On Saturday 20 January 2007 10:09, Jean-Daniel Beaubien wrote: > > Feeling unloved? -Don't worry, Theo can flame you when he gets > > home. > > I'm sure he will...but damn it I still think it's a good idea... :) >
A bit of (possibly unwanted and) unsolicited advice; do not suggest setting up a "non-profit" for OpenBSD. There are some which think the idea of tax exempt status for "non-profit" organizations is a good thing since it allows individuals to decide what to do with their income. There are others which think the idea of tax exempt status for "non-profit" organizations is a bad thing since it deprives the state of tax revenue which could be used for social programs (i.e. public heath care and such). Whether you agree or disagree, Theo falls in the latter category. If you try to change his opinion, he will most likely ignore you or flame you six ways from Sunday rather than get in yet another pointless debate on the topic. Anything given to "OpenBSD" or any of it's developers is given as a gift to another individual person, is taxed as a gift on the receiving end and most often, the giver can not be get a tax deduction for the gift. (note: some companies in some countries have the ability to categorize the gift as a business expense... -go ask your friendly neighborhood over-paid tax lawyer about it :-). The mozilla foundation is a non-profit, and hence, it *can* get special treatment from Google because Google can possibly deduct the "payments" made to the foundation. In short, I seriously doubt OpenBSD (i.e. individuals) could get the same kind of deal from Google. As a foundation, mozilla can give grants to other non-profits, fellowships or even individuals (i.e. "OpenBSD"). The best way to make it work is negotiate something with Google through Mozilla. In other words a custom URI which would mark Mozilla earnings from Google to be sent to OpenBSD. Since the Mozilla Foundation is listed as a donor on the OpenBSD donations page, I doubt Theo would have many problems with accepting further grants from them. Of course, you'll need to ask him yourself. http://www.openbsd.org/donations.html As for the irony of accepting grants from non-profits while refusing to create a non-profit for the project due to political beliefs, well, you best not point out the inconsistency... Kind Regards, JCR
