# Outreach Letter: Apache Software Foundation

**Date:** 22 November 2025
**To:** Apache Software Foundation
**From:** Palimpsest Stewardship Council
**Subject:** Protecting Community Narratives and Documentation in the AI Era

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Dear Apache Software Foundation,

We write to you with deep respect for the Apache Software Foundation's commitment to community-driven development, transparent governance, and the "Apache Way" that has guided collaborative software creation for over two decades.

## The Palimpsest License: Protecting Creative Works in Open Communities

The **Palimpsest License** addresses an emerging challenge for open source communities: how to protect the narrative, cultural, and educational content that surrounds software projects whilst maintaining code openness. As generative AI systems increasingly train on public repositories, they consume not just code but documentation, community discussions, and the collective knowledge that makes projects successful.

## Apache Projects and Cultural Heritage

Apache projects embody more than code—they represent:

1. **Community Knowledge** – Extensive documentation, tutorials, and architectural decision records that preserve collective wisdom.

2. **Cultural Identity** – Project names, community traditions, governance practices, and the "Apache Way" itself constitute cultural heritage.

3. **Educational Materials** – Guides, examples, and explanations that help newcomers understand not just what code does, but why design decisions were made.

4. **Collaborative Narratives** – Mailing list archives, issue discussions, and commit histories that tell the story of community problem-solving.

These elements are increasingly extracted by AI training systems without preserving their cultural context, attribution, or connection to the communities that created them.

## How Palimpsest Complements Apache Licensing

The Apache License 2.0 is excellent for software. Palimpsest addresses adjacent needs:

### For Code
**Apache License 2.0** – Permissive, widely adopted, well-understood.

### For Documentation and Community Content
**Palimpsest License** – Protects:
- **Emotional lineage** in architectural decision records
- **Cultural context** in community governance documents
- **Symbolic attribution** for collective knowledge
- **AI training consent** for narrative explanations

### Dual Licensing Example
```
my-apache-project/
├── src/              # Code under Apache 2.0
├── docs/             # Documentation under Palimpsest
└── community/        # Governance docs under Palimpsest
```

## Key Palimpsest Features Relevant to Apache Communities

### 1. Informed Consent for AI Training
Requires explicit permission before documentation and community narratives can be used to train AI systems, ensuring communities control how their collective knowledge is commodified.

### 2. Metadata Preservation
Mandates that attribution and cultural context cannot be stripped from derivatives—protecting the connection between documentation and the communities that created it.

### 3. Symbolic Attribution
Enables credit that acknowledges:
- Community authorship (not just individual contributors)
- Cultural practices and governance models
- Collective decision-making processes

### 4. Quantum-Proof Traceability
Implements synthetic lineage tags that ensure attribution persists through AI-generated derivatives and future technological changes.

## Legal Framework and Governance

Palimpsest operates under Dutch law (primary jurisdiction) with Scottish court enforcement, using a bilingual (Dutch/English) framework that balances European legal standards with global accessibility.

The **Palimpsest Stewardship Council** governs through transparent, consensus-driven processes that will feel familiar to Apache communities accustomed to meritocratic, community-oriented governance.

## Proposed Collaboration Opportunities

We would welcome ASF's perspective and potential collaboration in the following areas:

### 1. Best Practices for Dual Licensing
Developing guidance for Apache projects on:
- When code licenses (Apache 2.0) suffice for all project assets
- When separate licensing for documentation may be appropriate
- How to implement dual licensing without creating confusion
- SPDX metadata for mixed-license projects

### 2. Community Knowledge Protection
Exploring how Apache communities can:
- Protect collective wisdom in documentation
- Maintain cultural context in architectural records
- Control AI training on community narratives
- Preserve attribution in knowledge derivatives

### 3. AI Training Transparency
Collaborating on positions regarding:
- AI systems training on Apache project repositories
- Attribution requirements for AI-generated documentation
- Consent mechanisms for using community knowledge
- Cultural preservation in synthetic content

### 4. Governance Models
Sharing insights on community-driven stewardship, learning from ASF's decades of experience with the "Apache Way" and consensus-based decision-making.

### 5. Educational Resources
Creating materials that help open source communities understand:
- Licensing options for different project assets
- Protecting community cultural heritage
- Balancing openness with appropriate attribution
- AI training considerations for documentation

## Invitation to Dialogue

We recognise that ASF's primary mission concerns software development and project incubation. We seek ASF's wisdom as Apache communities navigate the complexities of AI training on open repositories, and we welcome opportunities to learn from your governance experience.

Would you be available for a conversation regarding these themes? We are flexible regarding format and timing, and would be honoured to present these ideas to relevant Apache communities or working groups.

## Contact Information

**Palimpsest Stewardship Council**
Email: [contact information to be provided]
Repository: https://github.com/[repository-path]
Documentation: [documentation URL]

Thank you for your consideration. The Apache Software Foundation has demonstrated that community-driven governance and permissive licensing can enable global collaboration. We aspire to extend those principles to protecting the cultural heritage and collective knowledge that makes open source communities thrive.

With deep respect for the Apache Way,

**The Palimpsest Stewardship Council**

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## Appendices Available Upon Request

- Full text of Palimpsest License v0.4 (English and Dutch)
- Dual licensing strategies for software + documentation
- Technical specifications for metadata and attribution
- Case studies: Community knowledge protection
- Governance framework aligned with Apache-style consensus
