Distro Transparency Index (DTI)

Detailed Evaluation

1. Governance Transparency: 3/3

• Availability of governance documents: Yes (1 point)
• Detail of governance documents: Detailed (2 points)
• Source: openSUSE Guiding Principles

2. Decision Making Transparency: 3/3

• Documented decision-making process: Yes (1 point)
• Accessibility of meeting minutes: Public (2 points)
• Sources: openSUSE Board, openSUSE Board Meetings

3. Economic Transparency: 2/4

• Publication of financial statements: Partial (1 point)
• Detail of financial statements: Partial (1 point)
• Note: openSUSE operates primarily through contributions and donations, without traditional financial reports. Information on sponsors is available.
• Source: openSUSE Sponsors

4. Economic Accessibility: 2/4

• Access to financial information: Partial (1 point)
• Ease of access: Moderate (1 point)
• Note: While detailed financial reports are not available, information on sponsorships and the Geeko Foundation is accessible.

5. Source Code Accessibility: 4/4

• Availability of source code: Public (2 points)
• Ease of access to source code: Easy (2 points)
• Source: openSUSE Build Service

6. Public Roadmap Availability: 2/3

• Public roadmap: Yes (1 point)
• Detail of roadmap: Partial (1 point)
• Source: openSUSE Roadmap

7. Transparency in Code Review Processes: 3/3

• Documentation of review processes: Yes (1 point)
• Transparency of review processes: High (2 points)
• Source: openSUSE Development

8. Community Participation in Development: 4/4

• Number of active contributors: High (2 points)
• Accessibility to development processes: Easy (2 points)
• Source: openSUSE Contributors

9. Impact of Governance Structure on Transparency: 4/6

• Centralization of decision-making power: Partially decentralized (1 point)
• Control and balance mechanisms: Strong (2 points)
• Influence of commercial entities on governance: Moderate (1 point)

10. Responsiveness to Transparency Requests: 25/25

• Response to request: Complete and timely (15 points)
• Quality of information provided: Detailed and useful (10 points)

Additional Information

The openSUSE project operates on a unique model based on contributions and donations of equipment, services, and support. Key points:

• No traditional financial reports due to the nature of the project's funding structure.
• Costs and expenditures are not fully transparent to the community, as they are often covered through various contributions.
• The project is supported by various sponsors, including companies that contribute equipment, services, and support.
• The Geeko Foundation now provides a mechanism for managing certain funds, such as those from the Google Summer of Code program.

For more information on sponsors and the Geeko Foundation, visit:

• openSUSE Sponsors
• Geeko Foundation

Concluding Analysis

openSUSE demonstrates a high level of transparency in most areas, with some unique characteristics in its economic structure:

• Excellent governance transparency and community participation.
• Strong source code accessibility and development processes.
• Economic transparency is limited by the project's structure, but efforts are made to provide information on sponsorships and support.
• The establishment of the Geeko Foundation represents a step towards more formalized financial management.

The score of 91.76/100 reflects openSUSE's strong commitment to transparency in most areas, while acknowledging the unique challenges posed by its funding and support model. The project's responsiveness and detailed explanation of its structure have significantly contributed to this high score.