released under copyleft agreements so you don't really need to even ask permission to copy and distribute. There are a few caveats of course. The original source code must be made available to anyone that wants it. If you want to mirror the TDF download sites then this list might be helpful for a quick result [email protected] Further Detail If you make a profit then it would be best to give a percentage or just an amount of that back to TDF. Steam personel can modify the code but licensing and maintaining the result is tricky unless you choose the same copyleft agreement as the original. Many organisations put resources (time, personnel, whatever) into TDF to develop code, documentation, translations and so on to get some control over which issues are addressed in those areas. This will happen more although the individual volunteers base also grows rapidly and everyone is treated equally within TDF as it is a meritocracy. Some organisations such as Google, RedHat, Novell and so on have put people on an advisory board that advises the Steering Committee and the Board of Directors. Steam could become a full member at that level but it costs a bit and i am not sure about the details. Again that is an issue for the Steering Committee [email protected] Side Issues If you want to create Dvds to distribute then there are various 'localised' versions available. I think the North American, German, Spanish, possibly Brazilian 'localised' versions are already available but you could have people join in to help develop those or others. The marketting list is useful for that and things such as the international magazine (developed originally by the Brazilian Team) [email protected] As other people have already stated that might be a good place to deal with most of the issues you asked about. Personally i think Steam are large enough to have issues that the Steering Committee might be more helpful with [email protected] Perhaps join the websites list to find out about whether TDF have torrenting set-up. [email protected] If you would like to develop a UI, perhaps as an "add-on" (we call them "Extensions") then the Design Team might be interested and might be keen to help with the work [email protected] As you can see there are a lot of groups working at different aspects and it just depends how quickly you want Steam to integrate into those areas to maximise their usefulness to Steam. For a fast result i would talk to the Mirrors group and then also join the Steering group list for discussions about expanding the potential for Steam. Good luck and regards from Tom Davies ________________________________ From: Mark Richardson <[email protected]> To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Sent: Thu, 23 June, 2011 18:27:13 Subject: [libreoffice-users] Steam Distribution Inquiry Hello, We would like to discuss distributing LibreOffice through our worldwide digital platform, Steam. We are a leader in video game distribution and service. We are launching an application store in October and would like to include LibreOffice. You can find us at Steampowered.com. We are a worldwide distributor with 30 million customers, in 22 languages, 21 localized payment forms and 3 currencies. Let me know when you might have a chance to discuss. Sincerely, Mark Richardson [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> 425-952-2785 -- Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to [email protected] In case of problems unsubscribing, write to [email protected] Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/users/ All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted -- Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to [email protected] Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette List archive: http://listarchives.documentfoundation.org/www/steering-discuss/ All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted
