Thread: PGDG
Hi, apart from the 'Who controls Postgres' FAQ entry [1], I didn't find anything about the 'PostgreSQL Global Development Group', nor any information about how we deal with copyright and its notices. IMO that makes it harder than necessary to explain to possible (corporate) contributors how this community project works. The most relevant thing I've been able to find was a discussion on advocacy [2], many moons ago. I'm thus proposing additional FAQ entries along these lines: Q: Who's the Postgres Global Development Group? A: A loosely coupled group of individuals and companies who contributed to the Postgres project. It's not a legal entity of any kind. Q: Do contributors need to sign a copyright assignment? A: No, contributors keeps their copyright (as is the case for most European contries anyway). They simply consider themselves to be part of the Postgres Global Development Group. (It's not even possible to assign copyright to PGDG, as it's not a legal entity). Q: May I add my own copyright notice where appropriate? A: No, please don't. We like to keep the legal information short and crisp. Additionally, we've heard that could possibly pose problems for corporate users. Q: Doesn't the BSD license itself require to keep the copyright notice intact? A: Yes, it does. And it is, because the Postgres Global Development Group covers all copyright holders. Also note that US law doesn't requires any copyright notice for getting the copyright granted, just like most European laws. Comments? What else did I forget? Anything wrong with the above answers? [ Oh, yes: I'm not a lawyer. But I think formulating answers to these questions makes our intention clearer, anyway. Even for lawyers. ] Regards Markus Wanner [1]: http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/FAQ#Who_controls_PostgreSQL.3F [2]: http://archives.postgresql.org/message-id/1577300971a22a6b93645e8256220378@biglumber.com
Markus,
> I'm thus proposing additional FAQ entries along these lines:
Thanks for doing this.
> Q: Who's the Postgres Global Development Group?
> A: A loosely coupled group of individuals and companies who contributed
> to the Postgres project. It's not a legal entity of any kind.
Hmmmm. Slight change:
Q: Who is the PostgreSQL Global Development Group?
A: The "PGDG" is an international, unincorporated association of
individuals and companies who have contributed to the PostgreSQL
project. The PostgreSQL Core Team generally act as spokespeople for the
PGDG.
> Q: Do contributors need to sign a copyright assignment?
> A: No, contributors keeps their copyright (as is the case for most
> European countries anyway). They simply consider themselves to be part of
> the Postgres Global Development Group. (It's not even possible to assign
> copyright to PGDG, as it's not a legal entity).
Add: This is the same way that the Linux Kernel Project works.
> Q: May I add my own copyright notice where appropriate?
> A: No, please don't. We like to keep the legal information short and
> crisp. Additionally, we've heard that could possibly pose problems for
> corporate users.
>
> Q: Doesn't the BSD license itself require to keep the copyright notice
> intact?
... the PostgreSQL License ...
> A: Yes, it does. And it is, because the Postgres Global Development
PostgreSQL
> Group covers all copyright holders. Also note that US law doesn't
> requires any copyright notice for getting the copyright granted, just
> like most European laws.
>
> Comments? What else did I forget? Anything wrong with the above answers?
Add:
Q: What about the various PostgreSQL foundations?
A: While the PostgreSQL project utilizes non-profit corporations in the
USA, Europe, Brazil and Japan for fundraising and project coordination,
these entities do not own the PostgreSQL code.
Thanks!
--
-- Josh Berkus
PostgreSQL Experts Inc.
http://www.pgexperts.com
Josh Berkus <josh@agliodbs.com> wrote: > Q: Who is the PostgreSQL Global Development Group? > A: The "PGDG" is an international, unincorporated association of > individuals and companies who have contributed to the PostgreSQL > project. The PostgreSQL Core Team generally act as spokespeople > for the PGDG. That should probably be followed by: Q: Who is the PostgreSQL Core Team? -Kevin
On 7 August 2010 06:36, Markus Wanner <markus@bluegap.ch> wrote: > apart from the 'Who controls Postgres' FAQ entry [1], I didn't find anything > about the 'PostgreSQL Global Development Group', nor any information about > how we deal with copyright and its notices. IMO that makes it harder than > necessary to explain to possible (corporate) contributors how this community > project works. Great idea Markus. I've always been fuzzy on what exactly the PGDG is, even though (according to the below definition) I am a member of it! Cheers, BJ
On 8/6/10 1:58 PM, Kevin Grittner wrote:
> Josh Berkus <josh@agliodbs.com> wrote:
>
>> Q: Who is the PostgreSQL Global Development Group?
>> A: The "PGDG" is an international, unincorporated association of
>> individuals and companies who have contributed to the PostgreSQL
>> project. The PostgreSQL Core Team generally act as spokespeople
>> for the PGDG.
>
> That should probably be followed by:
>
> Q: Who is the PostgreSQL Core Team?
A: A committee of five to seven (currently six) senior contributors to
PostgreSQL who do the following for the project: (a) set release dates,
(b) handle confidential matters for the project, (c) act as spokespeople
for the PGDG when required, and (d) arbitrate community decisions which
are not settled by consensus. The current Core Team is listed here: <link>
--
-- Josh Berkus
PostgreSQL Experts Inc.
http://www.pgexperts.com
Josh, Thank you for your corrections and additions. I've just added all of that either to the general or the developers FAQ where I saw fit. Please re-check. On 08/06/2010 10:51 PM, Josh Berkus wrote: >> A: Yes, it does. And it is, because the Postgres Global Development > > PostgreSQL That was the attention test ;-) Regards Markus
Hi, On 08/06/2010 11:14 PM, Brendan Jurd wrote: > Great idea Markus. I've always been fuzzy on what exactly the PGDG > is, even though (according to the below definition) I am a member of > it! Welcome to it! :-) Well, the term 'contributor' certainly leaves room for interpretation. My main contribution consists of a somewhat external project (Postgres-R). I strongly hope that counts as well. Regards Markus
> Well, the term 'contributor' certainly leaves room for interpretation.
> My main contribution consists of a somewhat external project
> (Postgres-R). I strongly hope that counts as well.
It's somewhat vague on purpose. "Contributor" is almost impossible to
define in the abstract (you keep running into corner cases) but easy to
evaluate on a case-by-case basis. Heck, when we evalualate the changes
to the contributor list every year it's like a 7-factor test.
--
-- Josh Berkus
PostgreSQL Experts Inc.
http://www.pgexperts.com
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> Q: Who is the PostgreSQL Global Development Group?
> A: The "PGDG" is an international, unincorporated association of
> individuals and companies who have contributed to the PostgreSQL
> project. The PostgreSQL Core Team generally act as spokespeople
> for the PGDG.
Hmmm...I've never heard of core referred to in quite that way before,
and I'm not sure I agree with it. Why do we even need it in light
of the next question in the series? ("Who is the PG Core Team?")
- --
Greg Sabino Mullane greg@turnstep.com
PGP Key: 0x14964AC8 201008100949
http://biglumber.com/x/web?pk=2529DF6AB8F79407E94445B4BC9B906714964AC8
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On Tue, 2010-08-10 at 13:49 +0000, Greg Sabino Mullane wrote:
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>
> > Q: Who is the PostgreSQL Global Development Group?
> > A: The "PGDG" is an international, unincorporated association of
> > individuals and companies who have contributed to the PostgreSQL
> > project. The PostgreSQL Core Team generally act as spokespeople
> > for the PGDG.
>
> Hmmm...I've never heard of core referred to in quite that way before,
> and I'm not sure I agree with it. Why do we even need it in light
> of the next question in the series? ("Who is the PG Core Team?")
Agreed, the sentence is out of place.
Joshua D. Drake
--
PostgreSQL.org Major Contributor
Command Prompt, Inc: http://www.commandprompt.com/ - 509.416.6579
Consulting, Training, Support, Custom Development, Engineering
http://twitter.com/cmdpromptinc | http://identi.ca/commandprompt
On Tue, 2010-08-10 at 13:49 +0000, Greg Sabino Mullane wrote:
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: RIPEMD160
>
>
> > Q: Who is the PostgreSQL Global Development Group?
> > A: The "PGDG" is an international, unincorporated association of
> > individuals and companies who have contributed to the PostgreSQL
> > project. The PostgreSQL Core Team generally act as spokespeople
> > for the PGDG.
>
> Hmmm...I've never heard of core referred to in quite that way before,
> and I'm not sure I agree with it. Why do we even need it in light
> of the next question in the series? ("Who is the PG Core Team?")
Agreed, the sentence is out of place.
Joshua D. Drake
--
PostgreSQL.org Major Contributor
Command Prompt, Inc: http://www.commandprompt.com/ - 509.416.6579
Consulting, Training, Support, Custom Development, Engineering
http://twitter.com/cmdpromptinc | http://identi.ca/commandprompt