Profile: Lantern
Authors
Rationale
There are so many subjects you could choose to profile, so why did you choose this one? What drew you into wanting to know more about the organization? How did you/your group decide on and agree?
We chose the Lantern project because the project has an admirable goal and it seemed like it would be cool to learn more about how it works. Simple as that.
Organizational Details
Is the subject of your profile a corporate entity?
Yes, surprisingly! It is called the Brave New Software Project, Inc.
What type?
A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
When was it founded?
In 2010.
By whom?
Adam Fisk
Original founder(s) still active?
Yes
Publicly Traded? Since when? Initial Stock Price? Current stock price?
Not publicly traded.
Has the company made any acquisitions? If yes, which companies, and what were their core products?
No acquisitions
Has the company made any investments in other companies? If yes, which ones.
No investments
Number of Employees?
Roughly 6
Where is HQ?
N/A
Does it have any other offices or locations?
N/A
Website?
Wikipedia?
Does your organization file any annual reports? Please include links to any relevant documents (i.e. 990, Annual Report, Year in Review, etc...)
None that we could find.
Communications
Social media for Lantern
Does your subject participate in social media? If yes, please list a URL for each account, and reach within that community.
Communications channels for Lantern
What communication channels does your subject use to reach their public? Briefly describe and include a URL for each.
It honestly seems like most communication just happens on the repository issue tracker or through private emailing. There are also the [forums](Forums - https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/lantern-users-en).
Lantern Conference Participation
Does your subject organize or participate in any conferences? If so, list them here, and provide links to any relevant sessions, keynotes, or content.
Lantern does not seem to participate in any conferences.
Community Architecture
Your subject likely runs or contributes to one or more Open Source products or projects. Choose one (or more) of these and answer the following questions (provide links is applicable).
The project's IRC Channel
N/A
Source Code repository
Mail list archive
N/A
Documentation
Other communication channels
team@getlantern.org (email not mailing list)
Project Website and/or Blog
Describe the software project, its purpose and goals.
Lantern is built by the Brave New Software Project, Inc, a registered 501c3 non-profit dedicated to using software to tackle tough global challenges. Brave New Software’s founder and Lantern lead developer, Adam Fisk, was formerly a lead developer of the peer-to-peer file sharing services LimeWire and LittleShoot. While working on these P2P architectures, Adam realized they could be useful in providing unfiltered internet access.
Give brief history of the project. When was the Initial Commit? The latest commit?
The Initial Commit for the project is on July 7th, 2010. The latest commit was on May 18th, 2015.
Who approves patches? How many people?
There are 6 people who can approve of patches, though two seem to be the most active.
Who has commit access, or has had patches accepted? How many total?
Other than the 6 who can approve patches, there are only 11 other people with a history of commits to the project all together, and between them there is only around 100 commits.
Has there been any turnover in the Core Team? (i.e. has the top 20% of contributors stayed the same over time? If not, how has it changed?)
According to the github repo graphs, myleshorton has been the leader since the project started. From october 2013 on, oxtoacart has joined and contributed alot of code development. These two have since then stayed and contributed steadily as the core team members.
Does the project have a BDFL, or Lead Developer? (BDFL == Benevolent Dictator for Life)
Adam Fisk
Are the front and back end developers the same people? What is the proportion of each?
According to the commit history, it seems like the answer is yes, as there are so few commits outside of the top two contributors
What have been some of the major bugs/problems/issues that have arisen during development? Who is responsible for quality control and bug repair?
Issue Tracker. Of note is an issue with Reset not working properly and messsing with people’s ability to work the software: Issue 1841.
How is the project's participation trending and why?
Github contributor graph. It seems to have gone down as time has went on, though that has probably more to do with having less and less project critical work to do. That said, there are still several open issues and development has seemed to recently picked up again after a long hault.
In your opinion, does the project pass "The Raptor Test?" (i.e. Would the project survive if the BDFL, or most active contributor were eaten by a Velociraptor?) Why or why not?
No, from what we can tell, only 2 people have really contributed to the repo code wise, and even then the BDFL has had a lot more commits and has worked on the project way longer than the second leading contributor.
In your opinion, would the project survive if the core team, or most active 20% of contributors, were hit by a bus? Why or why not?
Probably not. If the two main contributors were removed then the project would fall, due to most of the development knowledge being lost. Also, the project is fairly new, has not left beta stage yet, and has weak documentation. These factors will only hinder the project if it tries to revive itself.
Does the project have an official "on-boarding" process in place? (new contributor guides, quickstarts, communication leads who focus specifically on newbies, etc...)
The wiki has links to a Get Involved page and other various links that will help people start contributing towards the project.
Does the project have Documentation available? Is it extensive? Does it include code examples?
The project does have documentation but it is weak, and no code samples are present other than some basic terminal / command line code to set up the project on various platforms.
If you were going to contribute to this project, but ran into trouble or hit blockers, who would you contact, and how?
I would head to the forums first as that seems to be the most active communication area.
Based on these answers, how would you describe the decision making structure/process of this group? Is it hierarchical, consensus building, ruled by a small group, barely contained chaos, or ruled by a single or pair of individuals?
The entire project is run by the BDFL Adam Fisk.
Is this the kind of structure you would enjoy working in? Why, or why not?
Hard to say, as it really doesn’t have a formal structure outside of “There is this thing to work on, someone should work on it”.
Technology/Product
Section adapted from EFF Worksheet
Who invented, created, or sponsored the technology?
The project was started by Adam Fisk.
What is the technology designed to do? How is it used?
It was designed with the intention of spreading internet to those who would normally not be able to receive it.
Who would benefit from using this technology?
People in countries with heavily censored Internet (i.e. China, Iran).
What kinds of companies or organizations (stakeholders) might have been concerned about the development of this technology? Why?
Interestingly enough, Google has stepped forward with something similar in uProxy. This was worked on collaboratively with Adam Fisk in some regard, so not quite the same thing though.
Does/Did an aspect of copyright law play a role in controversies about the technology? How?
Has been strongly opposed by China, but otherwise, mostly silent. There has been some concern over the funding coming from the State department however.
Business and Revenue Model
How was this organization funded originally?
There is no information as to how the project was originally funded.
How does this organization make revenue?
Lantern is currently making revenue via donations through their Indiegogo campaign.
Which specific Open Source Revenue Models are utilized?
What investments/acquisitions has the organization made?
No investments and no acquisitions.