Tackling proliferation

Tackling proliferation

Posted Mar 25, 2008 4:33 UTC (Tue) by BrucePerens (subscriber, #2510)
In reply to: Tackling proliferation by man_ls
Parent article: Bruce Perens and the OSI board

Correct me if I'm wrong: you want OSI to have not just the "OSI-certified" label, but a new "OSI-recommended" badge for a limited set of (four) licenses.

That's right.

Responding to license proliferation with even more license proliferation, in the form of four new licenses, is probably not going to be well received.

I wouldn't like it either.

[Quoting the report] The committee concluded, however, that any such normative characterization would properly be a matter for policy matter for the OSI Board to decide.

That sounds right.

So, I'm left wondering what you would do if you were in OSI that would make any difference.

Get them to lead. Get them to tell everybody we know this is going to offend some people, but those people are free to use the OSI-approved licenses they already like, and by recommending this set we take the strongest possible step to set the license-proliferation problem on the path to being a diminishing problem in the future. This is the best we can do to make that happen.

And then have them stick to their guns.

Thanks

Bruce

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