RE: [Ldsoss] Church Sponsored OSS

[John Finlay]

1)     Should the church sponsor Open Source projects.  Most definitely.  However, I don’t think the church itself should start an open source software “forge” itself when SourceForge and places like it already exist.  There is no reason why we can’t leverage those existing resources (unless the host refuses the project).  That is what most other companies who are sponsoring open source projects are doing now (even IBM and Microsoft).  They put their projects up on SourceForge.  Then you are not taking valuable church resources duplicating something else.  Also, most software, though it may be LDS specific, will usually have application in other areas.  One of the great things about Open Source Software is that you can find something close to what you want, and “tweak” the source to better meet your needs.  By hosting the projects with a third party, other organizations will be more likely to find and use the software too.  And you may find that other organizations will be interested in getting involved and helping with the development. Something that would be nice is a registry of Open Source/Free software that is LDS related so that there could be a central place for members to find it.  Something more like an LDS FreshMeat.  (www.freshmeat.net)  People who find or develop a piece of open source software that they think would be of benefit to members of the church could then submit it to be included in the registry.  2)     For hosting open source projects, SourceForge sets the current standard.  Forums, bug trackers, task lists, etc.  The largest complaint I hear about sourceforge is the format of the forums.  For a registry, most people look to freshmeat.net, but I am not in love with their interface and think it should be simplified and easier to update.   3)     PAF.  I can just imagine some of the amazing things that could happen if the source code for PAF were released to the public: translation, internationalization, porting to other operating systems like MAC and Linux, XML support, integration with other third-party applications.  More than the church would have the resources or desire to do on its own. GEDCOM 5 and 6.  Give GEDCOM a new life by making it an Open Standard that can be extended.  Perhaps releasing code for gedcom parsers. APIs (with interface code that can be extended by others)  to the new family history system. You could also Open Source some of the software that is being used to digitize microfilms.  I am sure that there are a lot of things in that area which would benefit from Open Source.     Overall, it is very exciting to hear the discussions that have taken place on this list.  There are many ways to roll forth to fill the whole earth and I think that the church becoming more involved in Open Source software and sponsoring open source projects is a great way.  Producing more light lessens the effect of ever growing darkness.   --John   John Finlay PhpGedView Project Manager Instructor, Neumont University     -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dan Lawyer Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2005 8:39 AM To: ldsoss@lists.ldsoss.org Subject: [Ldsoss] Church Sponsored OSS   I'm curious in the groups feedback on a couple of questions.   1) Should the Church host/sponsor OSS projects for Church related initiatives? Something like forge.lds.org.   2) If the Church were to host such a site, what is the basic feature set required to make it successful?   3) What are the most interesting OSS projects the Church might sponsor or facilitate? PAF for Linux/MAC, APIs to the new family history system and related add-ons, etc.   -Dan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This message may contain confidential information, and is intended only for the use of the individual(s) to whom it is addressed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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