[DECISION] remove "Community" tagline from TDF's LibreOffice builds

I was not supportive of the “community addition” branding when it was first introduced (I was not a trustee then).

With that said, though - the timing of this decision and the wording of the proposal make it be, essentially, a “jab” at Collabora/Allotropia. Why did this need to be done in secret? Why did this need to be accelerated? When it has not even been brought up on this forum or our internal discussion list, for the last 3 years?

For me, this another example of the culture of managing TDF affairs behind trustees’ backs (which among other things facilitates this petty politicization).

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So, i think some trustees will have some questions at the next board public meeting.
Bests,
Régis

Hi Eyal,

I would like to reiterate a few important points:

The decisions made by the Board are fully in line with the TDF statutes and are guided by a fundamental commitment to protect the image and interests of the LibreOffice project.

We are reviewing decisions made in the past that, in our opinion, were not in line with the best interests of the project.

The inclusion of this slogan was a choice made by previous Councils, without a clear goal or concrete benefit for LibreOffice. The project was born without this slogan, and we are now correcting this deviation and returning to our original identity.

I regret that you see this decision as a direct attack on specific companies, which is not the case. TDF is a neutral and independent foundation, committed to the project and the community as a whole.

In addition, insinuations that the Board is acting “behind the scenes” are disrespectful to the elected members and do not contribute to a healthy and constructive debate.

The Board will continue to work seriously, responsibly, and with a clear focus on TDF’s mission and interests: strengthening LibreOffice.

We are always open to dialogue, but within an environment of mutual respect.

Have a nice weekend!

Best,
Eliane

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I agree with the decision.

I agree with the decision.

I am happy for this decision as well. At least with the changed parameters regarding the ecosystem, I think it wise to revert what has been decided in former times.

If I remember correctly, there was a huge debate some years ago around Personal Edition, Home Edition, not for critical documents, and eventually Community as tag was chosen by the board.

LibreOffice addresses many people, and the Community tagline was perceived as confusing in the end, so I applaud this decision.

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You can let us know if you have any questions already! I proposed the vote and my reasoning is described in my first paragraph. We’re dropping something we haven’t used for a long time anyway (the “Community” tag in our communications) and it was always confusing (we get a lot of messages on social media from people not understanding what “Community” means). So IMO better to just drop the tag we’re not even using now – rather than start a long discussion about when/how to change it (or what to).

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Eu apoio essa decisão.

I fully support this decision. The term “community” was really confusing LibreOffice users.

Best,
Paolo D.

Très bonne décision. Merci Florian et merci aux administrateurs.

It is not “insinuations” when that is exactly what can be seen to have happened from the original message in the thread. It says that Mike:

  • talked to Italo
  • raised the topic in a team call
  • used the private board list to hold a secret 72 hr vote without discussion

Why was the urgent, secret vote necessary for this matter at this time? The matter has not even been discussed on the marketing list.

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Why was the urgent, secret vote necessary for this matter at this time? The matter has not even been discussed on the marketing list.

The situation in the ecosystem recently changed without much lead time for TDF. Additionally, I would assume preparations for the next release are ongoing and there is only limited time left. Last but not least, we are aware TDF urgently needs to show a change of behaviour due to the legal situation.

People may want to row against the tide, LibreOffice brand is what it is.

Pick your press headline below and LibreOffice is NOT called LibreOffice Community. Period.

Olivier

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/denmark-wants-to-replace-windows-and-office-with-linux-and-libreoffice-as-it-seeks-to-embrace-digital-sovereignty/ar-AA1GKEkI

https://practical-tech.com/2025/06/11/why-denmark-is-dumping-microsoft-office-and-windows-for-libreoffice-and-linux/
https://www.pcmag.com/news/denmark-wants-to-dump-microsoft-software-for-linux-libreoffice

https://www.pcmag.com/news/german-province-ditches-microsoft-office-windows-for-open-source-alternatives

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That’s not a serious argument, Florian. “There is only limited time left”? Come on. You’re making it sound like there’s a bomb timer ticking. First, there is plenty of time to remove that phrase; and second, even if somehow it would only be removed in 25.8.1 rather than 25.8.0, or even in 26.2 - so what? Like Olivier says:

and he demonstrated with several recent media items that our brand is not ‘LibreOffice Community Edition’, regardless of the extra qualification. So this was all inconsequential - and you all know that.

and he demonstrated with several recent media items that our brand is
not ‘LibreOffice Community Edition’, regardless of the extra
qualification. So this was all inconsequential - and you all know that.

It was inconsequential to add the tagline in first place, so it is good
this mistake was corrected now.

… in an urgent and secret vote, right?

… in an urgent and secret vote, right?

I think I‘ve explained the urgency already: one is that TDF needs to urgently show a change of behavior in many areas given the legal situation we face.

You may disagree with that, but others see this as an important element, so do I. Given this board is legally in charge and liable, their decision seems sane, safe and mandated for.

You’ve acknowledged the tag line being inconsequential. And yet, something that was inconsequential two weeks ago now supposedly needs to be changed urgently and secretly.

I don’t like the way and the timing of this decision and I also don’t like the attitude with which you are justifying the BoD’s conduct on this matter.

This supposedly trivial matter is an analogy to consider when evaluating how the BoD conducts other, more complex and consequential, business.

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Slippery slope (fallacy) indeed… :thinking:

Hi Eyal,

Two weeks ago there were no events that reminded some of us why there is a “Community” tag line in LibreOffice, then we received the reminder.

A director evaluated the changed situation, got the approval from the marketing team that was in charge of promoting the tag line back in 2020 and proposed the vote.

I didn’t see the need to discuss much the matter as I’ve seen it as an obvious things to do and wondered why I didn’t think about it sooner so I’ve sent my +1 with a “thanks for thinking about it and propose the vote.”
As you can see the majority of directors thought the same and we wasted no time in debating something that was so obviously necessary.

So there is no “urgency” but a needed action as the conditions that could have allowed TDF to promote a general ecosystem of companies are not present anymore.

There is no “secrecy” as the decision for something that was due and obvious has been published straight away with the full description of the process used to get to that motion.

If you and the director that decided to vote against did a minimum of homework you both might have understood that this isn’t a matter were we should ask the community for an opinion.

Absolutely and if you read again the decision, the process and the explanations I’m sure that you’ll find that your initial reaction, probably sparked by the comments of a director that clearly hasn’t evaluated the matter in full, was over the top.
I hope now you understood the situation better and you see why the board had to take that decision.

Ciao

Paolo

Si para alguien fuera confuso que hubiera esa línea lema, está bien que se haya removido. A mí y a mis cercanos, no nos afectó. Aún así, me sumo a las decisiones del consejo de directores.