Emerge Open

[Jonathan Riddell]

----- Forwarded message from Niall McCarthy <nmccarthy at emerge-open.com> -----

Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2013 10:15:49 +0100
Subject: Please forward to the Kubuntu Council
From: Niall McCarthy <nmccarthy at emerge-open.com>
To: Jonathan Riddell <jr at jriddell.org>,
	Tariq Fayaz <tariq at withsupport.co.uk>

   Hi Jonathan,

   I'm delighted that we've finally got the commercial Kubuntu support
   offering under way. It feels like such a long time since we first spoke!

   Some points for the council to discuss please:

   a) We currently have no engagement contract in place with Kubuntu. I think
   it is always wise to have a contract in place. With your permission,
   Emerge Open will get a contract drafted for your review over the coming
   months. The contract will be published under Creative Commons.

   b) Emerge Open is a not-for-profit who's mission is to provide sustainable
   funding for Open Source Communities. If you do anything for us please
   emphasize this point.

   c) As you are aware Emerge Open's support service is currently outsourced
   to WithSupport Ltd. We've been delighted with our relationship with
   WithSupport for the last year and have found them highly professional and
   skilled. However, if the Kubuntu Community is unhappy with the quality of
   commercial support it is receiving then it can request that Emerge Open
   changes its support partner. This process will have to be fleshed out in
   contract. In short, the Kubuntu Community retains its right to choose.

   d) The Kubuntu commercial support will not be the only source of funding
   you will receive from Emerge Open. In the very near future, all profits
   from any IT Service provision will be pushed directly into Community. This
   will be on a trial basis for the moment and it does not relate to profits
   that Emerge Open will make from similar relationships we may have with
   other Communities. The money will be split evenly between our Community
   partners (currently, Kubuntu is the only one, but that is likely to change
   soon). Please bear in mind that we're a start up so IT Services profits
   are going to be thin on the ground for a while :)

   e) Emerge Open provides Recruitment services. Revenue from the recruitment
   services will be used to pay our staff, to finance business growth and to
   create a fund for larger investments in Community. The recruitment
   services are explicitly separate from IT services. We publish some
   vacancies (http://www.emerge-open.biz/#!jobs/cw67) and Kubuntu can also
   attract contributions through this mechanism as explained on the website.

   f) Emerge Open directors cannot be paid a dividend and the business cannot
   be sold for private gain. Director's pay is published here:
   http://www.emerge-open.biz/#!being-open/cy29

   Please have no hesitation in contacting me should you have any questions.

   Best regards,

   Niall
      
   --
   Niall McCarthy
   Tel:    +44 (0)203 0510129
   Web: www.emerge-open.biz
   "Genius is 99% Collaboration and 1% Inspiration"