The ASF does not like umbrella projects. We used to have them, but they lead to hierarchical structures that make oversight difficult and confuse the decision making process.
OOo is such a large project it will almost certainly become an umbrella project, of sorts. We are already seeing this with the proposal of a Japanese language dev list. We need to manage this carefully. A Japanes language list to ensure non-English speaking people are able to participate in the project is fine. A Japanese language list for creating a different version of OOo for the Japanese market is not fine. If the IPMC (and later the Board) start seeing decision making power being delegated to sub-communities they will ask the PPMC (and later the PMC) to break-up the umbrella project. This will require the sub-projects to be spun out into their own project. We've done this very successfully on a number of occasions, it is not something to worry about. I merely want to flag this so that we can manage the creation of things like the Japanese language list correctly so as to minimise the work needed in the near future. I'm not seeing a problem at this point. I'm merely letting the community know that this could become an issue if we don't keep a careful eye on it. For me the trigger point will be delegation of decision making responsibilities. Ross -- Ross Gardler (@rgardler) Programme Leader (Open Development) OpenDirective http://opendirective.com
