The NetBSD core group seeks to document several aspects of the NetBSD
project: what we're trying to accomplish, how we're going to bring it
about, and in what organizational form we want to see that happen.

This Mission Statement puts on record the project's goals and addresses
the key points of the role of the NetBSD core group. It focusses on the
general framework that is to be maintained for the project to be successful.

Further arrangements concerning access to the NetBSD source code repository
will be presented shortly.


Paul Kranenburg --- NetBSD Core Group


================
The NetBSD Project is the collective volunteer effort of a large group
of people, to produce a freely available and redistributable
UNIX-like operating system. NetBSD is based on a variety of free
software, including 4.4BSD Lite from the University of California, Berkeley.

The goals of the NetBSD project are:

	* to provide a research platform on which experiments with new
	  software technology can be easily performed.

	* to provide a stable, reliable operating system for production use,
	  adhering to major official and de facto industry standards,
	  while maintaining its disposition as a traditional BSD system.

	* to port the system to many more platforms and at the same time
	  convert more code to be machine-independent.

	* to provide binary compatibility with existing operating systems
	  on platforms for which such is a viable option.

	* to keep the system free of encumbering licenses.


The NetBSD core group is responsible for setting up and maintaining an
adequate organisational structure to accomplish these goals. The following
sections will detail some of the core group's key tasks.


maintaining architectural integrity
	The NetBSD core group serves the function as "system architect"
	and is responsible for ensuring that the internal structure and
	subsystems are well-designed, skillfully implemented, and documented.
	The core group is responsible for evaluating proposed architectural
	changes and for making sure that new subsystems adhere to these
	requirements.


coordination of development efforts
	The NetBSD core group acts as a general clearinghouse for the
	coordination of various development efforts. This includes
	arrangements to set up "working groups" to which is delegated
	the job of completing certain well-defined tasks.
	A primary example of this are the groups and individuals porting
	NetBSD to numerous hardware platforms.

	The NetBSD mailing-lists which are maintained by the core
	group are an important vehicle to assist coordination of
	development and smooth integration of the ensuing contributions.

	The core group will see to it that a proper infrastructure is
	maintained to implement these vital links with users and developers.


maintaining contacts with third parties.
	The NetBSD core group promotes the distribution of NetBSD by
	independent software publishers, and generally nurture
	people's interest in the system.

	Efforts will be made to encourage hardware/software manufacturers
	to arrange for their products to be functional in a NetBSD system.

	Also, associations with other non-commercial software developers will
	be actively explored, including research groups that might want to
	use NetBSD as a base platform for their pilot projects, etc.


representation
	The members of the NetBSD core group are the official representatives
	of the NetBSD project. But it should be noted that other individuals
	(most notably the `port-masters') working on the NetBSD project will
	easily acquire a de facto representative status as they progress in
	enhancing quality of the system.  The core group expects that anyone
	who has apparently contracted such a status will handle it with the
	well-being of the project in mind.