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

[Lucena, Ivan]

Bruce,

That sounds like removing the "F" from FOSS or should I say, that is a 
bazaar inside a cathedral. :)

Seriously now, IMHO, as an FOSS contributor and a commercial software 
developer that uses FOSS, I believe that there is a complicated process 
of getting to the point to embrace a FOSS initiative and that statement 
does not help it at all. Where are the decisions made, in public 
e-mail-lists or in a cabinet? What about election and cabinet change?

I am not saying that a government agency can't be the incubator of a 
*F*OSS, there are numerous successful example out there, but the 
governance of the project matter a lot. "If you love your OSS project 
set it free".

Best regards,

Ivan


Bruce.Bannerman at dpi.vic.gov.au wrote:
> 
> 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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