Exactly why rebranding or returning to a former brand makes sense.

I hope that the community doesn't want to go away. There is a formidable amount of expertise collected here. It doesn't make sense for Reggie or anyone associated with this site to let it slip away. Some kind of shapeshifting is called for.

I swear, without being able to provide evidence, we are on the brink of discovering a new continent; we only have to set sail. We have to plan and (I think) raise money. We don't completely need to know the destination. However, a lot depends on the people who truly control this site. If they aren't with us, the whole idea might be impossible.

That doesn't sound as bad idea (despite many individuals blame funny name as voodoo source of problems ). With Meego CE being developed, and many meritocratic (not just rambling) discussions here about half-meego N9 taking place here, I think we're same community, or at least closer with meego that with any other "entity".

Said that, i suppose that "Meego-only" guys also known that they don't have any future with Nokia?

Also, i wonder how Linux Foundation guys see this. I don't think they're quite happy about false-open Android being main linux manifestation in mobile devices world. At least finishing Cordia project would make interesting alternative - but i doubt that this can be ported to any existing device (something like Motorola Droid, but more actual to time of Cordia release), without mess of modem/whats-not firmware closed source mess (#Fixme if I'm wrong, I'm by no means expert on such a things). That's why i thought - in longer term - about going into open pandora model, except that we *could* release tablet-phone, a N900 proper successor. Of course I'm talking about REALLY far milestone

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As for voting - normally, we voted for council members, right? So how voting between few possible, brainstormed paths, would suppose to look like? Parallel voting for candidates and roadmap, every candidate representing other roadmap, or what? Also, in such a conditions, I think council role as layer between community and Nokia need some shapeshifting

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I'm absolutely sure that, despite some harsh conversations going out on this topic, We're literally all @ same side. I would also LOVE to see cutting ties with Nokia - despite I don't agree with geneven on some parts - i like Maemo name, but if any trademark would become a problem, I don't really care about name, be it, Maemo, Meego, Cordia, ITT, or Revolutionary Tablet-Phone Rebellion

And I'm not only one who start to perceive this topic as brainstorm (or pre-brainstorm ), about possible roadmaps, right?

My comments are of the brainstorm variety -- I'm not intent on anything except survival for the essence of the site.

Is there any more details to Nokia's abandonment of maemo, especially its trademarks?

http://maemo.org/legal/terms_of_use/trademarks/

An excellent point. I don't think they would abandon the trademark, and as NOK becomes more and more MSFT-friendly and Linux-friendly people are leaving for greener pastures it is looking less and less likely that they would behave as benevolently as RedHat with the Fedora trademark for example. Perhaps we should start looking for an alternative name?

Nokia intends to use MeeGo or MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan (or something similar) from now on for its products and does not intend to use Maemo ever again. So if we become a non-profit, what will we call ourselves? Maemo Foundation? Hildon Foundation?

I think it is in our interest to defer somewhat to Nokia on the name. What's more important is that we keep maemo.org as intact as possible through any "migration". If we ask people to go to a different domain name, or if we lose content, then we will start to lose people.

Well, for one and only final product, they were unusually clear about that.

Maybe, but they still own the trademark and can do what they want with it, including changing their mind about how they allow it to be used at any time.

If we're talking about forming a foundation or any kind of separate legal entity we can't really go naming it after someone else's trademarks, can we?

Hildon's also trademarked btw, but by the bottled water company so we might (IANAL) be ok using it.

Those may or may not be real issues. I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me what on earth "the legal ownership of maemo.org was handed over to the community" means :-|

Reading this thread can be either seen as an ending... or as a beginning. Too many unanswered questions and vague verbiage are at play at this moment.

Can things be sorted and stated in a definite manner in regards to the future of this site, the future of the opened bits of Maemo, how much control will/will not be given to the community and ultimately... will InternetTabletTalk make a comeback so diversity can flourish since Nokia's rapidly abandoning both MeeGo and Maemo?

I haven't seen the contracts so I don't know for sure. What we've been told is that the contract between Nemein and Nokia (for the parts of maemo.org other than the forum) has been paid for through June 2012 and Nemein will maintain the website according to the direct instructions of Council (ignoring Nokia). So there was a "handover", but the community doesn't "own" the domain name or website as property and, in fact, can't (because the "community" itself doesn't exist as a legal entity). I have no idea of the contract with Reggie on the forum.

We are working on these issues. There is one thing that would help even before the next elections - We need a lower cost alternative to PayPal for people to make donations to maemo.org.

Also one with better reputation. After a couple of really bad experiences my money is never going through them again.

On the subject of donations, how about bitcoin? We could even have an app that computes coins when the device is idle & plugged in to a charger.