[Koha] For immediate release: Koha Open Source Community Regrets Failure of PTFS, Inc. to Comply with Community Guidelines

[paul POULAIN]

January 29, 2009-- The creators and developers of Koha, the first open 
source Integrated Library System (ILS), today expressed regret that 
PTFS, Inc has chosen not to follow the Koha ILS free and open source 
software community guidelines as stated on http://koha.org.

"PTFS' request to be listed on the Pay for Support page of the Koha 
community's web site (http://koha.org) has been declined due to the 
failure of PTFS to meet the project guidelines followed by those who are 
listed," said project founder Rachel Hamilton-Williams of Katipo 
Communications.

For instance, PTFS is currently operating a web site that uses 'Koha' in 
its domain name contrary to community guidelines published on the 
koha.org web site.  "I clarified the community guidelines with PTFS over 
two months ago (on behalf of the Koha Project) and encouraged them to 
comply, so we're very disappointed there has been no movement on them to 
date," she said.

The guidelines in question pertain to the usage of the word 'Koha' in a 
company name, DBA , or domain name. Listed companies are welcome to use 
the word 'Koha' in a tag line and as part of other statements (in 
product names, for example). Community guidelines also state that the 
official Koha logos should not be used as a company logo, or as the 
favicon on a corporate website.  PTFS is currently using the logo as a 
favicon.

Hamilton-Williams explained: "Use of 'Koha' in company or domain names 
implies that one company is the 'official' support provider for the 
project or formally affiliated with the project in some way. We have 
many companies worldwide actively involved in the Koha Project, but none 
are 'the' official providers of support.  There is general respect for 
these guidelines from companies actively contributing to the project."

"PTFS has yet to participate in the community or submit a single piece 
of code or patch to the Project. They have not contributed to or 
supported the project at all," said Chris Cormack, original author of 
the Koha version 1.0, and current Translation Manager for the Project.

At this time, PTFS, Inc is not associated with the official Koha Project 
or the koha.org website in any way.

The Koha project is sustained by the tireless efforts of companies, 
libraries and individuals around the world who contribute code, 
documentation and advice.  "We welcome to the community new participants
who agree to abide by the community guidelines and who get involved in 
the collaborative development of the Project," said Joshua Ferraro, CEO 
of Liblime.

The Koha Project contributors supporting this statement (listed below) 
urge PTFS to:

*  immediately cease use of the word 'Koha' in any domain name of the 
company;

*  immediately cease use of the Koha logo as a web site favicon;

*  become involved in the Koha community (in the ways described on 
koha.org).


"Respect for the community guidelines helps the open source model of the 
project to be sustained, with benefits for all participants," Rachel 
Hamilton-Williams said.


Signatories:

Rachel Hamilton-Williams, Kaitiaki, Katipo Communications Ltd

Rosalie Blake  Head of Libraries, Horowhenua Library Trust

Irma Birchall, Director, Calyx Group Pty Limited (Australia)

Paul Poulain, BibLibre, CEO. Release Manager of Koha 2.x

Henri-Damien LAURENT, BibLibre, CTO, Release Maintainer 3.0

Galen Charlton, Koha 3.2 Release Manager; VP Research & Development, LibLime

Joshua Ferraro, CEO, LibLime; Koha 3.0 Release Manager

Chris Cormack, Release manager 1.2, Current Translation Manager

MJ Ray, Member of Turo Technology LLP, Release Maintainer 2.0

About Koha

Koha is the first open-source Integrated Library System (ILS). In use 
worldwide, its development is steered by a growing community of 
libraries collaborating to achieve their technology goals. Koha's 
impressive feature set continues to evolve and expand to meet the needs 
of its user base. Koha has lived up to its name, which means 'Gift' in 
the Maori language of New Zealand.

To learn more about the Koha project, visit: http://koha.org
-- 
Paul POULAIN
BibLibre, CEO, Release Manager of Koha 2.x
Phone: (+33) 4 91 81 35 08