Re: What do you think of the foundation?

[Brian Cameron <Brian Cameron Sun COM>]

Jamie McCracken says:
> I dont think there is a problem in the community to be honest

I think that the most serious problem facing the community right now
is our budget.  With the added expenses of having more employees, we
really need to figure out how to be more frugal, find new sources of
income, and also continue improving the services provided by the
Foundation.  This, I think, is a real challenge.  Stormy has been
doing a great job in improving fundraising already, but much more
work needs to be done to grow.

In addition, I think it would be good to discuss how the Foundation
could better serve Foundation members.  What things about the Foundation
make it appealing to join.  The Foundation should provide members, at a
minimum, with opportunities to participate in the community and
recognition for doing so.  Hopefully recognition in a form that makes
people proud to be Foundation members, and helps them in professional
ways.  Ensuring people who volunteer have good job titles, with clear
responsibilities, and perhaps information about the good quality of
their performance would perhaps be the sort of thing that could help
people think that the Foundation is an important, and useful,
organization to join.

Personally, I think it would be good for the Foundation to get more
involved with doing usability studies and improving the HIG.  With GNOME
3.0 around the corner, we have a real opportunity and need here.  It
also seems a great way for the entire GNOME community to work together
to ensure that GNOME stays simple with good usability.  Something that
the entire GNOME community does not want to lose in the migration to
GNOME 3.0, I'm sure.

Since the budget is an issue, finding ways for the Foundation to help
with raising money, improving marketing, finding ways to increase the
value the Foundation provides to AdBoard members who donate money to
the Foundation, and providing incentives to help would also be useful to
think about and discuss, I think.

What other services and benefits could the Foundation provide to people
to make the Foundation useful, productive, and appealing to join?

So, even if we decide there are no problems in the community, I think
there are a lot of opportunities to further improve things.  In addition
to doing some obviously important things such as improving transparency
(thanks Stormy) and being better about being nice and holding hands.

Brian