European Open Source Society?

I’m interested. Please, keep me posted.

I’ll do. Thanks for the interest.

Hi Stephan! Hi Tom!

I believe there is a need for an European-level open source professional organization, focussed on software developers (ISV).

See for instance what we started 7 years ago with the (now defunct) Eurolinux Alliance:

http://web.archive.org/web/20000815093038/http://www.eurolinux.org/

“The EuroLinux Alliance for a Free Information Infrastructure is an open coalition of commercial companies and non-profit associations united to promote and protect a vigourous European Software Culture based on Open Standards, Open Competition and Open Source Software such as Linux. Corporate members or sponsors of EuroLinux develop or sell software under free, semi-free and non-free licenses for operating systems such as GNU/Linux, MacOS or Windows.”

(Of course, now the focus should be more on open source and open standards, and less on Linux).

See also this page:

http://web.archive.org/web/20040830121253/www.eurolinux.org/members/index.en.html

for national open source organization that were part of the alliance at the time:

French Speaking Association of Users of Linux and Free Software,
Association Pour la Recherche en Informatique Libre,
Associazione Software Libero,
Europe-Shareware.org,
Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure,
German Unix User Group,
Asociación de Usuarios Españoles de GNU/Linux,
Ενωση Χρηστων και Φιλων Λινοuξ Ελλαδας,
ANSOL.org,
Electronic Frontier Finland,
Association pour les Libertés Électroniques,
Linux-Verband,
SSLUG.dk,
Verein zur Förderung Freier Software,
Vereniging Open Source Nederland,
LiLux — Linux User Group of Luxembourg.

Cheers,

S.

It’s an interesting idea indeed. There are some (mostly embryonic) structures in France, but the European dimension is missing and is the key to a viable solution.
Like Tom said, keep us posted.

@Stefane: I think the focus should stay on the developer and open source :-)

I’ll keep you posted here.