Distro Transparency Index (DTI)

Detailed Evaluation

1. Governance Transparency: 1/3

• Availability of governance documents: Partial (1 point)
• Detail of governance documents: Minimal (0 points)
• Source: TUXEDO Computers - About Us
• Note: Limited information on formal governance structure for the OS project.

2. Decision Making Transparency: 1/3

• Documented decision-making process: Partial (1 point)
• Accessibility of meeting minutes: Not Available (0 points)
• Source: TUXEDO Computers GitHub
• Note: Some decisions visible through GitHub, but formal processes not clearly documented.

3. Economic Transparency: 2/4

• Publication of financial statements: Partial (1 point)
• Detail of financial statements: Minimal (1 point)
• Source: Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette)
• Note: As a German GmbH, basic financial information is publicly filed, but detailed OS-specific financials not available.

4. Economic Accessibility: 1/4

• Access to financial reports: Limited (1 point)
• Ease of access: Difficult (0 points)
• Note: General company financials accessible through official German channels, but require effort to obtain.

5. Source Code Accessibility: 4/4

• Availability of source code: Public (2 points)
• Ease of access to source code: Easy (2 points)
• Source: TUXEDO OS GitHub Repository
• Note: Source code is fully available and easily accessible on GitHub.

6. Public Roadmap Availability: 1/3

• Public roadmap: Partial (1 point)
• Detail of roadmap: Minimal (0 points)
• Source: TUXEDO OS Page
• Note: Limited information about future plans and releases.

7. Transparency in Code Review Processes: 2/3

• Documentation of review processes: Partial (1 point)
• Transparency of review processes: High (1 point)
• Source: TUXEDO OS GitHub Pull Requests
• Note: Code review processes are visible through GitHub, but formal documentation is limited.

8. Community Participation in Development: 2/4

• Number of active contributors: Low (0 points)
• Accessibility to development processes: Easy (2 points)
• Source: TUXEDO OS GitHub Contributors
• Note: The project is open to contributions, but the core development team seems small.

9. Impact of Governance Structure on Transparency: 5/6

• Centralization of decision-making power: Partially centralized (1 point)
• Control and balance mechanisms: Strong (2 points)
• Influence of commercial entities on governance: Moderate (2 points)
• Note: While TUXEDO Computers has significant influence, they operate within the open-source framework.

Concluding Analysis

TUXEDO OS demonstrates a moderate level of transparency across the evaluated areas:

Strengths:

• Excellent accessibility of source code through GitHub.
• Open development process with visible code reviews and discussions.
• Some level of economic transparency due to German corporate reporting requirements.
• Strong control and balance mechanisms within the open-source framework.

Areas for improvement:

• More detailed governance documentation specific to the OS project.
• Increased transparency in decision-making processes for OS development.
• More detailed public roadmap for future OS developments.
• Expansion of the contributor base and community involvement in OS development.
• Clearer separation of OS project financials from overall company financials.

The score of 55.88/100 reflects TUXEDO OS's strong points in open-source development practices and corporate transparency, balanced against areas needing improvement in project-specific governance and community involvement. As a distribution developed by a commercial entity, TUXEDO OS benefits from corporate structure while facing challenges in separating project governance from company management. To improve its transparency score, the project could benefit from implementing more formal documentation of its OS-specific governance, decision-making processes, and financial management.