[OSGeo-Discuss] presenting open source software or open source projects

[Hogan, Patrick (ARC-PX)]

Jody,

Yes, this is a great and truly elemental ^concept^ for how we consider and name our efforts, so that they might be best appreciated by a welcoming world.

Just for an added alternative, and not to suggest that the discussion shouldn’t remain software vs projects, but how about the word ‘enterprise’? Not sure if this might be a real consideration or something just to toss out there and toss away.

The word project seems more definitive than the word software, and the word enterprise, though grand, may be too grandiose.

Open Source Projects
Open Source Software
Open Source Enterprise (or even Enterprises)

-Patrick

From: Discuss [mailto:discuss-bounces at lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Jody Garnett
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2017 3:03 PM
To: OSGeo Discussions
Subject: [OSGeo-Discuss] presenting open source software or open source projects

I would like to bring to discuss a question that we are struggling with for the website/rebranding - do we present "open source software" or "open source projects"?

This is not an easy answer, as the earlier discussion on this list did not know how to recognize projects doing a rewrite (example OL2 --> OL3, or project teams expanding and developing additional software components like QGIS Server.

Here is the email from the marketing list:

The choose-a-project wizard is now working, we had to cut down some of the tags last week and change how the pages were done to make it happen.
This touches on a conversation with Steve Feldman from the code sprint. As part of the focus exercise the home page<http://osgeo.getinteractive.nl/> was changed to says "Choose your software" which then links to "choose-a-project".
It does bring up two interesting cases:
1) http://osgeo.getinteractive.nl/projects/qgis/
QGIS - has several software projects now under one banner: QGIS Desktop, QGIS Server, more?
This is kind of messing with the system (and resulting in oddities like QGIS being listed as a cloud processing service, I assume QGIS server could run in the cloud and qgis desktop offers processing).
2) http://osgeo.getinteractive.nl/projects/gvsig/
Same thing, there are now multiple gvSig software projects: gvSIG Desktop, gvNIX, gvSIG Mobile, i3Geo

Recommendation for the beta website:
- Making the QGIS Association page under Partners, linking to individual pages for QGIS and QGIS Server project pages.
- Makin the gvSIG Association link to the individual software project pages for gvSIG Desktop, gvNIX, gvSIG  Mobile, i3Geo.

And Steven Feldman's reply:

My 1st thoughts on ‘projects’ and ‘software' are to look at definitions:
Project:
"In contemporary business<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_sector> and science<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science>, a project is an individual or collaborative enterprise, possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan>, usually by a project team, to achieve a particular aim.[1]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project#cite_note-1>A project may also be a set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and other limitations.[2]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project#cite_note-2>It may be a temporary (rather than permanent) social systems<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_system> as work systems<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_systems> that is constituted by teams<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team> within or across organizations to accomplish particular tasks<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task_(project_management)> under time constraints.[3]<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project#cite_note-3> A project may be a part of a wider programme management<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_management>” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project
Software:
"Computer software, or simply software, is a part of a computer system<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_system> that consists of data<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_(computing)> or computer instructions, in contrast to the physical hardware<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_hardware> from which the system is built. In computer science<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science> and software engineering<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_engineering>, computer software is all information<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information> processed by computer systems<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_system>, programs<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_program> and data. Computer software includes computer programs<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_program>, libraries<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_(computing)> and related non-executable data<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_(computing)>, such as online documentation<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_documentation> or digital media<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_media>.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software

My interpretation:
Each different application e.g. QGIS Desktop, QGIS server is ‘software’ (or we could alternatively use ‘application’ or 'program')
The QGIS Project is the umbrella organisation/collaboration/social construct/enterprise that encompasses and coordinates the individual software/applications/programs
I think the important thing for us as a marketing group is to consider what these terms mean to potential users rather than how we use them internally (for our community ‘project' can be interchangeable with ‘software’).

I am personally having a hard time thinking in terms of software since I like the fact that open source project encompasses both the technology and the people.
--
Jody Garnett
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