[Grants] Inquiry regarding a possible application from CAcert

[Brian McCullough]

On Tue, Oct 23, 2018 at 12:39:19PM +1100, Linux Australia President wrote:
> Hi Brian,

Good afternoon, Kathy,


> Thanks for reaching out and for your enquiry.
> 
> The main question I'd have here, with no offence or disrespect intended, is
> whether CAcert as an organisation still has relevance given the rise of
> Let's Encrypt, which is also open source. While CAcert has in the past
> provided a very valuable service, the need for a self-signed cert now that
> LE is available is less present.

It is nice to hear from someone who is familiar with CAcert.


That is a question that we have been struggling with, as well.  However,
we feel that, if we can find a way to present our case properly, we can
show that the Identification and Authentication factors provided by
CAcert, as well as the fact that we are providing Client Certificates,
as well as the Server Certificates that LetsEncrypt provides, may tip
the balance in our favour.

However, an this is the big question, do the people that we are trying
to reach actually understand the value of Certificates that are
properly identified and tied to real people, or does their concept of
security extend only to the extent that some of the world's governments
ideas of airline and airport security do?

Do we "settle" for only those people who are already convinced that
e-mail and Internet security is a "good thing," or do we try to reach
the masses?


> Does CAcert in Australia or internationally have a strategic plan we could
> look at?

I wouldn't go as far as "a plan," yet, but yes, that is something that
we recognise as needed, and are actively pursuing.


> That would allow us to get a clearer picture of where the organisation is
> going, how it aligns with the broader open source ecosystem and so on - and
> then we'll be better placed to advise whether pursuing a grant is going to
> be a useful course.

Thank you for your very useful comments.  They will give us definite
grist to chew on, to mix several metaphors.


> Kind regards,
> Kathy


Thank you,
Brian