Section 19 ‐ Infrastructure & Operations - ApertureViewer/Aperture-Opertations-Manual GitHub Wiki

This section outlines key aspects of Aperture Viewer's operational infrastructure and its non-commercial nature.

19.1 Source Code Hosting (GitHub)

  • Primary Repository: The official and sole repository for Aperture Viewer's source code, issue tracking, releases, and primary Wiki documentation is hosted on GitHub:
    • https://github.com/ApertureViewer/Aperture-Viewer
  • Version Control: Git is used for all source code version control.

19.2 Communication Platforms

  • Official communication platforms for the project and community are detailed in Part 5, Section 14.1 (Official Support Channels), primarily including the official Discord server and GitHub.

19.3 Rationale for Not Maintaining Project-Owned Servers or Extensive Web Infrastructure

Aperture Viewer, as a volunteer-driven, non-commercial open-source project, deliberately minimizes its operational infrastructure footprint for several key reasons:

  • User Privacy and Data Minimization (GDPR Considerations):
    • By not operating project-owned servers for user authentication, data storage, metrics collection, or extensive web services that might collect user IP addresses or other personally identifiable information (PII), the project significantly reduces its exposure to and responsibility for handling user data under regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other privacy laws.
    • Our primary distribution (GitHub Releases) and communication platforms (Discord, GitHub) are managed by third parties with their own robust privacy and security infrastructures.
    • This approach aligns with our core commitment to user privacy by not actively collecting or storing user data that we do not strictly need for the viewer's client-side operation.
  • Resource Constraints (Financial and Administrative):
    • Setting up, maintaining, securing, and paying for server infrastructure and complex websites incurs significant financial costs and administrative overhead (time, expertise).
    • As a non-commercial project without dedicated funding, these resources are not available. Focusing development effort on the viewer software itself is a higher priority.
  • Security Burden: Operating servers introduces substantial security responsibilities (patching, monitoring, intrusion detection, DDoS mitigation, etc.). Minimizing this infrastructure reduces the attack surface and the security burden on the volunteer team.
  • Focus on Client-Side Software: Aperture Viewer's core purpose is to be an exceptional client application. Our development expertise and resources are best focused on enhancing the viewer software rather than on server-side operations or web development.

The project leverages established, reputable third-party platforms (GitHub, Discord) for code hosting, distribution, documentation, and community interaction, allowing us to focus on our core mission.

19.4 Financials and Non-Commercial Status

  • Strictly Non-Commercial Project: Aperture Viewer is, and will remain, a strictly non-commercial, passion-driven, open-source project.
  • Volunteer-Driven: All work on Aperture Viewer, including development, QA, community management, and leadership, is performed by unpaid volunteers.
  • No Donations Accepted: The Aperture Viewer project does not solicit or accept monetary donations, sponsorships, or any form of financial contributions. This policy is in place to:
    • Maintain the project's independence and focus on its mission without financial incentives influencing development priorities.
    • Avoid the complexities and potential legal/tax implications of handling funds.
    • Reinforce the project's commitment to being a free, open-source offering for the community.
  • No Project-Owned Financial Assets: The project does not maintain any bank accounts, financial instruments, or hold any monetary assets.
  • Costs Borne by Project Lead: Any incidental minor costs associated with the project (e.g., potential future costs for a code signing certificate if pursued, domain registration if a simple informational site were ever created) are personally borne by the Project Lead (William Weaver) and are not funded by external sources or donations.

This non-commercial, volunteer-driven model ensures that Aperture Viewer's development is guided solely by its vision to provide the best possible visual creation tools for the Second Life and OpenSim communities.