Without a single, overarching purpose, community fragmentation is unavoidable. And that doesn't necessary have to be a "bad" thing either. A profound change in ultimate purpose is often a signal to the community that it's time for each individual to ask what attracted them in the first place.

For me, it was the hardware. Forget cell phones-- I found the idea of a portable full-fledged computer intoxicating. So when as a Nokia engineer I was empowered to help make such a thing successful, I was in hardware heaven.

I came to this community as a bridge between Nokia and a motley collection of enthusiasts. Same with Quim and others. I won't speak for them, but I stayed even after my employment ended because I still believed there was potential in Maemo devices. The shift to MeeGo was a struggle to process but once I bought in, it made sense to see that as the logical place to be. But again, my focus was on hardware. With the N9/N950 being ostensibly orphaned, the most logical place for me to go next was http://opentablets.org to support the Vivaldi. (Note that, as a Nokia Developer Champion, I'm in the unique position of not knowing anything about Meltemi but being forbidden to speculate about it).

It may actually be useful to fragment Maemo resources, directing them where they're determined to be most useful. Or maybe not, depending on events that, unfortunately and ironically, are planned behind closed doors.

Given the current state of uncertainty, community leaders making strong demands or decisions seems premature to me. I realize how crazy that sounds, since the uncertainty has lasted so long. After all I suggested that the exiting council be the one that worked with Nokia on a wind-down or transition plan for this place.

And speaking of places-- for many, the forum is IT. This IS the Maemo community in a very real sense. There's a rich legacy here that isn't easily transported. We knew that going into MeeGo and saw it proven. So I don't expect even the forum at opentablets to be a magic bullet-- but on the other hand, if enough passionate people relocated there, I daresay we could easily replicate the Maemo forum experience. After all, THAT is what made this forum a community: YOU. Collectively.

Participants here need to figure out what Maemo means or meant to them, and what they're looking for now and in the future. That will naturally be answered in many ways, and each individual needs to think about what he/she is looking for here to determine if they're even in the "right" place now and going forward.