discuss: Open Source Writers Group (OSWG) dead?
Subject:
Open Source Writers Group (OSWG) dead?
From:
David Lawyer ####@####.####
Date:
27 Aug 2001 15:01:40 -0000
Message-Id: <20010824170852.A446@lafn.org>
Their website www.oswg.org/oswg/ seems to be dead. It seemed to be
unmaintained for many months. I can't find any obituary for it.
About a couple of years ago, it was suggested that the LDP was dying
and that OSWG was taking over. A few HOWTOs were removed from the LDP
and went there instead. One reasons for this was that the LDP's Howto
Coordinator had gone AWOL for about 2 months, but others took over
later on.
Well, what's happened now is the opposite of what was suggested. OSWG
seems to be dead and we are doing OK. OSWG had some docs on their
site and a CVS server. One doc was written by the founder of OSWG
(Deb Richardson) on DocBook. I thought it was well written.
OSWG was originally sponsored by the Puffin Group which Deb R. worked
for. Then it was taken over by LinuxCare which was absorbed into
TurboLinux this year. So there are some lessons to be learned here:
1. Always have at least two people able and willing to run a project.
2. Have plans of what to do if a sponsor merges, fails, or has a change
of heart.
One reason for avoiding putting LDP stuff on SourceForge is that VA
Linux (SourceForge's sponsor) might not be around a couple of years
from now. Their stock is now in the 1's (down from 300+). They are
saying they plan to make money from SourceForge. I don't see how they
can do this without degrading it with advertising, etc.
David Lawyer
