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The OSI (as described here) would be in the primary position to make suggestion and even legal frameworks for cooperations to pay for open source maintainers et

by oaiey 3y ago

The OSI (as described here) would be in the primary position to make suggestion and even legal frameworks for cooperations to pay for open source maintainers etc. One of the core problems of open source. Indeed, beyond license listings, they are not addressing the big problems we have.

wmf 3y ago
Any such framework would be incompatible with the OSD. OSI isn't going to repudiate thirty years of work. It's time to move on.
- tedivm 3y ago
  Frameworks do not necessarily mean license changes or requirements. Look at OpenSSL. They went for years with basically no money, had horrible security issues, and then got a ton of sponsorships because companies realized they relied on it. The OSI can do a variety of things that help open source contributors and maintainers beyond just licenses. Most developers aren't good at things like fundraising, as it's not their core competency. In an ideal world the OSI would build industry connections and use that to funnel money to projects that need it, while also helping build knowledge that smaller projects can use to market themselves. None of that requires turning their back on their open source principles. Legal frameworks, as mentioned above, can even be as simple as making it easier to get tax breaks when donating to open source projects, or having prebuilt legal agreements that help small projects work with big companies for funding in a streamlined way. To be honest, this is why the OSI and FSF have been so disappointing to me. There's a huge amount of space here for advocacy, public policy initiates, and so much more. Unfortunately these groups are so insular and stuck in their ways, and would rather do things like defend abortion jokes when they could be building communities, that I don't have much hope. However, there really is a lot that could be done without making any changes to the licenses.
- ninjin 3y ago
  No it would not. They could very well work towards a way to facilitate payments to those that produce code compatible with the Open Source Definition. If they want, have the capacity, and have a good idea in terms of how to do so is a different matter entirely.
  - scj 3y ago
    The OSI becoming a conduit for money would probably produce more criticism than code.
    - oaiey 3y ago
      They do not need to be the conduit, being an advocate would be sufficient.

by oaiey 3y ago

wmf 3y ago

Any such framework would be incompatible with the OSD. OSI isn't going to repudiate thirty years of work. It's time to move on.

tedivm 3y ago
Frameworks do not necessarily mean license changes or requirements. Look at OpenSSL. They went for years with basically no money, had horrible security issues, and then got a ton of sponsorships because companies realized they relied on it. The OSI can do a variety of things that help open source contributors and maintainers beyond just licenses. Most developers aren't good at things like fundraising, as it's not their core competency. In an ideal world the OSI would build industry connections and use that to funnel money to projects that need it, while also helping build knowledge that smaller projects can use to market themselves. None of that requires turning their back on their open source principles. Legal frameworks, as mentioned above, can even be as simple as making it easier to get tax breaks when donating to open source projects, or having prebuilt legal agreements that help small projects work with big companies for funding in a streamlined way. To be honest, this is why the OSI and FSF have been so disappointing to me. There's a huge amount of space here for advocacy, public policy initiates, and so much more. Unfortunately these groups are so insular and stuck in their ways, and would rather do things like defend abortion jokes when they could be building communities, that I don't have much hope. However, there really is a lot that could be done without making any changes to the licenses.
ninjin 3y ago
No it would not. They could very well work towards a way to facilitate payments to those that produce code compatible with the Open Source Definition. If they want, have the capacity, and have a good idea in terms of how to do so is a different matter entirely.
- scj 3y ago
  The OSI becoming a conduit for money would probably produce more criticism than code.
  - oaiey 3y ago
    They do not need to be the conduit, being an advocate would be sufficient.