[OSGeo-Discuss] Does Open Source need a supervisory government body?

[Bruce.Bannerman at dpi.vic.gov.au]

IMO:


Sorry for the inflamatory subject heading. I'm hoping to get a few bites 
with my fishing...



I'm currently reviewing a high level government strategy paper (in draft) 
and intend submitting a formal response.

I'd like to see some discussion on the subject by my respected colleagues 
prior to making the submission.


The gist of the comment in the draft strategy is something like:

"Open Source approaches to software development will be most effective if 
some form of central authority undertakes the role of verifying 
contributions and providing quality control."




My initial reaction and response to this is something like:

"This is a misreading of how Open Source works. 

Successful Open Source Projects typically have software of superior 
quality. This is usually due to there being many developers who have 
access to the software for QA purposes.

Any attempt to impose a central authority from outside of Open Source 
projects would be rebuffed vigorously and result in a probably 
irrepairable relationship between that party and the project(s) involved.

The most successful centralised Open Source authority is probably the 
Apache Foundation (http://www.apache.org/) which is behind a wide range of 
projects including the Apache Web Server, probably the most widely used 
Web Server on the Internet. The Foundation pioneered the concept of 
'Meritocracy', where people earn respect and are given greater 
responsibility for projects based on their past contributions and 'merit'. 
The Foundation grew from within the Project. It was not imposed on the 
Project. They have developed an enviable reputation for spawning, 
incubating and fostering robust Open Source Projects that routinely 
produce high quality software.

Nearly two years ago, an organisation called the Open Source Geospatial 
Foundation (OSGEO,  http://www.osgeo.org/) was formed based on the Apache 
ethos, to provide similar support for Open Source Spatial applications. 
They currently have a number of prominent spatial projects in Incubation 
with a number of other equally capable projects waiting for the next 
vacancy for incubation."


OK, over to you. I'm interested in all points of view on this issue.


Bruce Bannerman






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