At 11:56 AM 07-01-00 +0000, David Warnock wrote:

>Hi,
>
>Is there any more information available on IBDI for example
>
>1. Does it have a legal status - Corporation, non profit, or ? I assume
>that at present it does not. Therefore is anything planned for it or is
>it planned to be a temporary pressure group that would ideally disappear
>into the new InterBase company?

No: it is a volunteer group with no legal status. Its purpose is tactical
- to air technical and other issues relating to our becoming participants
in Interbase development from now on, and to mobilise our technical
strengths. It is one important way the community can help to make sure
that the new company's business plans and models will work. It needs to
focus on the activities of operating this venture to achieve the
improvements we all know are needed.

The web page at interbase2000.org will be activated as soon as possible.

As specific developments and needs occur, members will be kept informed to
the highest degree practicable. It is also an opportunity for groups to
form, to do specific tasks in an organised way that avoids duplication and
overlap. Leaders for these tasks are likely to emerge in the process and
the steering groups for our operational network will evolve.

It's not a list for lurkers. Anyone who really isn't interested in
offering time and sharing expertise is invited to unsubscribe. Anyone here
is welcome to recruit willing and capable individuals into the IBDI.

>2. Can you open up on the statement:
>
>"Please understand that we are not asking you for any money.
>Our buying plans are not dependent on contributions from developers."
>
>What does this mean? Are there large backers that we do not know about?
>Has anyone considered approaching Bruce Peren's new venture captital
>company for funds?

This list is not for discussing the issue of funding. Another group, with
specialties in this area, is already active and will arrange conduits for
information when Inprise's intentions become clearer.

>3. What tasks currently need doing?

Some people are already assigned. We are especially looking for people who
feel they could put their special skill areas to good use to introduce
themselves, say what they would like to be involved in and to give an
indication of the maximum hours they could devote. Others interested in
attaching to that interest area could then post their own details to that
thread and thus form a group to research and present the issue.

An role of this group will be to "seed" threads in the regular listservs
and newsgroups on topics that are surface here as being important for
Inprise to pay attention to as the scenario unfolds. If you decide to seed
a thread, it would be useful to aslo post your initial message here and to
save the thread discussion into a text file in the Files area with a name
like D_xxxxxxxx where the xx's would be replace by a keyword of the
topic. I'll create a new folder there named Threads for storing these.

Thanks for the question - it needed asking.

Helen