What is « open source » ? It depends on who answers. Proposal of the project « Open Source Undefined: Overview of the Digital Bazaar » to explore this complex question.
Initial project proposal: https://github.com/Open-Models/Brique/discussions/442
Project website: open-source-undefined.org
A project for building a knowledge base on this confusing and controversial notion to fuel the debate on the meaning of « open source ».
There are many confusion factors with this concept: Is it about the sharing of source code only or collaboration is part of it ? Are licences necessary ? Is it something about software or related to the source of digital resources ? Where is the boundary between open and closed ? Is the Open Source Definition a definition of open source ?
Confusion factors leading to conflictual situations and divergent interpretations. So the answers on the meaning of open source differ.
Clear and exhaustive answers don't seem to exist: is open source still undefined ?
We don't know, we're not sure, there are disagreements, this seems to be potential answers on the meaning of open source. Clarifying the imprecision is perhaps the most precise way to fully understand the concept.
The intent with the project is to gather knowledge, resources and reflections to discuss and to grasp the meaning of open source with and for people facing this confusion, a work at the intersection of research and education.
An attempt to build robust knowledge on the meaning of « open source », to provide an open resource to understand this idea of open source.
The content section is still empty, but you can find some resources for now:
- Article curation around people’s reflections on open source meaning: https://open-source-undefined.org/resources/open-source-reflections.html
- A Zotero library to store articles (~180 resources actually): https://www.zotero.org/groups/5352918/open_source_undefined/library
With the democratisation of open source comes the democratisation of the confusion surrounding open source, let's try to build a tool to fill some of the gap.
Why questioning the meaning of open source matters? We may be considering almost nothing of what open source could be, profoundly limiting our ability to use and collaborate with digital technologies.
Do we still don't know what open source could be?
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