[dpl-helpers] Evaluation criterias for prospective Trusted Organizations

[Lucas Nussbaum]

Hi,

Let's try to restart that discussion.

First, I'd like to shift the goal a bit. TOs are already defined in the
Constitution, so aiming for a "TO definition" is going to be redundant.
What I think is needed, however, is a description of what we expect from
TOs, as this contributes to (1) the implementation of Constitution 5.1.11
(maintenance by the DPL of the list of TO); (2) a better description of
the expected interactions with our current TOs.

As a side goal, we should also try to document some example
implementations of such expectations.

So, new proposal below, where I tried to consolidate all points raised
so far.

Comments and fixes welcomed, obviously!

Lucas


-------------------------------------------------------------->8
Debian Trusted Organizations (TO) are organizations that hold and manage
assets on behalf of the Debian project. The list of TOs is maintained by
the Debian Project Leader (following Debian Constitution 5.1.11 and 9).

In order to be accepted as a TO, an organization should provide some
features, and satisfy some criterias. The list below should not be
understood as required features, but rather as a set of desirable
features. A prospective TO is expected to describe how it compares to
this set of desirable features.


The organization should share Debian's general visions
======================================================

The organization's activities and political stance should generally
match Debian's own political and philosophical stances. If the
organization is holding assets for other organizations, they should also
generally match Debian's own political and philosophical stances.


The organization should remain loyal to Debian
==============================================

The organization should be considered fully trustworthy, or provide
guarantees that Debian's assets will be managed according to the Debian
Project's decisions.

Some examples of possible implementations:
- The organization has a long history of successfully holding a similar
  role for other Free Software projects
- The organization is managed by highly respected members of the Free
  Software community
- The organization has a leadership structure that ensures a minimum
  number and/or a majority of Debian developers
- The organization has decision-making processes that explicitely
  delegate decisions on Debian assets to the Debian Project Leader


The organization should provide accountability on assets held in trust
======================================================================

Some examples of possible implementations:
- The organization provides, on a regular and frequent basis,
  detailed reports of assets tranfers and balance sheets, in a
  machine-parsable format.
- The organization provides a direct access to Debian's accounts,
  in a machine-parsable format.


The organization should be reliable, sustainable, and reactive
==============================================================

Some examples of possible implementations:
- The organization is managed by a large group of active Debian
  Developers
- The organization's managers have been involved in Debian or other
  Free Software projects for a long time, and have a high reputation
  of being reliable.
- The organization has several people sharing the role of treasurer in
  order to react quickly to requests in all circumstances


The organization should provide a reasonable financial framework
================================================================

For example, it is desirable that:
- Donations and sponsorship are tax-deductible for the donor
- Donations, sponsorship, income from sales and transfers from other
  TOs are not subject to income tax
- there are no major restrictions on what kind of expenses can be made,
  either due to the organization's bylaws or to the legal framework of
  the organization
- there are no major restrictions on how the organization could
  transfer money to another TO


Additional opportunities
========================

Some organizations might offer additional services to their affiliated
organizations, such as legal counsel.

Some organizations have might plans that result in possible income
for Debian, such are giving to Debian some of the result of the sale of
merchandising.