X.Org Core Purpose: Free & Open Accelerated Graphics Stack

The 2015 X.Org Elections are finally getting started tomorrow after being delayed and running close on time for responding to SPI's resolution. Just in time for the elections to start, the revised foundation by-laws have been published that shift the focus of what the X.Org Foundation is about.

Besides this election being about voting for new X.Org Foundation Board of Directors, there's also the vote whether the X.Org Foundation should dissolve its independent 501(c)3 status and become part of SPI Inc, so that SPI will manage lots of the foundation work on the back-end in exchange for some of the money, etc. As part of that, the board has needed to update the by-laws to make them compatible with the proposed new arrangement.

The revised by-laws change the X.Org Foundation from being about the "X Window System" to now being about "free and open accelerated graphics stack," given there's declining interest in the X.Org Server but a lot of focus on Mesa, Wayland, DRM/KMS, and related libraries. This is largely just a formality given that for years the X.Org Foundation has been supporting Mesa, these various sub-projects are often covered by X.Org GSoC/EVoC/OPW, etc. This is just legally expanding the scope of the foundation from just being the X Window System to now covering more of open-source graphics, with Wayland hopefully taking over the Linux desktop in the years ahead.

The main purpose now is, "Research, develop, support, organize, administrate, standardize, promote, and defend a free and open accelerated graphics stack. This includes, but is not limited to, the following projects: DRM, Mesa, Wayland and the X Window System."

The revised by-laws also take into account the necessary changes for the proposed merger with SPI.

Those wishing to see the new proposed by-laws can find them via this PDF file. In usual X.Org Foundation mismanagement fashion, the by-laws are just coming out a day ahead of the start of the elections, which allow little time for any X.Org members to question the by-laws changes, suggest alterations, etc.