Haiku Distribution Guidelines Released and Development Mailing List Created (Updated)
First of all, we now have a separate development mailing list. We actually had such a list a long time ago, but it didn't work out well. We want to try it again because quite a few development issues were discussed in private which can't be an ideal solution for an open-source project. The general mailing list will from now on be used for our community and non-development discussions.
Now to the actual news: After a long and controversial discussion with the project admins we've agreed on guidelines for creating a 3rd-party Haiku-based distribution. In brief, other distributions may not use the word "Haiku" in their name and we will provide a "Haiku Compatible" logo for distributions that comply to a short list of rules that ensure binary and source compatibility. Please read the detailed guidelines for further information.
Update: Finally, we're pleased to welcome Ithamar Adema (colacoder) in the admin team. His experience and talent are a great help for us. At the same time valued long time Haiku contributor and admin team member Stefano Ceccherini (jackburton) has decided to step back from his admin position due to the little time his "real life" leaves him for Haiku. We want to thank him for his work and are glad that he will still try to continue coding.

Comments
Re: Haiku Distribution Guidelines Released and Development Maili
I'd like to thank Waldemar and the Haiku team for putting this together. It's a positive step toward defining Haiku.
I'm certain some will not agree with the guidelines and no doubt there will be updates to it as these issues are worked through.
Re: Haiku Distribution Guidelines Released and Development Maili
A very wise decision in my opinion.
Hope this will clarify/tidy up the Haiku distribution issues now and in the future. Good work!
Re: Haiku Distribution Guidelines Released and Development Maili
Can I just suggest "Haiku-based" instead of "Haiku Compatible"?
"Compatible" can mean something built entirely by someone else, while "based" gives credit where credit's due.
But I suppose this wording was the thing you argued over most :-)
Re: Haiku Distribution Guidelines Released and Development Maili
Can I just suggest "Haiku-based" instead of "Haiku Compatible"?
"Compatible" can mean something built entirely by someone else, while "based" gives credit where credit's due.
But I suppose this wording was the thing you argued over most :-)
We prefer "Haiku Compatible" because that tells people something *very important*: it's compatible. ;)
Re: Haiku Distribution Guidelines Released and Development Maili
We prefer "Haiku Compatible" because that tells people something *very important*: it's compatible. ;)
Yeah. Something can be "based on" something, and yet be incompatible with it.
Re: Haiku Distribution Guidelines Released and Development Maili
Well, really, I was making the opposite point: I'm assuming that "based on" in fact *implies* compatibility.
Surely, it would be a brave or foolish third-party distro maker who broke compatibility. But then, brave and foolish people exist, so you may be right, and I'll shut up now.