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More on the KDE League
An anonymous reader writes "Timothy Butler published a nice clean-up on the misinformations that were published by dep on Linux and Main. Most of what that has been alleged by Linux and Main turns out to be wrong. Especially, the KDE League has no obligation to disclose financial information. On dot.kde.org, Mathias Kalle Dallheimer, KDE e.V. president, explains that the KDE e.V would authorize the KDE League to disclose its books to the KDE e.V members. However, the KDE e.V is not the only member of the KDE League. Other members would have to approve this."
and what is there position on the issue?
I am glad that these misinformations are not allowed to persist. It's tragic when someone else sets out on a PR war crusade against an Open Source project with the only goal of causing damage and mistrust.
Thank you Tim, Kalle and Slashdot for your efforts to combat this.
(Please browse at -1 to read this comment.)
It's common knowledge that OfB.biz is just a KDE mouthpiece. This article does NOT, repeat NOT, clean up anything. Even though there are no legal REQUIREMENTS to disclose the financials, it should still be done. Where did the donated money go? Wht does the KDE league do, apart from possibly syphoning money to Pour?
This is a stink that will no go away with a few nice words from a KDE friendly website.
What a bunch of crap, just because someone posts an article that was actually researched OFB is a "KDE mouthpiece". Point out one part of his article that is factually incorrect. Can't do it, can you?
How come you totally neglect the fact that not one thing in DEP's articles was true, including comments he attributed to the Delaware Secretary of State's office that they deny ever making, anyone in their office making, and are factually incorrect. Someone refutes a mostly imaginary article and you say they are a "KDE mouthpiece".
The book the cluetrain manifesto has something to say about this. Here's my take on it:
:-)
Traditionally, markets use the language of conflict. Battles over mindshare, control of a critical market segment, etc. These sorts of internal conflicts still occurred, but they were not makde public.
The open source community makes it's internal conversation public. To me, this is a strength, not a weakness.
Doc Searls explaisn this much better than I do, for those that are interested
"The purpose of argument is to change the nature of truth." -- Bene Gesserit Precept
> What is it that causes these kinds of conflicts and mistrust?
Human nature. Contrary to popular belief, os/fs coders are human. Though some seem to have magical time-stretching powers that allow them to do more than a human should be able to in one day.
There are inflated egos among os/fs coders, because, once again, they are human. There are many inflated egos that don't belong to coders as well.
The reason this seems to crop up connected os/fs projects is if/when this happens at a company, _it doesn't get out_. The company doesn't want to lose image points, so conflicts stay internal. On the other hand, how do you keep an os/fs conflict internal? Have the developers talk mind to mind? They talk on public lists most of the time.
And sure, we're crackpots. Some of us prefer to fix something we don't like in software we use. Fixing something you didn't write? Horrors! Putting your heart and time into a project that doesn't make you any money! CRACKPOTS! She's a witch! BURN HER!
To smash a single atom, all mankind was intent / Now any day the atom may return the compliment
1. There is no IRS not-for-profit database. There is guidestar and http://wwww.guidestar.org/ does not always have the most up to date information. Often there filings are 1 or two years behind or might not exist at all.
2. If the KDE league is not a 501(c)3 then what the heck is the KDE league?
I believe the KDE leagues corporate filings should be available from the State of Deleware.
What *I* don't get in all of this is - isn't the KDE League getting its money from private corporations (I see NO individuals in the members list, only corporations, several of which are rather large)...one of whom is KDE e.V. (Am I reading this correctly)? Who in turn says they've got no reason to believe anything funny's going on? It's THEIR money - if THEY don't think anything wrong is being done with it, why the heck does anyone who DIDN'T give them money care?
I've only seen one entity that actually ever had anything to do with the KDE League complain, and that's Shawn Gordon, whose company apparently USED TO BE a member (but are not any more, as far as I know. Unpleasant 'break-up', perhaps?).
I keep seeing comparisons with the Gnome Foundation, which is a completely different type of group. The Gnome Foundation, as I understand it, is directly involved in steering Gnome development - it's actually an official part of the Gnome project(s). The KDE League is purely promotional - to put it bluntly, the KDE League is a "Fan Club". They have no more involvement in 'steering' or otherwise influencing development than any other fan of KDE does.
It's also been pointed out elsewhere that $120,000 is a lot of money when it's sitting in a suitcase on your doorstep in the form of small unmarked bills, but it's a pittance when considered as a yearly budget for any kind of corporation. I think the highest-paid individual there is said to have been paid $36k/year salary to run it. Take out that, rent on facilities, purchase of equipment, and so on, and there's not much left...
Now, as to whether or not the KDE League is effective at DOING anything, I couldn't say. I do certainly get the impression that they've not been active at all (basically, as far as I know, they've spent the little funding they had by just merely existing, and not really accomplishing anything), but given that the unrelated-except-by-name-and-theme KDE Software projects (that is, the actual developers, etc., who have no relationship with the KDE League as far as I know) seem to be doing just fine without the KDE League's additional promotion, I'm not too concerned about it. For all I care, the KDE League could have spent all the money on cheap prostitutes, malt liquor, and pornographic videos featuring necropedobestiality, and it will have still done no more harm than wasting a few thousand dollars each from a handful of private corporations (there are 10 listed on the members page - if they all donated the same amount, that's a "whopping" $12,000 each. That's barely pocket-change to corporations like IBM and Fujitsu-Siemens...), who don't seem to even care what happened to THEIR money...
'Scuze the long post, I'm just utterly baffled at all the screaming going on over this thing. I could understand a chorus of "Ha, ha, member corporations, you wasted your money", but shrieking hatred of the sort reserved for Enron and Worldcom and so on just makes no sense to me at all...
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Number one, the IRS database is not exhaustive. You're not required to file for a letter recognizing your 501(c)3 status from the IRS for 15 months from the creation of your organization, or 27 with the automtic extention. You're additionally not required to file if your gross annual receipts are less than $5k.
Additionally, there are many types of non-profit organizations of which 501(c)3's are only a small subjection - non-profit organizations that are *ALSO* CHARITIBLE organizations. All IRS-recognized non-profits are tax-exempt, but only CHARITIBLE ones (501(c)3's and a very few others) can accept TAX-DEDUCTIBLE contributions.
Basically, the REAL question here is this:
Does the KDE League accept tax-deductible contributions? If yes, then they're likely required to have accounting information publically available (but not much - just their Form 990's), if not, then they're not.
Ultimately, it is up to the members of an organization to keep track of the organization's accounting (the rights of the members to access the accounting information is a matter of state law) and the people making contributions to make sure their contribution will be spent effectively when they make the contribution.
Not a member and not giving money and the organization is not a public charitible organization (which it does not appear the KDE league is?) Then its none of your business what they do with their money.
There seems to be a misconception that non-profit = public or that non-profit = charitible. Neither of those is true.
paintball