[Freedombox-discuss] Kickstarter's initial goal was reached

James Vasile james at hackervisions.org
Wed Feb 23 16:58:11 UTC 2011


On Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:19:17 +0000, Matt Willsher <matt at monki.org.uk> wrote:
> On 23 February 2011 15:52, James Vasile <james at hackervisions.org> wrote:
> 
> > $60K is a floor, not a ceiling.  It is the minimum we need to start
> > making this a real project, but it is not enough to fully fund the
> > project.  The more money we raise from the public, the more money we can
> > raise from industry and grants.  Even $1 donations help us prove the
> > viability of our efforts.
> 
> I've seen the figures of $500,000 to delivery within a year attributed
> to Eben [1]. What is the business plan for this and where does FOSS
> fit in? What will this funding pay for? There has been much discussion
> on this mailing list of potential features and ideas and some of us
> are investing a reasonable amount of time even at this stage. What are
> we contributing to and is there really any point in discussing the
> this device if key decisions have already been made behind currently
> closed doors? Or should I just wait for the FAQ?
> 

Matt, thanks for asking some good questions.  The FAQ will shed some
light.  And here are some quick responses, although, I want to be clear
I'm not making pronouncements in any official capacity here.  I'm just
doing the best I can to keep people informed.

As to closed doors, there aren't any.  This is still early stages, where
key decisions have not yet been made.  Right now we're trying to pull an
A-list team together of people with track records that will ensure
delivery and an open process.  *Those* people are going to solicit
community ideas for features and make the really difficult decisions as
to which elements make it into early builds.  As we have more info,
we'll announce it.  When we have nailed down a process of coalescing a
roadmap from all the wonderful ideas and visions, we'll announce that
to.

Asking where FOSS fits in is like asking where electricity is involved.
The code will be free from somewhere just above the metal on up to the
user.  Public repositories and issue trackers will allow the community
to monitor and participate.  And key decisions will be made in the open
with full input from anybody with knowledge and skills to contribute.
FOSS projects find their workflow and their equilibrium.  This one will
find its own, and nobody is going to tolerate a dictatorship model.

500K isn't a magic number.  More money = better, faster, more.  With a
little bit of community funding to seed larger corporate donations and
grants, we believe we can fund this project adequately.  Even if we
don't hit $500K, we intend to slay this dragon.  And if we raise
significantly more, we'll be better able to tackle the more ambitious
parts of the project (e.g. mesh networking).

Matt, thanks again for the good questions.  As the answers come into
sharper focus and details emerge, we'll announce them here.  As we
expand beyond just a few volunteers, we'll be able to integrate the
community into decisions in a more visible and tangible way.  Until
then, we appreciate the faith and effort you all have invested so far.



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