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KDE League .... Inc. No Longer?
An anonymous reader writes "The corporate status of the KDE League, Inc., was revoked earlier this year by the Delaware Secretary of State when it failed to file necessary papers and pay fees, according to this report in Linux and Main. In addition, the organization seems to have overlooked financial disclosures that are supposed to be made public under federal law. And asked about it, the KDE League's chairman, Andreas Pour, refused to comment." Update: You can read a statement from Andreas here that explains what's going on. Thanks to Thomas Zander for the update.
O'well.. they didn't do their proper accounting. There's always next year.
Try to change the default way that KDE League, Inc does paperwork.
Get a free ipod.
The Delaware folks are Gnome fans...
The corporate status of the KDE League, Inc., was revoked earlier this year by the Delaware Secretary of State when it failed to file necessary papers and pay fees
Now if only Microsoft would forget to file some paperwork and pay a few fees.
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- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
I'm so embarrassed for KDE I'm going to have to stop using it...Oh, wait...I'm using RedHat 8.0...It really isn't KDE anymore anyway...Nevermind...
I just heard the sad news on talk radio. KDE League Inc. nonprofit corporation was found dead. Even if you didn't understand how the League was really supporting KDE, there's no denying its contributions to the promotion and development of free software. Truly an Open Source Icon.
Why don't they register as a German Verein? Like KDE e.V.? I think that would cause less trouble with bureaucracy.
So what happened to the KDE League, an organization that at one point reportedly had more than $100,000 in its coffers
A new company. New money. _Las Vegas_. Yeah...what in the world could have happened...
This is the most outrageous crap you have come up with for a long time dep. It is quite normal to let a body lapse if the members lose interest as most groups and individuals have in this type of organisation since the dot.coms and Ximian.
Or do you think that Dre should fork out a $1000 of his own money to keep the shell going of an organisation that he is a member of?
I myself let an organisation lapse when the members got tired of it, it is a normal everyday occurence and it is no wonder all these volounteer just give up with muck rakers like you around who try to turn nothing into a crime just because Dre has beat you in so many debates and the kde community rejected you because of the type of person you are.
We could write the same crap about you; Slashdot.org is just a $2 shelf company with no bricks and mortar.
You Sir are a disgrace to the human race.
Is this the end of KDE? will all future Linux distros have to come bundled without KDE as a desktop manager? I love my KDE as much as the next guy, but I must say that I'm worried there won't be any further versions of this excellent desktop manager. I know there are others, but I've grown into KDE. Also, I'd like to say, at this early on a Saturday, there were no "first posts" posts. All of those FP lamers are either
a) too tired from the flame war they engaged in last night (typical firstposter Friday Night activity)
b) Watching Saturday morning cartoons, or
c) Hungover
It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end.
What does this mean for the KDE Trademark and what is the legal Status of KDE in other Countries?
but KDE is *NOT* unix.
In better news, KDE 3.1 beta2 is out!
Anyways, the KDE league is and was never tied to KDE itself. KDE does not tie itself to any particular commercial groups (except KDE e.V.).
So, if the KDE league is really down, it doesn't hurt KDE either way. In the end, open source software goes on. I'd like a comment from Dre (Andreas Pour), before I jump to any conclusions.
I reserve this trust in him because he's always done a phenominal job as one of the KDE project's PR guys.
Once before somebody had to pay the domain.
Besides, it will get off on the trial with paying nothing but some bribe money.
You want a comment from Dre:
here it is
The story is just more LinuxAndMain FUD about KDE
Andreas Pour...
No wonder he's out of money
ah troll please note that refusing to file even a statement of abandoning this corp name for DE reocirds is a bit dubious..
Maybe you should read before you leap?
Don't Tread on OpenSource
It's an evil plot by the Legion Of Gnome.
Ergonomica Auctorita Illico!
Posted on the kde-core-devel list:
& file=article&sid=247
I think it clears everything up. The kde-league is *not* dead. The website, linuxandmain, just seemed to have jumped the gun a bit before getting a serious comment from Andreas Pour.
And life and KDE goes on..
List: kde-core-devel
Subject: Re: What has happened to the KDE League?
From: Andreas Pour
Date: 2002-10-05 7:34:38
[Download message RAW]
Shawn Gordon wrote:
>
> http://www.linuxandmain.com/modules.php?name=News
>
> Is this true?
Parts of it. As to the dissolution issue, that is something that needs to be
straightened out with the League's lawyers, who are supposed to be handling
this, undoubtedly some clerical mix-up. However, as dep wrote to me in a
private e-mail (so he knows this), and as is the case, this is easily remedied
and virtually inconsequential.
As to the supposed IRS from, since theKompany.com was briefly a member, you
should know that the League is not a non-profit but rather a not-for-profit and
hence need not file the forms.
As to the website, it's hosted on a server that experienced hardware failure and
should be back up early next week.
As to the finances, that is not something for me to disclose. The League as a
corporation cannot release its financial statements without approval of the
members, and that approval has not occurred. That came out in the threads which
were selectively quoted, IIRC, but the piece seems to be just another malicious
KDE attack by a website well versed in those matters.
> If it is true then the League is beyond a colossal failure,
It certainly is not.
> it is also engaging in illegal activity.
Sorry?
> KDE really needs to get some
> spokes people together and have something in place to handle this kind of
> fall out. I wonder if this post will even make it through Dre's filters on me.
What filter?
Ciao,
Dre
The corporate status of the KDE League, Inc., was revoked earlier this year
In a press release, KDE employees stated: "Ah Krap!"
http://lists.kde.org/?l=kde-core-devel&m=103380337 729334&w=2
...being magically whisked away to... Deleware... Hi... I'm in Deleware... -- Mike Meyers in "Wayne's World 2"
This quote from Andreas Pour was heard as he was being led into the Dover Courthouse: "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those meddling kids and their dog..."
I work for a company which has been subject to "administrative dissolution" for failure to make timely filings and fee payments. The only reason I even know this is that I'm the one who failed to file the forms :) Technically, we did not exist for almost a year, but the snafu was easily corrected by making the filing and paying late fees. We continued business as usual for the whole length of our ontological haitus. There were no bad consequences beyond a trip to the Secretary of State's office and a $20 late fee. I therefore find the implications of this "story" ridiculous, and Dre's response very reasonable.
dep called the whole KDE project a bunch of nazis. This is why he uses GNOME now, because it's American. What an asshole.
(Please browse at -1 to read this comment.)
Nickelous Wirth...and look what happend to Pascal!!
>Seems like the KDE group is kind of chaotic or something.
>
>
No they're just a bunch of RedHat-hating slimeballs.
To Whom It May Concern,
Please convey my/our heartfelt apologies to the KDE League for this mix up. As many of you are aware, many corporations are headquartered in Delaware due to our tax laws and court system. This creates a burden on Delaware residents. In fact it creates a burden on all three Delaware residents. Just yesterday, I was talking with Ed, and he was trying his damndest (as usual) to attract a fourth resident, and he thought that some Linux news might be a good idea, since 'maybe we could get Delaware slashdotted,' and I had to remind him that Delaware already serves an honorable place in Slashdot as the dot.
We were further upset recently when we realized that our third resident, the governor, had died in 1973.
In closing, please accept the apologies of Ed and myself on behalf of the great state of Delaware -- the first state to sign the Constitution and the state that nearly everyone has 'driven through on the way to visit their parents.'
Dep has displayed his lack of professionalism
for a long time, even back in the days when he
was "pro-kde." Lately he has taken it to a
new level, with that pathetic article about KDE
developers being anti-american or anti-bible,
or anti-JerryFalwell, or whatever.
Now he writes on a legitimate subject - why
has the KDE League been operated in secrecy,
and what if anything has it accomplished? -
but nobody is interested in the topic because
of the source.
You see, when your career is based on your
reputation, on your credibility, on your
perceived objectivity, on what you
publish...it's probably not a
good idea to go around spouting a bunch of
unprofessional crap and attaching your name
to it. Welcome to irrelevance, dep.
KDE-League is a not-for-profit company, which is vastly different than a nonproit company. A not for profit company does not have to file the stated IRS form, and can only disclose it's activities if all members of the board conset, which they have not. This is all explained in Dre's response.
I mod down any one who says "I'm sure I will get modded down for this"
Let me start off by saying that I am a KDE user; I prefer it strongly over GNOME.
However, there's no FUD in this article. We all would like to know what happened to the KDE League. It simply disappeared. The fact is, while the GNOME Foundation actually got together and formed a consortium, and produced results (look at how much Sun's involvement did, for example), the KDE League appeared out of nowhere as a sort of "me too" thing, and then disappeared just as fast.
KDE is a terrific desktop. I use it every day, at home and at work. But the fact of the matter is, KDE is a "cathedral" project. Most people who have observed its development have arrived at this conclusion.
Tired of FB/Google censorship? Visit UNCENSORED!
A Delaware franchise tax report is is a blue slip of paper about 8.5 inches wide and 4 inches high. Every year a Delaware corporation is required to complete the report by filling in the names of the company's officers, its address and the number and par value of its authorized shares (e.g., "the corporation is authorized to issue up to 1000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share") -- that's about it. The franchise tax is computed based on the aggregate par value of the common stock (in my example, $10 = 1000 x $0.01). The franchise tax is _not_ an income tax and the report does not require reporting of a company's income or activities. The franchise tax assessible on even a large corporation is relatively modest -- this is one of the reasons Delaware is a desireable state to charter a corporation. As the Linux and Main article itself (which was a real hachet job) said, the KDE League's franchise tax owed was $20.
Forgetting to file a franchise tax report is a very common error. The Delaware Secretary of State's office sends the report form to the last known address, and if the address of the company has changed or, if the particular person at the company does not recognize that the uninteresting-looking envelope contains important information, it is easy to overlook it. Failure to file the report, even to the point of becoming terminated by the Delaware Secretary of State's office, tells me little about the KDE League.
GNU/Lunix users, you are baseheads
Then why are your profits red?
Man, your desktop is wasted
No they're just a bunch of RedHat-hating slimeballs.
Most of the Linux world is redhat-hating. It doesn't exactly hold the same bad-vibe mentality as calling someone freedom-hating. Let's not try making Redhat == freedom, or insinuating it.
Sheesh. Relax already. This is obviously something of interest to most /. readers, so you shouldn't be the least bit surprised to see it posted. Besides, it seemed to be reported fairly. As far as I can tell, the article didn't contain any KDE bashing, didn't criticize Andreas Pour, and shouldn't have upset anybody. Why are you so sensitive about it?
F... U... D... !
Six months of research into the matter, eh? It's actually for-profit and not-for-profit that are considered by the IRS to be the same type of corporation -- a non-profit organization is in an entirely different tax class. One major way in which they differ is that money you donate to a non-profit organization is tax deductible (within certain limits), while money you give to a for-profit or not-for-profit is not tax deductible.
You may or may not know this but dep (the author of this "article") has a problem with KDE. Basically here's what happened (I posted this on the Linuxtoday.com article about this as well):
1. KDE hosts an off-topic mailinglist (kde-cafe). There KDE-developers and users can talk about off-topic things (movies, politics etc.)
2. One KDE-developer (I don't remember which one) posted a message where he criticized Israel policies when it comes to the palestinians. He also voiced concern regarding some US policies as well.
3. Dep got involved in that discussion and he held an opposing viewpoint. During the course of the discussion he basically called everyone who disagreed with him and idiot.
4. He also decided that anyone who criticizes Israel is a nazi and an antisemite.
5. He then wrote a story for Linux and main where he claimed that several KDE core-developers are nazis and antisemites.
6. In reality, few KDE-developers simply criticized some of Israels policies in an off-topic mailinglist. That does not make them in to nazis.
Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
Just a select few *cough* Mosfet *cough* of them.
May we never see th
If KDE league was never actually tied to KDE, what exactly do their share in common besides the name, or is it just the name?
I've not heard of the league before. From the article it seems they were something like a KDE publicity group that never did a lot of what they said they would?
Please don't flame me, I have nothing against the league or KDE, this is just my interpretation of what I read in the article
Dre said, "As to the finances, that is not something for me to disclose. The League as a
corporation cannot release its financial statements without approval of the members, and that approval has not occurred."
So who are the members, so we can ask them what happened? Or is the member's list a secret too?
I use KDE, but the whole thing sounds fishy to me. They got $120,000 and they refuse to tell anyone what they have done with it. Maybe the people who contributed the money should sue in court to find out what happened to it.
...and I cannot lie..
oops
Just thought I'd like to say that playing this game on easy difficulty is still pretty difficult for me, LOL!
The KDE League is largely irrelevant; it was just formed as a sort of knee-jerk response to the GNOME Foundation. If you want to donate money to KDE and be useful, send it to KDE e.V, so they can pay for things like flying a lot of KDE core hackers to the one place to make a few thousand CVS commits in the weekend. That's useful.
Not that Linux and Main isn't a bitter and frequently inaccurate wank by dep anyway. It has the same quality journalism as The Register.
Daniel Stone (dstone [AMPHORA] kde [FULLSTOP] org), who is having trouble registering, or getting his old password.
Read its FAQ, here is a quote:
Q: How will the League be involved in development?
A: The League will not be directly involved in KDE development in any way. It exists solely as a promotion and education organization. Now that said, we do encourage the members of the League to contribute to the KDE codebase in the normal "bazaar" style... but this is not a requirement.
Put another way, the League is a way for companies to get financially involved with KDE even if they don't have the resources to contribute developers.
end of quote. So they have always been upfront about this: the KDE league is a money sink where you can drop your money in case you need to show some KDE investment for promotional purposes and don't want to get into any useful commitment to the project.
Andreas Pour's response just says that he's not going to speak to DEP because he's not fond of the things that DEP has written.
His response to the Kompany's Shawn Gordon dismisses everything as, "a non-issue and just part of some mud-slinging campaign."
"ad hominem" simply means attacking the person making the argument, rather than the argument, itself. IMO this is what Andreas is doing, which is a shame because the argument itself needs answering, namely:
There's no doubt that Andreas is the person who should answer this question: he's the chairman of the KDE League, he's listed in the KDE Promotion FAQ as the KDE League's point of contact, and, for crying out loud, a reverse lookup on the phone number in kdeleague.org's whois address gives Andreas' phone number in an apartment complex.
Which brings my two questions:
The only reason I can think of for the KDE League to not answer is if it's done nothing since its inception.
The only reason I can think of for other League members to stay quiet is that either there aren't any, or that they know the jig is up and would rather let Andreas take the heat.
I was in this prematurely air conditioned supermarket and there were all
these aisles and there were these bathing caps you could buy that had these
kind of Fourth of July plumes on them that were red and yellow and blue and
I wasn't tempted to buy one but I was reminded of the fact that I had been
avoiding the beach.
-- Lucinda Childs "Einstein On The Beach"
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