[Ubuntu-SG] Team Namecard - Draft 2

Tue Sep 23 03:21:11 UTC 2008

I also like v1 better than v2, but it is not a critical preference.

Noting John's comment, I wonder if it would be possible to create the design
as a template that each of us could modify in order to add our own name,
email & phone number? Essentially, the template would need a blank space at
the bottom for personal details.

As far as the consideration of whether we are a community or an
organization, I would suggest that they are not mutually exclusive. That,
is, we are both. There is nothing wrong with that, either. Being an
organized community is attractive to potential recruits, particularly if
they are exploring Ubuntu, and FOSS in general, for business use.

I also agree with K Sitt in that I do not think we need to worry too much
about impersonation. However, if we think that we might some day evolve
towards a professional organization, then we should consider trademarking
the logo. Canonical has no problem with trademarking the Ubuntu symbols,
after all. A project I used to be involved with some time ago recently got
notification from Canonical to drop usage of their symbols, as they were too
close to the official ones. The discussion is on the front page of the site,
you can read it here: http://ubuntulite.tuxfamily.org/.

Noting that we have talked about financial activities (paid installs,
cupcake sales) in the past, do we want to consider the possibility of a more
"organizational" approach? I'm not sure that paid installs are the way to
go, since I think we should do that as a means of helping each other and new
members. That's part of the Ubuntu spirit. But remember that Canonical is a
business. Nothing about ubuntu the philosophy precludes being business-like.
A business is unethical only if it pursues its own interests at the expense
of all others.

At a deeper level, I am also interested in how the philosophies of FOSS and
Ubuntu can be spread to the business culture. The purely capitalist
perspective is too short-sighted, and it externalizes costs at the expense
of all of us. Everything, from environmental damage and exploitation of the
poor to the current US financial crisis, proves that unrestrained
capiltalism is not sustainable and harms all of us. This is perhaps the
greatest challenge of the 21st century - how can we change the ethical and
practical aspects of economic activity so that as many people as possible
can live satisfying, healthy lives?

I think that bringing the principles of FOSS and Ubuntu to more than just
software is an effective way to meet that challenge. It is not "communism"
as detractors will accuse. However, we have gone too far towards extreme
capitalism. The best system will be the practical one that lies "somewhere
in between" the extremes of pure capitalism and pure communism. Ubuntu and
FOSS are about "communalism"; i.e., building communities. (See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communalism).

So, I do not see a conflict between organization (business) and community.
Rather, we seek to integrate them. Good business practice should build good
communities, just as good communities shouId build good businesses. If
business and community are in conflict, then the economic system is flawed,
or the participants are cheating. I am happy to use the tools of business to
improve that system. Indeed, we should apply FOSS techniques to business
just as we do to software. That way, we will evolve towards the best
possible business practices, just as we evolve towards the best possible
software.

A trademark of our logo and a good organizational structure will attract
business interest and prove our seriousness. That is exactly what is needed
to convince the business people that they can profit in their businesses and
at the same time help build a more ethical, efficient and just culture for
all of us. Particularly in Singapore, but also in the West, GNU/Linux and
the FOSS philosophy started gaining traction when it became valuable to
business.

Well, that was a longer tirage than I expected. But I tend to do that, as
some of you are probably beginning to realize.

If there is interest, I will begin to research what is required for
trademarks and the like. But I am also content not to do so.

Cheers
CDR

On Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 3:37 AM, John Thng <johnthng83 at gmail.com> wrote:

> I forget to put.
>
> Personal Contact Number, which I saw almost every namecard has this one.
>
> Regards
> John
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 9:32 AM, John Thng <johnthng83 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> If we put names there. It would be best to include personal email too.
>> Because in the case people might need to have 1-to-1 email, it will be
>> easier for them to do so.
>>
>> If email ends with ubuntu.sg, it will be much more nicer.
>>
>> Regards
>> John
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 9:17 AM, K Sitt <k at sitt.com.sg> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Heidir,
>>>
>>> I like the info on V2 while the layout on V1 clearer. But on V1,I feel
>>> like, "ubuntu-sg" and "Team Ubuntu Singapore" are competing for the space
>>> and color. I still have no good answer for it tho.
>>>
>>> You have pointed out a good point, we are a community not an
>>> organization. Unless we are an organization, lets not worry about
>>> registering a trademark and such.
>>>
>>> And the risk of being impersonated by outsider as TUSG member is quite
>>> rare and the social pressure will be far higher to the impersonator than
>>> other cases. So, the image of the community would be pretty well protected.
>>>
>>> Best Rgds
>>> K
>>>
>>> On Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 6:56 AM, Muhammad Heidir <
>>> dave33bravo at yahoo.com.sg> wrote:
>>>
>>>>  Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> Latest design, Draft 2 released.
>>>>
>>>> Version 1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30239298@N05/2880669738/
>>>> Version 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30239298@N05/2879836487/
>>>>
>>>> I would be very happy to include all suggestions for change, but it just
>>>> seemed impossible. I would prefer to post this up in the forum, but the
>>>> webmaster has yet to change to Fireboard. We'll just have to wait then.
>>>>
>>>> About the trademark issue. Need some clarification. I decide not to
>>>> include "TM". Unless somebody or someone can tell us how we can get it
>>>> trademarked and the proper procedures. Anyway, this namecard will not be up
>>>> for grabs and free for all. We have to restrict the usage of this namecard
>>>> as this represents the vital nature of the Team. We are a community, not an
>>>> organization and would like to keep it that way. Furthermore, we wouldnt
>>>> want to tarnish the image we have created all this while.
>>>>
>>>> As usual, all feedback are welcome.
>>>>
>>>> Heidir
>>>>
>>>> PS: I'm not the General Manager for TUSG, its just an example!
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Ubuntu-SG mailing list
>>>> Ubuntu-SG at lists.ubuntu.com
>>>> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-sg
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Ubuntu-SG mailing list
>>> Ubuntu-SG at lists.ubuntu.com
>>> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-sg
>>>
>>>
>>
>
> --
> Ubuntu-SG mailing list
> Ubuntu-SG at lists.ubuntu.com
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-sg
>
>
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