I agree with Jeff and Andrew above regarding "brutal consolidation". I can see the practical fallout of the SCO lawsuit - which has the fingerprints of MS help all over it - being a slowdown of adoption of Open Source software by the timid. But the consolidation argument doesn't necessarily follow from this at all.
"Organizations will not adopt OpenACS and .LRN in mission critical environments unless they know with confidence that the software release process is predictable and well managed. This ranges from everything to an accurate and up-to-date bugtracker to clear statements and status of active projects."
While I know you've been frustrated about our release process etc, the fact is we're slowly getting better at it (largely due to Joel). On the other hand ...
"I would also like to see more involvement though among the community members in the .LRN project."
The same argument in regard to slipping schedules, at times apparent poor coordination, and general organizational ineptness that can very validly be applied to the OpenACS community and project at various times in its history (including to some extent today) can also be applied to .LRN governance and marketing.
It is true there's less obvious enthusiasm for .LRN in the OpenACS community today than there was 18 months ago, I think. It's also true that the formation of the .LRN foundation/consortium was what, a year late?
If the OpenACS community does a better job of pushing out timely releases, fixing bugs, etc the technical future of the .LRN project will be much brighter.
If the .LRN consortium, now that it exists, does a better job of meeting promises made in a timely fashion I think you'll find enthusiasm within the OpenACS community for the project and participation in the consortium as advisors, gadflies or whatever will rise again to the levels we saw 18-24 months ago.
"The challenge is greater for the .LRN community. .LRN users and institutions need to contribute and participate more in both the OpenACS and .LRN communities. We have to educate .LRN users that they need to give back more to the community: that's the spirit of open source but also required if we are going to survive."
No disagreement here, but you can't force communities to grow, you can only provide an environment favorable to their growth, IMO. If there's anything we can do to be more welcoming I'm sure you'll find a lot of people willing to help out.
