[okfn-coord] Hosting for OneClickOrgs?

Mon May 4 10:31:08 UTC 2009

On 2 May 2009, at 12:05, Jonathan Gray wrote:

> Just to follow this up - it would be great to have input from people  
> on:
>
>  a) whether or not we are interested in hosting oneclickorgs (Y/N)
>     - I think that it is an interesting project, it will be
> OSSD-compliant, and will bring good publicity to the OKF. Charles is
> writing a chapter about the project in the new O'Reilly 'Open
> Government' book - so it should have some good publicity in the
> autumn... Also I think the project could have some value at the OKF.
>
> At the moment I think they are after:
>
>  i) a Wordpress installation with a custom theme + domain name
>  ii) git (they currently use github)
>  iii) somewhere to test the first experimental versions of the service

I say yes.
>
> If Y to a), then:
>
>  b) on what terms?
>    - we could help them with only (i), or (i)+(ii) or (i)+(ii)+(iii)

All three likely.

>    - we could ask them to become supporters of the OKF, individually,
> and/or (later) as an institutional supporter
Yes.
>    - we could ask them to pay for a hosting service which the OKF  
> would provide
Yes.

If I can add to the agenda for upcoming discussions, it seems like our  
"incubator" role (like for this project) could be one that it might be  
possible to get public funding for.  Maybe we should explore this  
further?

~Jordan

>
> J.
>
> On Sat, Apr 25, 2009 at 1:22 PM, Jonathan Gray  
> <jonathan.gray at okfn.org> wrote:
>> On Sat, Apr 25, 2009 at 9:54 AM, Jordan S Hatcher
>> <jordan at opencontentlawyer.com> wrote:
>>> ===1. What is the nature of the proposed relationship?
>>>
>>> -- they want a friendly host to be only a friendly host -- so we  
>>> are acting
>>> as an ISP or a reseller only.
>>> (and do we want to be an ISP service, at least for very long?)
>>>
>>> OR
>>>
>>> -- we are a "project partner" whose contribution is hosting and  
>>> possibly
>>> doing more work.
>>
>> I envisaged we could host them qua Open Software Service, as a  
>> special
>> case of the kinds of projects we host on KnowledgeForge. If it made
>> sense further down the line, it could be that we wanted to try using
>> the decision making tool they are working on, e.g. for working  
>> groups.
>>
>>> ===2. Liability
>>>
>>> The liability for us is a bit different in each case (partner vs  
>>> ISP). I'd
>>> like to be a bit clearer about our liability since:
>>>
>>> -- they are going to be helping people incorporate.  Just doing a  
>>> bit of
>>> lawyerly issue-spotting, but one question I'd have is "could this  
>>> service
>>> run into Unauthorized Practice of Law problems?"
>>
>> Interesting question! They are currently looking to build a legal
>> advisory team in the UK -- but are in early stages. (Aside: any ideas
>> who they could contact?) I think in the first instance they are
>> looking to start out with something very basic like an unincorporated
>> association. There will be disclaimers. Also they may encourage  
>> people
>> to run the software they are developing on their own server.
>>
>>> --If it's an ISP type role, I'd also like to make sure about  
>>> things like
>>> privacy policies, defamation, that sort of thing.
>>
>> Interesting.. I wonder if KnowledgeForge, qua service, could benefit
>> from a 'Terms of Use'?
>>
>>> ===3. Payment...
>>>
>>> Even for blog hosting, I don't think it is unreasonable to ask for a
>>> suggested donation each month, especially as, even if this is a  
>>> non-profit,
>>> it definitely has the potential to be *profit-making.  Long term,  
>>> hosting
>>> isn't free and seems like we should either be:
>>>
>>> -- charging (even if at a reduced rate) for hosting
>>> OR
>>> -- seeing if we can write this off tax wise as a donation on our  
>>> part (set
>>
>> Perhaps I could encourage them to become individual supporters? At  
>> the
>> moment there are around 8 people donating a few hours per week pro
>> bono to developing the code base and its aimed at the third sector in
>> the UK in the first instance - so even if they do take money one day
>> (from funders, for services, or from contracts, ...), for now there  
>> is
>> not a penny in sight.
>>
>> Perhaps we could say that if they start making money we hope they  
>> will
>> consider becoming institutional supporters (£50+/month)?
>>
>> --
>> Jonathan Gray
>>
>> Community Coordinator
>> The Open Knowledge Foundation
>> http://www.okfn.org
>>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Jonathan Gray
>
> Community Coordinator
> The Open Knowledge Foundation
> http://www.okfn.org

____
Mr. Jordan S Hatcher, JD, LLM

jordan [at] opencontentlawyer dot com

More details at:
<http://www.jordanhatcher.com>

Open Data at:
<http://www.opendatacommons.org>