Dear members, dear community, dear team
Nearly a few days ago we have celebrated the 10th anniversary of LibreOffice and we are proud of the history and development, LibreOffice took these decade.
Nowadays we are facing some tough decisions from an honourable ecosystem partner, to move away from TDF with the online activities.
Let me, Lothar, state clearly, that I as the chairperson will not comment on this decision here, it is their first and foremost decision on it. And being chairman it is vital to be somehow neutral, keeping the mission of acting as a moderator between different interests in the community, in the membership and with its committee, and certainly in the board and team.
But let me also point out, that overall duty here of all addressee of this mail is for the sake of TDF as a whole, and not of or for one single role within it. So what I do expect from every part of this discussion and development is not to play a blackmail in any sense. What I refer to is to argue in a way such as “If you now do not this, I will do that …” It is all about finding compromises for all sides, win-win solutions, because in the long run we all depend on each other, every part and every role in TDF.
Sadly, this current move comes in a period where we took steps to achieve a compromise with a marketing plan in discussion, the decision was postponed to have more time for it as the membership and the public asked for. This plan with proposed compromises is now obsolete in some parts and we have to see what this move now un-knots in decisions and activities in the sake of TDF and its underlying statutes. That is still, what I am working for in my role, with the duty to TDF, willing to compromise between parts of the community, but also taking steps in the sake of TDF as a whole as needed, as parts of the community have also done in their own duty.
TDF is meritocratic, if you want to help it or are not ok with any step, please engage and take the responsibility in contributing in any valuable sense. This will help the most in the next weeks, months and years.
Thanks and all the best, stay healthy
Lothar