Qt, Open Source and corona

[Nate Graham]

On 4/8/20 9:32 AM, Christoph Cullmann wrote:
> On 2020-04-08 15:39, Boudewijn Rempt wrote:
>> On woensdag 8 april 2020 13:13:41 CEST Jens wrote:
>>
>>> The issue is for KDE is that we can't prepare ourselves. We can't 
>>> fork Qt,
>>> because we lack the manpower to safely do so currently.
>>
>> But if we work together with other participants in the Qt community,
>> then it might be feasible. In fact, I think it's necessary to start
>> bringing together a group of stakeholders and start preparing for a
>> fork.
> Actually, at least as the last possible option, if any further
> cooperation breaks down, I agree with this.

I strongly agree. I think the sooner we demonstrate that we are capable 
of credibly maintaining a fork with other stakeholders in the FOSS Qt 
ecosystem, the stronger of a bargaining chip it will be in our 
negotiations with TQtC, so we don't have to. And in case the 
negotiations break down and we are forced to move forward with the fork, 
our prior preparation will ensure continuity so we won't have to 
scramble at the last minute.

It's heartening that KDAB has already indicated willingness to support 
such a thing should it become necessary. Are there other Qt-using 
companies who we could reach out to? Maybe also linux distro packagers? 
Perhaps the KDE e.V. could look into hiring people to help maintain the 
fork, given the importance of Qt's code to our software.

Nate