i and plenty others donate funds and time to the openbsd project. i
cannot speak on others' behalf but i find this entire matter very shady.
the possibility that someone has embezzled funds due to the openbsd
project is deeply offensive to me.
issues
--------------
in order to have any kind of reasonable resolution it is necessary to
restrict the core discussion to the quantitative issues. here is what i
see as the key issues:
- a very large and long-standing A/R balance of kd85 with computer shop
of calgary (CSC) for CDs; it seems clear that wim claims there was some
special deal that means he doesn't owe what theo and/or CSC invoiced him
for the CDs
- questionable allocations of 'openbsd donation funds' by kd85 to
events, causes, etc, that are not strictly related to openbsd; this
issue was addressed by bob in the email about itojun's funeral where wim
seemed disinclined to follow bob and theo's instructions despite
repeating those instructions
- beyond allocation issues with the 'openbsd donation funds' there may
be a more serious discrepancy at hand, as per ingo's email; the extent
of this MITM situation with donations is unknown without input from donors
the additional matter of openbsd merchandise (shirts, etc) being sold by
wim in europe and none of that money making it back to the project is
shocking but it appears that was part of the agreement.
resolution
--------------------
here is what i see as the potential avenues for resolution of each
issue. note that this needn't be done in public even though the current
tack is to do just this:
- A/R balance - both kd85 and CSC prepare their documents and isolate
the problem to differences on various purchases, invoices, etc, to give
a total amount in dispute and a history of its accumulation. theo and
others have previously privately and now publicly lambasted wim for not
paying up according to expectations. based on the private and public
comments not having any demonstrable effect, the matter should be
pursued by lawyers in belgium and CSC should seek a settlement against
kd85 which would likely result in fines, liens on property or jail time,
among other things.
there is a complicating factor here, which is that since theo does not
have a majority interest in CSC he cannot dictate whether to pursue the
matter legally, that is up to the owners of CSC. anytime one considers
taking someone to court, a cost benefit analysis must be done since
legal costs can get very large very quickly and you may be attempting to
get 'blood from a stone', wasting your money. i am speculating that the
CSC owners don't want to run the ball this direction for just the reason
i cite above.
- questionable allocations - this is a tough one since wim is the only
one with the records and it is unlikely that receipts from all the
parties involved could be obtained.
- MITM donations - while annoying to do, one could make an appeal for
all donors who sent funds to wim or his shop to send receipts /
confirmation of their donations to someone associated with the project.
once all receipts are obtained they would be added up and compared to
both (1) wim's published numbers and (2) CSC / theo / openbsd foundation
numbers. based on ingo's email, i suspect this may yield some very
interesting results.
prior claims
------------------------
both theo and wim have made a number of claims directly, indirectly and
not strictly on-list. here is how i perceive each set of claims and
their evidence:
- theo has made claims that stick pretty closely to the issues i cite
above, albeit sans detailed financial data. he is obviously very angry
about this since the project could really use the funds in dispute and
it has been a long-standing problem. some people feel he should
substantiate the argument with numbers and details, but he seems to want
to agitate in public and resolve the matter in private.
- wim has made a long, relatively detailed response on his website that
does include some financial details. however, he does not stick to the
basic problems (i.e. A/R balance, donation transparency) and provides a
large amount of incomplete information. the numbers give some insight
into the problem but things like a balance sheet give approximately zero
information for detailed problems like this and only serve to confuse
the matter.
my experience
-------------------------
sometimes the best staff are the same ones who embezzle from a company
because they feel entitled to it, that they're insufficiently
compensated, etc, i have seen it happen in my work experience several
times. that's not to say that wim is an embezzler but the argument that
'oh, wim is so cool, look how he helped the project' holds zero water
when it comes to money. as i have seen myself, what someone has
contributed to a project is not a good metric for whether they also have
gamed or are gaming the project in a very shady fashion.
for all i know this whole thing could be a waste of time and there is
zero possibility of getting any funds from wim. i won't be spending much
time making long-winded responses to replies to this, so don't expect
that inflammatory comments will be productive.
cheers,
jake
