[License-discuss] FAQ entry (and potential website page?) on "why standard licenses"?

Miles Fidelman mfidelman at meetinghouse.net
Mon Apr 28 15:40:29 UTC 2014


Lawrence Rosen wrote:
>
> Simon Phipps wrote:
>
> > Mind you, OSI has described itself as a standards body for open 
> source licenses
>
> > for a long time, see http://opensource.org/about (I believe that 
> text used to be
>
> > on the home page).
>
> Perhaps, but that term has thus been misused. There is absolutely 
> nothing about OSI – its governance policies, its procedures, its 
> membership rules, its board selections, or its activities – that would 
> in any sense qualify OSI as a standards organization.
>

Can you elaborate on that please?  OSI appears to be at least partially 
acting as a standard formation organization (particularly vis-a-vis the 
"Open Source Definition").  In your opinion, what precludes it from 
acting as a voluntary standards organization in a manner similar to 
IEEE, ISOC (IETF), W3C, and so forth.  Arguably, its governance is a 
mess - for example bylaws that state it's not a membership organization, 
while at the same time soliciting members - but is that a show-stopper?

Miles Fidelman


-- 
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice, there is.   .... Yogi Berra




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