Hello everyone! The ODF Toolkit is an open source project in the Incubator of the Apache Software Foundation. This means that we have a probationary status, where we're not yet a full Apache project (what is called a Top Level Project). We're given a chance to develop a community, and if we're successful doing this, then we can "graduate".
Right now we're not doing so well. Some of the early developers who helped start the Toolkit have had job changes and moved on to other things. There are a handful of volunteers, like myself, who are trying to keep things going, but none of us has this as a full time paying job. I'll be honest. The situation is a bit precarious right now. If we don't grow the community over the next few months there is a good chance we'll need to shut down. That doesn't mean the code disappears, of course. It would be archived and would still be available, though unmaintained. But it would end the best opportunity we have to have an ODF Toolkit that will grow, improve in features and performance, etc. Since all users of the ODF Toolkit are also Java programmers, you are all able to contribute to the project. Many of you already do, by sending in bug reports, even patches. This is greatly appreciated. If anyone thought this project was a "closed club" where outsiders were not welcome, let me reassure you that this is not the case. We welcome any and all who want to help. So if you get some value from the ODF Toolkit, and want to see it graduate from the Incubator and grow into a more powerful tool for processing ODF files, then I urge you to express your interest on the project's dev mailing list: [email protected]. It is really easy to get involved and the more experienced developers can help you get started. Thanks and best regards, -Rob
