[consult] Call for Community Consultation - Software Repository

[Sam Weiler]

I concur with Rob on the first two points, as noted.

>> 1. Should software in this repository be restricted only to
>> contributions that are licensed to be in the public domain? If so, what
>> license should be used (GNU/BSD/others)?
>
> ARIN should be neutral as to license or indeed whether there is any
> license at all. ...

Concur.  ARIN should be liberal in what it accepts.

>> 2. Should the repository allow separate developers facilities to
>> maintain code directly (tools like subversion) or be a static-read only
>> repository?
>
> It was never my intent to have ARIN be a competitor to SourceForge;
> only to provide a central location to access such software.

There's nothing wrong with offering an SVN repository, but do what's 
easy.  I think a static repository will be fine for 90% of the tools. 
For the few tools that are likely to have that much community 
interest, let them use sourceforge and provide a link.  And if you 
occasionally get a patch or alternate version for something in the 
"static" repository, publish it.

>> 3. Should the repository only house collections that reflect ARIN's 
>> mission?

No.

Again, "be liberal in what you accept".  Even if a particular tool 
does something we don't like or is antithetical to ARIN's mission, it 
may be have some components that could be usefully reused (e.g. an 
email address extraction routine can be used for things other than 
spam).  Some discretion may well be in order, but err on the side of 
inclusiveness.

-- Sam