DrupalConDC Drupal Association session

[This is a blog not a note on Agaric because it contains my opinion and not the elusive collective opinion... not that any of my notes have that either]

Question about why the Drupal trademark is not transferred to the Drupal association.

Dries replied:

The Drupal Association could decide tomorrow to throw me out.

If it comes to a split...

Frankly the other party should pick a new name. But there is an agreement between [the Drupal association and Dries for use of the name for the purpose of protecting it.]

End paraphrase.

I'm fine with this stance, and Dries is one of those unique individuals that really gets an extra level of trust. Unfortunately this public stance can't help but imply a lack of faith in the Drupal Association, which he is of course trying to build up for everyone. But how do you make a truly stable, democratic institution from a nongeographical base? Dries' call is good enough for me on this-- his job is to lead an open source free software project, which includes fostering the creation of institutions like the Drupal Association, but his job isn't to do all of this perfectly: holding something in reserve is a good idea.

Other questions:

What about the WordMark that the Drupal Association is paid on?
[They're still working on how that will be handled.]

Next question was getting a mission and an excitement behind it.

Jacob Redding: in events management ... A lot of our work won't be seen for a couple years. My vision is up on groups.drupal.org under events, rather than anything on the Drupal Association site.

[This is a good point about how people in the Drupal Association are actors in the community, not at any point replacements for the community.]