Contributions frozen, one summer later
July 21, 2006
Twelve months after the HP user group Interex folded, its Contributed Software Library (CSL) is not much closer to the hands of those who contributed the programs.
The CSL, once regarded as a prime benefit of corporate Interex membership, fell into the "unreleased assets" pile during the user group's 2005 bankruptcy. The volunteer curator of these programs is still taking care of them, but he doesn't believe he's got a green light yet to make the CSL — in its entirety — a public resource.
Back in 2005, OpenMPE director and former Interex SIG chair Donna Garverick was hopeful about the CSL seeing the light of a new day, or a new year at least, post-Interex. "Regarding the CSL in particular, there are several people working on making the CSL software publically available," she said. "It will take a fair amount of work to get the contributions repackaged so that they are download-friendly. However, before anything can really be made available, 3000 CSL chair Chuck Shimada wants to try to contact the contributors to get their permission to post their works."
Even with contributors contacted, a legal roadblock remains in place, Shimada told us this week.
Shimada, who's enduring a family illness recently that's reduced his volunteer time, said the bankruptcy court hasn't cleared the release of the CSL as a single entity. But he's still able to distribute individual programs — things like BOUNCER, designed to get users off a 3000 who aren't active, to free up system resources.
I still have not received the final notice from the court about Interex's assets yet. I will still make contributions available on an individual basis until the court closes the case. I don't have a system set up yet to offer the software for uncontrolled access.
There's not much blame to assign for the delay in getting the CSL back into community hands. Bankrupcies, especially those like the Interex one with thousands of people getting stiffed, can get complex. (Chris Bartram of 3k.com is among several community members ready to host these HP 3000-specific programs; here's already links and a good chunk of this "freeware" up on the 3k.com site.)
But in a better world, while the Interex managers were concerned about dismissing staff with some notice and order, someone might have proposed a way to liberate the most obvious asset of the group's volunteer spirit. Until the legal cloud clears, if you're seeking an individual CSL program, contact Shimada at [email protected]