Open Source Initiative
Encyclopedia
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is an organization dedicated to promoting open source software.
The organization was founded in February 1998, by Bruce Perens
and Eric S. Raymond
, prompted by Netscape Communications Corporation publishing the source code
for its flagship
Netscape Communicator
product. Later, in August 1998 the organization added a board of directors.
Raymond was president from its founding until February 2005. The current president is Michael Tiemann
.
, Internet
free software, and the hacker culture as the free software movement
launched by Richard Stallman
and his Free Software Foundation
, the Open Source Initiative was formed and chose the term open source, in Michael Tiemann
's words, to "dump the moralizing and confrontational attitude that had been associated with 'free software' in the past and sell the idea strictly on the same pragmatic, business-case grounds that had motivated Netscape."
Stallman counter-charges that OSI's pragmatic focus on a model for software development and marketing ignores what he considers to be the central "ethical imperative" and the focus on "freedom" that underlies free software
, as he defines it, and blurs the distinction with semi-free or wholly proprietary software
. To Stallman, the important, fundamental difference is philosophical. Nevertheless, he describes his free software movement and the Open Source Initiative as separate camps within the same free software community
. According to Stallman, "We disagree with the open source camp on the basic goals and values, but their views and ours lead in many cases to the same practical behavior—such as developing free software. As a result, people from the free software movement and the open source camp often work together on practical projects such as software development."
, Eric S. Raymond
, Bruce Perens
, and others.
The group adopted the Open Source Definition
for open-source software, based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines
. They also established the Open Source Initiative (OSI) as a steward organization for the movement. However, they were unsuccessful in their attempt to secure a trademark
for 'open source' to control the use of the term. Despite this, the OSI developed considerable influence in the corporate sphere and has been able to hold abuse of the term to a tolerable minimum. With the Free Software Foundation
(FSF), it has become one of the hacker community's two principal advocacy organizations.
The early period of the open-source movement coincided with and partly drove the dot-com boom of 1998─2000, and saw a large growth in the popularity of Linux
and the formation of many open-source-friendly companies. The movement also caught the attention of the mainstream software industry, leading to open-source software offerings by established software companies such as Corel
(Corel Linux
), Sun Microsystems
(OpenOffice.org
), and IBM (OpenAFS
). By the time the dot-com boom busted in 2001, many of the early hopes of open-source advocates had already borne fruit, and the movement continued from strength to strength in the cost-cutting climate of the 2001─2003 recession.
In 2009, the organization was temporarily suspended from operation as a California corporation, apparently in response to a complaint concerning tax paperwork from earlier years. Its current status is "Active".
Past board members include:
The organization was founded in February 1998, by Bruce Perens
Bruce Perens
Bruce Perens is a computer programmer and advocate in the open source community. He created the Open Source Definition and published the first formal announcement and manifesto of open source. He co-founded the Open Source Initiative with Eric S...
and Eric S. Raymond
Eric S. Raymond
Eric Steven Raymond , often referred to as ESR, is an American computer programmer, author and open source software advocate. After the 1997 publication of The Cathedral and the Bazaar, Raymond was for a number of years frequently quoted as an unofficial spokesman for the open source movement...
, prompted by Netscape Communications Corporation publishing the source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
for its flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
Netscape Communicator
Netscape Communicator
Netscape Communicator was an Internet suite produced by Netscape Communications Corporation. Initially released in June 1997, Netscape Communicator 4.0 was the successor to Netscape Navigator 3.x and included more groupware features intended to appeal to enterprises.- Editions :Netscape...
product. Later, in August 1998 the organization added a board of directors.
Raymond was president from its founding until February 2005. The current president is Michael Tiemann
Michael Tiemann
Michael Tiemann is Vice President of Open Source Affairs at Red Hat Inc, as well as President of the Open Source Initiative. He previously was the Chief Technical Officer of Red Hat...
.
Relations with the free software movement
Although born from the same history of UnixUnix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
, Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
free software, and the hacker culture as the free software movement
Free software movement
The free software movement is a social and political movement with the goal of ensuring software users' four basic freedoms: the freedom to run their software, to study and change their software, and to redistribute copies with or without changes. The alternative terms "software libre", "open...
launched by Richard Stallman
Richard Stallman
Richard Matthew Stallman , often shortened to rms,"'Richard Stallman' is just my mundane name; you can call me 'rms'"|last= Stallman|first= Richard|date= N.D.|work=Richard Stallman's homepage...
and his Free Software Foundation
Free Software Foundation
The Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to create, distribute and modify computer software...
, the Open Source Initiative was formed and chose the term open source, in Michael Tiemann
Michael Tiemann
Michael Tiemann is Vice President of Open Source Affairs at Red Hat Inc, as well as President of the Open Source Initiative. He previously was the Chief Technical Officer of Red Hat...
's words, to "dump the moralizing and confrontational attitude that had been associated with 'free software' in the past and sell the idea strictly on the same pragmatic, business-case grounds that had motivated Netscape."
Stallman counter-charges that OSI's pragmatic focus on a model for software development and marketing ignores what he considers to be the central "ethical imperative" and the focus on "freedom" that underlies free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
, as he defines it, and blurs the distinction with semi-free or wholly proprietary software
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
. To Stallman, the important, fundamental difference is philosophical. Nevertheless, he describes his free software movement and the Open Source Initiative as separate camps within the same free software community
Free software community
The free-software community is an informal term that refers to the users and developers of free software as well as supporters of the free-software movement. The movement is sometimes referred to as the open-source software community or a subset thereof...
. According to Stallman, "We disagree with the open source camp on the basic goals and values, but their views and ours lead in many cases to the same practical behavior—such as developing free software. As a result, people from the free software movement and the open source camp often work together on practical projects such as software development."
History
The movement was launched in 1998 by Jon "maddog" Hall, Larry AugustinLarry Augustin
Larry Augustin is CEO of SugarCRM and is a former venture capitalist and the co-founder and former chairman of VA Software, now known as Geeknet. He founded VA Research, the predecessor to that company, in 1993 while a Ph.D...
, Eric S. Raymond
Eric S. Raymond
Eric Steven Raymond , often referred to as ESR, is an American computer programmer, author and open source software advocate. After the 1997 publication of The Cathedral and the Bazaar, Raymond was for a number of years frequently quoted as an unofficial spokesman for the open source movement...
, Bruce Perens
Bruce Perens
Bruce Perens is a computer programmer and advocate in the open source community. He created the Open Source Definition and published the first formal announcement and manifesto of open source. He co-founded the Open Source Initiative with Eric S...
, and others.
The group adopted the Open Source Definition
Open Source Definition
The Open Source Definition is a document published by the Open Source Initiative, to determine whether or not a software license can be labeled with the open-source certification mark....
for open-source software, based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines
Debian Free Software Guidelines
The Debian Free Software Guidelines is a set of guidelines that the Debian Project uses to determine whether a software license is a free software license, which in turn is used to determine whether a piece of software can be included in Debian...
. They also established the Open Source Initiative (OSI) as a steward organization for the movement. However, they were unsuccessful in their attempt to secure a trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
for 'open source' to control the use of the term. Despite this, the OSI developed considerable influence in the corporate sphere and has been able to hold abuse of the term to a tolerable minimum. With the Free Software Foundation
Free Software Foundation
The Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to create, distribute and modify computer software...
(FSF), it has become one of the hacker community's two principal advocacy organizations.
The early period of the open-source movement coincided with and partly drove the dot-com boom of 1998─2000, and saw a large growth in the popularity of Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and the formation of many open-source-friendly companies. The movement also caught the attention of the mainstream software industry, leading to open-source software offerings by established software companies such as Corel
Corel
Corel Corporation from the abbreviation is a computer software company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, that specializes in graphics processing, similar to Adobe Systems...
(Corel Linux
Corel Linux
Corel Linux, also called Corel LinuxOS, was a Debian-based operating system made by Corel that was released in late 1999. Corel later discontinued the distribution, but did not remove the former Corel Open Source Development website until March 2002....
), Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
(OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...
), and IBM (OpenAFS
OpenAFS
OpenAFS is an open source implementation of the Andrew distributed file system . AFS was originally developed at Carnegie Mellon University, and developed as a commercial product by the Transarc Corporation, which was subsequently acquired by IBM. At LinuxWorld on 15 August 2000, IBM their plans...
). By the time the dot-com boom busted in 2001, many of the early hopes of open-source advocates had already borne fruit, and the movement continued from strength to strength in the cost-cutting climate of the 2001─2003 recession.
In 2009, the organization was temporarily suspended from operation as a California corporation, apparently in response to a complaint concerning tax paperwork from earlier years. Its current status is "Active".
Board members
The current Open Source Initiative board is :- Karl Fogel
- Mike GodwinMike GodwinMichael Wayne Godwin is an American attorney and author. He was the first staff counsel of the Electronic Frontier Foundation , and the creator of the Internet adage Godwin's Law of Nazi Analogies. From July 2007 to October 2010, he was general counsel for the Wikimedia Foundation...
- Harshad Gune
- Jim JagielskiJim JagielskiJim Jagielski is an American software engineer, who specialises in web and open source technologies.- Biography :Jagielski graduated from the Johns Hopkins University in 1983 with a BES in Electrical/Computer Engineering...
- Fabio Kon
- Martin MichlmayrMartin MichlmayrDr. Martin Michlmayr is a Debian developer working on quality management.Michlmayr became a member of the Debian project in 2000 and soon began work as an Application Manager for membership applications. He subsequently worked as a member of the Front Desk which coordinates the New Maintainer...
- Andrew C. Oliver
- Simon PhippsSimon Phipps (programmer)Simon Phipps is a computer scientist and web and open source advocate.Phipps was instrumental in IBM's involvement in the Java programming language, founding IBM's Java Technology Center. He left IBM for Sun Microsystems in 2000, taking leadership of Sun's open source programme from Danese Cooper...
- Alolita Sharma
- Michael TiemannMichael TiemannMichael Tiemann is Vice President of Open Source Affairs at Red Hat Inc, as well as President of the Open Source Initiative. He previously was the Chief Technical Officer of Red Hat...
- Tony Wasserman
Past board members include:
- L. Peter DeutschL. Peter DeutschL Peter Deutsch or Peter Deutsch is the founder of Aladdin Enterprises and creator of Ghostscript, a free software PostScript and PDF interpreter....
- Brian BehlendorfBrian BehlendorfBrian Behlendorf is a technologist, computer programmer, and an important figure in the open-source software movement. He was a primary developer of the Apache Web server, the most popular web server software on the Internet, and a founding member of the Apache Group, which later became the Apache...
- Guido van RossumGuido van RossumGuido van Rossum is a Dutch computer programmer who is best known as the author of the Python programming language. In the Python community, Van Rossum is known as a "Benevolent Dictator For Life" , meaning that he continues to oversee the Python development process, making decisions where necessary...
- Bruce PerensBruce PerensBruce Perens is a computer programmer and advocate in the open source community. He created the Open Source Definition and published the first formal announcement and manifesto of open source. He co-founded the Open Source Initiative with Eric S...
- Raj Mathur
- Ian MurdockIan MurdockIan Murdock is the founder of the Debian distribution and Progeny Linux Systems, a commercial Linux company.- Life and career :Murdock was born in Konstanz, Germany....
- Chip SalzenbergChip SalzenbergChip Salzenberg is an American programmer mostly noted for his involvement in the Perl and Free Software communities. Salzenberg has been involved with Perl development for over 15 years, and with Free Software for more than 20 years....
- Tim Sailer
- Eric S. RaymondEric S. RaymondEric Steven Raymond , often referred to as ESR, is an American computer programmer, author and open source software advocate. After the 1997 publication of The Cathedral and the Bazaar, Raymond was for a number of years frequently quoted as an unofficial spokesman for the open source movement...
- Chris DiBonaChris DiBonaChris DiBona is the open source and public sector engineering manager at Google. His team oversees license compliance and supports the open source developer community through programs such as the Google Summer of Code and through the release of open source software projects and patches on Google...
- Bruno SouzaBruno SouzaBruno Souza is the President of SOUJava, a Brazilian Java User Group. He promotes himself as the "JavaMan"Javali, a project owned by SOUJava, is focused in increasing Java usage in Brazil...
- Sanjiva WeerawaranaSanjiva WeerawaranaSanjiva Weerawarana is a CEO, software developer and open source evangelist. He is known for:* His work on the Web Services standards including WSDL, BPEL, and WS-Addressing.* Founding WSO2, an Open Source middleware company....
- Joi ItoJoi Itois a Japanese activist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and Director of the MIT Media Lab.Ito has received recognition for his role as an entrepreneur focused on Internet and technology companies and has founded, among other companies, PSINet Japan, Digital Garage and Infoseek Japan. He maintains...
- Matt Asay
- Ken CoarKen CoarBorn in 1960, Ken Coar is a software developer and open development evangelist. He is probably best known for his association with The Apache Software Foundation and the ApacheCon series of user conferences.He currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina....
- Rishab Aiyer GhoshRishab Aiyer GhoshRishab Aiyer Ghosh is an Indian journalist, computer scientist and Open-source software advocate. An Open Source Initiative board member, he is Founding International and Managing Editor of peer-reviewed journal First Monday, and Programme Leader of Free/Libre and Open Source Software at UNU-MERIT...
- Nnenna NwakanmaNnenna NwakanmaNnenna Nwakanma is an FLOSS activist, community organizer, development adviser and development consultant originally from Ivory Coast in Africa. She is the co-founder of The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa which she also co-chairs. She was elected as a board member of the Open...
- Russ NelsonRuss NelsonRussell "Russ" Nelson is an American computer programmer. He was a founding board member of the Open Source Initiative and briefly served as its president in 2005.-Career:...
- Danese CooperDanese CooperDanese Cooper is an American programmer, computer scientist, and an advocate of open source software.- Career :"Open source allows people with a confluence of interesting ideas and an intellectual courage to really synthesize amazing newness...
Open-source-related movements
- IGOS
- MyOSSMyOSSThe Malaysia Open Source Software Community promotes the use of free and open source software in Malaysia. At the moment MyOSS is planning to create a formal body called the Free and Open Source Software Society Malaysia ....
- Malaysia - Ma3barMa3barma3bar is the Arab Support Center for Free and Open Source Software initiated by UNESCO and UNDP-ICTDAR and hosted by The University of Balamand. The center’s main goals are to develop FOSS awareness and to encourage FOSS use and development in the Arab Region...
- Arab Region - Jordan Open Source AssociationJordan Open Source AssociationThe Jordan Open Source Association is a Jordanian non-profit organization dedicated to promoting open source software....
- Fueling FOSS in Sri Lanka
See also
- Free Software FoundationFree Software FoundationThe Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to create, distribute and modify computer software...
- Digital freedom
- Open Source DefinitionOpen Source DefinitionThe Open Source Definition is a document published by the Open Source Initiative, to determine whether or not a software license can be labeled with the open-source certification mark....
- Commons-based peer productionCommons-based peer productionCommons-based peer production is a term coined by Harvard Law School professor Yochai Benkler to describe a new model of socio-economic production in which the creative energy of large numbers of people is coordinated into large, meaningful projects mostly without traditional hierarchical...
- economic model for organizing projects without leaders or financial compensation - Comparison of open source and closed source
- Open source governanceOpen source governanceOpen-source governance is a political philosophy which advocates the application of the philosophies of the open-source and open-content movements to democratic principles in order to enable any interested citizen to add to the creation of policy, as with a wiki document. Legislation is...
- use of open source principles to transform human social governance - Techno-progressivismTechno-progressivismTechno-progressivism, technoprogressivism, tech-progressivism or techprogressivism is a stance of active support for the convergence of technological change and social change...
- a stance of active support for the convergence of technological change and social progress - Open source movementOpen source movementThe open source movement is a broad-reaching movement of individuals who feel that software should be produced altruistically. Open source software is made available for anybody to use or modify, as its source code is made available. The software use is subject only to the stipulation that any...
- The evolution and evidence of the open source ideology