Fedora website, Red Hat, copyright notices and FPCA

[Richard Fontana]

On Mon, Jun 27, 2011 at 10:20:22PM +0530, Rahul Sundaram wrote:
> On 06/27/2011 09:48 PM, Tom Callaway wrote:
> > Red Hat really likes that splash. I would prefer it remain.
> 
> Ironically,  when opensource.com was about to be launched,  I was
> suggesting that splash in the first place but I am not sure putting up
> that splash on fedoraproject.org gives the right impression.  
> Would someone explain what that really means in this context?  

Tom, when you say "Red Hat really likes that splash", do you
specifically mean that Red Hat likes the phrase "A Red Hat Community
Project" (which I see only one other non-Fedora usage of throughout
the universe of public-facing Red Hat-associated open source-related
activities, probably a case of Fedora website emulation), or is it
more the general idea of a prominent non-footer display of the
Shadowman logo?  I suppose we should perhaps separate those two
issues, though they are related. 

I am now going to put on my Legal hat and say that it bothers me as a
Red Hat lawyer that you have something on the top with Red Hat's
corporate logo saying "A Red Hat Community Project", and then at the
bottom you have a disclaimer stating quite specifically that

   The Fedora Project is maintained and driven by the community. This
   is a community maintained site. Red Hat is not responsible for
   content.

The two things seem potentially to be in conflict. I very much think
the latter disclaimer is correct and must remain, but then the former
(the top-right splash) seems to misleadingly diminish its
force. Actually, it's not even just the disclaimer. The preceding part
of that, "The Fedora Project is maintained and driven by the
community" contradicts "<SHADOWMAN> A Red Hat Community Project". 

Why not replace <SHADOWMAN> A Red Hat Community Project with something
prominent at the top saying "Sponsored by <SHADOWMAN redhat logo>, if
you must have anything?  In effect, move up the sponsorship
acknowledgement at the bottom to the top? 

Otherwise, can the Fedora Project please explain to the public what "A
Red Hat Community Project" means, so that everyone's clear?  I did
some research and determined that "A <FOR-PROFIT CORPORATE NAME>
Community Project" is not a standard phrase used in open source or
even the technology industry generally. I can honestly tell you that I
have no idea what "A Red Hat Community Project" is.

- Richard