This was a rather quiet week for the Lunduke Computer Operating System (LCOS). It is Independence Day here in the USA, and I took a little time off to celebrate with the family. Likewise, one of the key early developers (working on the first version of our image creation script) took the week off to go camping.
Family time is important. As is good BBQ.
Just the same, two very critical decisions were made this week. Decisions which will have far reaching implications for the future of the project.
BSD Licensing
For all 100% original code (developed specifically for the Lunduke Computer Operating System), the BSD 2-Clause license will be utilized.
The BSD 2-Clause was selected for a wide variety of reasons. Notably: simplicity, flexibility, and the fact that it has been well tested for over a quarter of a century (as the primary license of the FreeBSD project).
Also known as the "Simplified BSD License", it contains only two clauses:
- Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
- Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
This license will be used for the imaging scripts, installation software, and any original software built for LCOS.
Of course, it goes without saying that a complete, functional LCOS installation will include a wide variety of licenses (from a wide variety of pieces of software). But the parts we specifically build will use the BSD 2-Clause by default.
Government Structure
There are a great many issues plaguing many Free and Open Source Software projects -- often stemming from individuals, with motives contrary to the original vision of the project, gaining control over moderation or governance.
We see this happening in a number of different Linux Distrubutions and projects right now... and it just plain sucks.
In order to prevent this from taking place, The Lunduke Computer Operating System will be a monarchy.
While multiple, specialized governmental organizations may be created within the project (to fill specific needs)... a monarch will sit at the head, with the authority to override any and all decisions made by any such governmental bodies.
Some projects call this role a "Benevolent Dictator". We call it a monarch. For no other reason than because I like the sound of it.
All hail, King Lunduke.
Lots To Do
There remains a tremendous amount of work to do in these early days -- with a pretty hefty to-do list to crank through in the weeks ahead. But progress is being made. Even during holidays.
Regally yours,
-King Lunduke
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