Throughout the Manifesto, we frequently refer to ourselves in the
first person, and we also refer to several organizations and domains
that are in some way related to the LEAP protocols. The question may
be asked, who exactly are ``we''? Who are the authors of the
Manifesto, and what is their relationship to the organizations
involved in the development of LEAP? Who owns LEAP? In this section we
provide the answers to these questions.
- Mohsen Banan.
- Mohsen Banan is the principal editor of The
LEAP Manifesto; he is also the author of many of its component
articles. Several other authors also wrote and/or contributed material
to certain component articles; these are acknowledged in the
appropriate articles. First-person references throughout the Manifesto
refer to the principal editor, Mr. Banan.
Mr. Banan is also the president of Neda Communications, Inc. He is
also the president and a board member of the Free Protocols
Foundation.
- Neda Communications, Inc.
- Neda Communications, Inc. is a
private, for-profit company located in Bellevue, WA. Neda provides
consulting services and develops products and services relating to
wireless data communications.
Neda has independently led the development of the LEAP protocol
specifications since 1997. Neda has also developed a comprehensive set
of software implementations of the LEAP protocols, which it intends to
subject to the GNU Public License and make freely available.
- The LEAP Protocols.
- The design and development of the LEAP
protocols was primarily carried out by several engineers working at
Neda Communications, Inc. The development effort was led and
coordinated by Mohsen Banan. RFC-2188 was published jointly by Neda
and AT&T personnel. RFC 2524 was published individually by Mohsen
Banan. As the primary author of both RFCs, patent-free declarations
for both protocols were made by Mohsen Banan and on behalf of Neda.
No one owns the LEAP protocols. The protocol specifications reside
entirely in the public domain.
- The LEAP Forum.
- The LEAP Forum is a clearing house for
information and pointers relating to the LEAP protocols. The LEAP
Forum is not a standards organization, it is not a legal entity of any
kind, and it is not a membership organization. The LEAP Forum
maintains a mailing list for the free interchange of information and
commentary regarding the LEAP protocols. Any interested person or
organization may subscribe to the mailing list. The LEAP Forum website
and mailing list are presently hosted by Neda equipment and network
resources, and managed by Neda personnel.
For more information, visit the LEAP Forum website at
http://www.leapforum.org/.
- ESRO.org and EMSD.org.
- ESRO.org and EMSD.org are open
organizations for the development and maintenance of the ESRO and EMSD
protocols respectively. Neither organization is a standards
organization, nor a legal entity of any kind, nor a membership
organization. They are simply forums to allow information exchange and
cooperative effort relating to the LEAP protocols and technology.
Both organizations maintain several mailing lists, to which any
interested person or organization may subscribe. The ESRO and EMSD
websites and mailing lists are presently hosted by Neda equipment and
network resources, and managed by Neda personnel.
In particular, each organization hosts a Working Group mailing list
for active development of the corresponding protocol. Mohsen Banan is
the current chairperson of both Working Groups, with responsibility
for coordinating the Working Group development effort.
For complete information, visit the
appropriate website at either
http://www.esro.org/
or
http://www.emsd.org/.
- Free Protocols Foundation.
- The Free Protocols Foundation is a
non-profit organization whose mission is to prevent the inclusion of
patented components within protocols. The FPF has established a set of
policies and procedures for protocol development that is designed to
ensure that the resulting protocol is patent-free. The LEAP protocols
conform fully to these policies and procedures. Free Protocols
Foundation board members include Mohsen Banan and Richard Stallman.
For more information see the Free Protocols Foundation website at
http://www.FreeProtocols.org.
