Welcome to the Clean Software Alliance

Sustainable, consumer-friendly practices

Establishment and enforcement of guidelines

Preserving user choice and user control

Economically sustainable software distribution

The Clean Software Alliance (CSA) is a champion of sustainable, consumer-friendly practices within the software distribution ecosystem.

The CSA works to advance the interests of the software development community through the establishment and enforcement of guidelines, policies and technology tools that balance the software industry’s needs while preserving user choice and user control.

A 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association, the CSA works inclusively across its constituents of online security vendors, software distribution & monetization firms, installer platform companies, browser providers, computer platform developers and third party certification companies to find consumer-friendly solutions to the challenges of economically sustainable software distribution.

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Updates

Update #7

By admin

The CSA has kept quite busy these first two months of 2016, with a primary focus on reconciling all of the comments received from industry on the Draft Guidelines. The Guidelines Sub-Committee held a series of conference calls to fulfill its mandate, and a final set.

The Guidelines Sub-Committee held a series of conference calls to fulfill its mandate, and a final set of recommendations will be forwarded to the CSA Taskforce in due course. This does mean that our self-imposed “deadline” of late January/early February for finalization of the Guidelines has been missed, but this is largely due to the near doubling of the original allotment of time for Sub-Committee discussion. This conscious decision ensured all Sub-Committee members could be heard, and all comments could be given due review and consideration. On a personal note, I am thrilled to report that all members of the Sub-Committee conducted themselves admirably, remaining respectful of differing opinions, and ensuring the process was a true collaboration. I thank them again for their service to the CSA.

We have also continued our conversations and brainstorming with many industry members, and remain thrilled to see that industry involvement and engagement are extremely high. We welcome new and continued involvement and participation from all industry members and consumer groups in the different activities of the CSA.

Turning to some specific topics of particular import:

CSA Event:

A very frequent topic of inquiry is when the next official CSA meeting will take place. Planning is, in fact underway, and we are trying to sort out some logistical matters, including location and venue(s). With the last meeting having taken place in Prague, we are leaning towards a U.S. location for the next event. We are aware of, and sensitive to all participants’ need to plan and prepare in advance, and so we are aiming to finalize the details as soon as possible. We can advise that, at this time, we are looking at June 14 through 16 as the likely dates. We hope to announce final dates/location/details within the next week or two.

Early Supporters:

We wish to welcome those new Early Supporters that have joined over the past couple of months, and again thank all of our Early Supporters for their continued support and willingness to get involved. Very soon we will be announcing some calls and programs whose participation will be limited to Early Supporters (in addition to Sub-Committee and Pilot Program eligibility). To get more information about the Early Supporter Program please visit: http://www.cs-alliance.org/#!early-supporters/fupp2, or feel free to submit any question you have by email to: [email protected].

CSA as Facilitator of Cross-Industry Communication:

From its inception, the CSA has stood for increased communication by and among industry members with the belief that facilitating and increasing the flow of communications between and among industry members will improve the overall ecosystem (and, in so doing, saving time and resources for all parties involved). In furtherance of this goal, we will soon roll out a liaison service to assist in bringing specific industry members together, upon request (again, directly or if/when necessary, with the CSA itself as an intermediary). We will publish details once this service becomes operational, likely after a test with Early Supporters.

Feedback and Involvement

Finally, we encourage you to stay involved and to continually channel your feedback to CSA via the website (www.cs-alliance.org) or via email at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Adam Agensky
CEO, Clean Software Alliance

Update #6

By admin

Over the past number of weeks we have continued working hard on establishing the CSA’s infrastructure and executing on many of the principles and action plans we have discussed throughout the past few months.

We have been brainstorming with many industry participants, and the continued outpouring of support and enthusiasm for what the CSA can and will accomplish is nothing short of amazing. We are thrilled to see that industry involvement and engagement are extremely high and we hope to hear from even more participants in the coming weeks. All industry members and consumer groups are welcome and encouraged to be involved and participate in the different activities of the CSA.

Some specific highlights:

Website
The CSA is happy to announce that our “V1” website is now live and available at: www.cs-alliance.org. Some parts are still in progress, so please keep checking back to see the evolution of the site.

Guidelines
We remind you that commentary period on the Official Draft Guidelines ends on December 31, 2015. You may access the guidelines here or from the website, where you can also submit your feedback. Following this Commentary Period will be a Reconciliation Period for up to 30 days.

Sub Committees, Working Groups
We will be activating two initial sub-committees and one working group in the coming few weeks. These are: the Guidelines Sub-committee; Enforcement Co. Selection Committee and Taggant Implementation Working Group. Working Groups will be open to all industry members; sub-committee participation is initially available only to Taskforce members and Early Supporters (information about becoming an early supporter may be found below). If you are interested in being included in the Taggant Implementation Working Group, or if you are an Early Supporter and want to be considered for participation on the Guidelines Sub-Committee or Enforcement Co. Selection Committee, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. Each group will be led by a Taskforce member, and will have unique deliverables and expectations.

Early Supporters
We would like to again thank all of those companies who have shown their support by becoming Early Supporters of the CSA. We encourage all industry members to consider whether becoming an Early Supporter is right for them. As we have mentioned, two primary benefits of the program include eligibility to join sub-committees as they are formed, and eligibility to participate in pilot programs conducted by theCSA. Early Supporters will also be included in any list published by the CSA of its Early Supporters. Finally, your Early Supporter contribution ($10,000.00 min) will be deducted from future membership fees. The Early Supporter Acknowledgement Form and payment details may be downloaded from here.

All told, 2015 was a pivotal year for the CSA and we are exiting the year with great support and momentum. That said, there is a LOT to do in 2016, and I am incredibly excited about tackling all that is to come.

On behalf of myself and the entire CSA Taskforce, I want to wish everybody warm holiday wishes and a very happy new year!

Sincerely,
Adam Agensky
CEO, Clean Software Alliance

Update #5

By admin

Just a few weeks ago we held our Launch! Conference in Prague. The turnout was very impressive, with well over 100 industry members participating from all parts of our ecosystem. Those in attendance contributed greatly through thoughtful and engaged participation.

During the Launch Conference we talked through certain provisions of the Official Draft Guidelines. We are very pleased to now publish these Draft Guidelines for the industry’s consideration. You may access the Official Draft Guidelines byclicking here. The period from now through December 31, 2015 will constitute a Commentary Period, during which we hope to receive feedback from the community. Following this Commentary Period will be a Reconciliation Period for up to 30 days. Upon conclusion of the Reconciliation Period we will publish the Official CSA Guidelines. All Guidelines comments should be submitted to [email protected].

Also discussed at the Launch Conference was the Early Supporter Program, which was initiated over the Summer when we met with attendees of Affiliate Summit East in New York. The Early Supporter Program represents a way for industry members to contribute to the CSA and help ensure it meets its funding needs during this period while we are finalizing our governance and membership structures. Two primary benefits of the program include eligibility to join sub-committees as they are formed, and eligibility to participate in pilot programs conducted by the CSA. Early Supporters will also be included in any list published by the CSA of its Early Supporters. In addition, your Early Supporter contribution ($10,000.00 min) will be deducted from future membership fees. While the Program was originally conceived as a limited one, with a maximum number of participants, we have decided to open it up for all interested parties due to the sheer volume of inquiries and overwhelming interest. The Early Supporter Acknowledgement Form and payment details may be downloaded from here.

With regards to sub-committees, we will be establishing sub-committees on a rolling, as-needed basis. We will message all Early Supporters in advance of a sub-committee’s formation to solicit volunteers for participation. We will then communicate the members of each sub-committee to the industry at large. The first sub-committees will be established in the coming weeks, so Early Supporters should keep an eye out for updates.

It has been a long journey to get to this point, and the support we continue to enjoy from across the industry is tremendous. I and the entire Taskforce are extremely excited for what’s to come.

Sincerely,

Adam Agensky
CEO, Clean Software Alliance