[Board] FOSS, OSGeo, FOSS4G and OSGeoLive 13

[Jody Garnett]

Brian I had a review of the osgeo incubation page text on this subject and
have revised to the following:

> OSGeo respects projects that have chosen to go beyond an "open source"
starting point and embrace "free software" ideals.  While not required for
participation we recognize this level of commitment and offer "free
software" projects our full support.

Does this match the balance of respect and support for free software you
are seeking?
--
Jody Garnett


On Mon, 19 Aug 2019 at 08:54, Brian M Hamlin <maplabs at light42.com> wrote:

> Dear Board of OSGeo, Project Steering Committee members, stakeholders, all
> --
>
>   *FOSS4G 2019* in Bucarest, Romania (one week from today) shows many,
> very positive signs, in particular for OSGeo dot org.  FOSS4G 2019 is a
> renewed opportunity for OSGeo dot org to build recognition and respect
> among a crowded and often competitive tech foundation world.
>
>   The spotlight is ready to shine on OSGeo dot org, and I ask the Board
> and stakeholders, to *renew their commitments* to support *both* the *OSI*
> definition of Free Software and also, the *GPL* in its various forms
> [0].
>
>  In the OSGeoLive Overview Presentation, the opening slide says :
>
>   "OSGeoLive -- an Open Source, Geospatial GNU/Linux Distribution"
>
> (it may be that there are legal assertions by the GNU / Free Software
> Foundation that affect this wording)  This line could be misunderstood to
> say, that OSGeoLive is a GPL project (!)  In contrast, the Debian project
> -- ironically not recognized by the Free Software Foundation [1] -- has
> very strict rules on publication contents, which are not always friendly to
> some OSI definitions. The contents and inclusion guidelines for OSGeoLive
> are *not the same *as the Debian project [2].
>
>   I believe that there is wide agreement within OSGeo dot org community
> that both GPL and OSI definitions of software license have their places,
> and that it is worthwhile to make sure that partners and critics know that
> both approaches have a long-term support with OSGeo, and on OSGeoLive Linux.
>
>   thanks and best regards from Berkeley, California        --Brian M Hamlin
>
> [0] OSS is typically defined as software that can be accessed, used,
> modified, and shared by anyone. OSS is often distributed under licenses
> that comply with the definition of “Open Source” provided by the Open
> Source Initiative <https://opensource.org/osd> or meet the definition of
> “Free Software” provided by the Free Software Foundation
> <https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html>.
>
> [1] https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.en.html
>
> [2] https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/
>
>
>
>
>
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