I like this conversation. I've never quite made a decision about which to use, but I think based on the Guardian's summary I would go with "is" from now on. More accessible and normal. Be warned, all ye who submit blog posts.
t On 4 October 2013 13:50, Paula Graham <pa...@fossbox.org.uk> wrote: > Latin's no longer taught much in UK schools so the current generation of > GB English speakers must be forgiven for ignoring Romantic declension and > conjugation. In the age of machine data [they are] [it's] largely > uncountable anyway and English is primarily understood by word-order so I'm > with the 'mass noun' contingent. To a contemporary native GB English > speaker, using a plural verb sounds very odd. > > Paula Graham > Director | Fossbox > Mobile: +44 (0)7768362795 > Email: pa...@fossbox.org.uk > www.fossbox.org.uk > skype: bastubis > ------------------------------ > > On 04/10/13 01:23, Basili Carla wrote: > > The latin term "data" is the plural of the latin term "datum" and > therefore the verb should be used accordingly. While this is quite clear in > Italian, I don't know if it can help with English. > > Carla Basili > > > Il 2013-10-04 01:03 Aaron Wolf ha scritto: > > Found via DuckDuckGo: > > > http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/jul/16/data-plural-singular[30] > > But in _this_ case it is more clearly "is" in terms of the way we're > using "data" in the definition. It's a mass noun like "software" not > "softwares" but clearly there's debate. > > I agree the simple one-sentence definition is good > > -- > Aaron Wolf > wolftune.com [31] > > On Thu, Oct 3, 2013 at 3:30 PM, Gene Shackman > <eval_g...@yahoo.com><eval_g...@yahoo.com>wrote: > > "Open data is data that can be freely used, shared and built-on by anyone, > anywhere for any purpose." > > > This says it all. This is the best definition, it is clear and easy to > understand. Everything else is just details. > > All the stuff about how the data should be available (e.g., machine > readable, human readable, should have clear dictionaries, etc), where it > should be, who should present it, how much of it should be available, etc., > all that stuff is detail. > > Any documents about open/free/libre data should start with this simple, > clear, short statement. > > Just one comment. Should it be "Open data are" rather than "Open data is"? > Let's see, "the open internet is" but "free websites are" > > Gene > > ------------------------- > FROM: Luis Villa <l...@lu.is> <l...@lu.is> > TO: Open Knowledge Foundation discussion list > <okfn-discuss@lists.okfn.org> <okfn-discuss@lists.okfn.org> > SENT: Thursday, October 3, 2013 11:29 AM > SUBJECT: Re: [okfn-discuss] Defining open data - blog post > > Nifty. Anything in particular motivate this now? > > Luis > > On Thu, Oct 3, 2013 at 7:17 AM, Laura James > <laura.ja...@okfn.org><laura.ja...@okfn.org>wrote: > > ALL, > > WE JUST POSTED ABOUT "DEFINING OPEN DATA" ON THE OPEN KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION > BLOG - SETTING OUT A CLEAR AND ACCESSIBLE EXPLANATION (HOPEFULLY!). THERE > WILL BE MORE POSTS ABOUT THE OPEN DEFINITION AND HOW IT RELATES TO OTHER > OPEN PRINCIPLES IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. > > http://blog.okfn.org/2013/10/03/defining-open-data/ [1] > > Laura > > OPEN DATA IS DATA THAT CAN BE FREELY USED, SHARED AND BUILT-ON BY ANYONE, > ANYWHERE FOR ANY PURPOSE. This is the summary of the full Open Definition > [2] which the Open Knowledge Foundation [3] created in 2005 to provide both > a succinct explanation and a detailed definition of open data [4]. > As the open data movement grows, and even more governments and > organisations sign up to open data, it becomes ever more IMPORTANT THAT > THERE IS A CLEAR AND AGREED DEFINITION for what “open data” means if we are > to realise the full benefits of openness, and avoid the risks of creating > incompatibility between projects and splintering the community. > _ > Open_ can apply to information from any source and about any topic. Anyone > can release their data under an open licence for free use by and benefit to > the public. Although we may think mostly about government and public sector > bodies releasing public information such as budgets or maps, or researchers > sharing their results data and publications, any organisation can open > information (corporations, universities, NGOs, startups, charities, > community groups and individuals). > There is open information in transport [5], science [6], products > [7], education [8], sustainability [9], maps [10], legislation > [11], libraries [12], economics [13], culture [14], development > [15], business [16], design [17], finance [18] …. So the explanation of > what open means applies to all of these information sources and types. Open > may also apply both to data – big data and small data [19] – or to content, > like images, text and music! > _ > So here we set out clearly what open means, and why this agreed definition > is vital for us to collaborate, share and scale as open data and open > content grow and reach new communities. > > WHAT IS OPEN? > > The full Open Definition [2] provides a precise definition of what open > data is. There are 2 important elements to openness: > > * LEGAL OPENNESS: you must be allowed to get the data legally, to build on > it, and to share it. Legal openness is usually provided by applying an > appropriate (open) license [20] which allows for free access to and reuse > of the data, or by placing data into the public domain. > * TECHNICAL OPENNESS: there should be no technical barriers to using that > data. For example, providing data as printouts on paper (or as tables in > PDF documents) makes the information extremely difficult to work with. So > the Open Definition has various requirements for “technical openness,” such > as requiring that data be machine readable and available in bulk. > > There are a few key aspects of open_ which the Open Definition > [21] explains in detail. Open Data is useable by anyone, regardless of who > they are, where they are, or what they want to do with the data; there must > be no restriction on who can use it, and commercial use is fine too. > Open data must be available in bulk (so it’s easy to work with) and it > should be available free of charge, or at least at no more than a > reasonable reproduction cost. The information should be digital, preferably > available by downloading through the internet, and easily processed by a > computer too (otherwise users can’t fully exploit the power of data – that > it can be combined together to create new insights). > Open Data must permit people to use it, re-use it, and redistribute it, > including intermixing with other datasets and distributing the results. > The Open Definition [21] generally doesn’t allow conditions to be placed > on how people can use Open Data, but it does permit a data provider to > require that data users credit them in some appropriate way, make it clear > if the data has been changed, or that any new datasets created using their > data are also shared as open data. > There are 3 important principles behind this definition of _open_, which > are why Open Data is so powerful: > > * AVAILABILITY AND ACCESS: that people can get the data > * RE-USE AND REDISTRIBUTION: that people can reuse and share the data > * UNIVERSAL PARTICIPATION: that anyone can use the data > > GOVERNANCE OF THE OPEN DEFINITION > > Since 2007, the Open Definition has been governed by an Advisory Council > [22]. This is the group formally responsible for maintaining and developing > the Definition and associated material. Its mission is to take forward Open > Definition work for the general benefit of the open knowledge community, > and it has specific responsibility for deciding on what licences comply > with the Open Definition. > The Council is a community-run body. New members of the Council can be > appointed at any time by agreement of the existing members of the Advisory > Council, and are selected for demonstrated knowledge and competence in the > areas of work of the Council. > The Advisory Council operates in the open and anyone can join the mailing > list [23]. > > ABOUT THE OPEN DEFINITION > > The Open Definition [2] was created in 2005 by the Open Knowledge > Foundation with input from many people. The Definition was based directly > on the Open Source Definition [24] from the Open Source Initiative [25] and > we were able to reuse most of these well-established principles and > practices that the free and open source community had developed for > software, and apply them to data and content. > Thanks to the efforts of many translators in the community, the Open > Definition is available in 30+ languages [2]. > > MORE ABOUT OPENNESS COMING SOON > > In coming days we’ll post more on the theme of explaining openness, > including a more detailed exploration of the Open Definition, the > relationship of the Open Definition to specific sets of principles for > openness – such as the Sunlight Foundation’s 10 principles [26] and Tim > Berners-Lee’s 5 star system [27], why having a shared and agreed definition > of open data is so important, and how one can go about “doing open data”. > _______________________________________________ > okfn-discuss mailing list > okfn-discuss@lists.okfn.org > http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss [28] > Unsubscribe: http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss [29] > > > _______________________________________________ > okfn-discuss mailing list > okfn-discuss@lists.okfn.org > http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss [28] > Unsubscribe: http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss [29] > > _______________________________________________ > okfn-discuss mailing list > okfn-discuss@lists.okfn.org > http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss [28] > Unsubscribe: http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss [29] > > > > > Links: > ------ > [1] http://blog.okfn.org/2013/10/03/defining-open-data/ > [2] http://opendefinition.org/okd/ > [3] http://okfn.org/ > [4] http://okfn.org/opendata > [5] http://transport.okfn.org/ > [6] http://science.okfn.org/ > [7] http://product-open-data.com/ > [8] http://education.okfn.org/ > [9] http://sustainability.okfn.org/ > [10] http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=5/51.500/-0.100 > [11] http://legislation.okfn.org/ > [12] http://openbiblio.net/principles/ > [13] http://openeconomics.net/ > [14] http://openglam.org/ > [15] http://open-development.okfn.org/ > [16] http://opencorporates.com/ > [17] http://design.okfn.org/ > [18] http://openspending.org/ > [19] > > > http://blog.okfn.org/2013/04/22/forget-big-data-small-data-is-the-real-revolution/ > [20] http://opendefinition.org/licenses/ > [21] http://opendefinition.org/okd > [22] http://opendefinition.org/advisory-council/ > [23] http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/od-discuss > [24] http://opensource.org/osd-annotated > [25] http://opensource.org/ > [26] > http://sunlightfoundation.com/policy/documents/ten-open-data-principles/ > [27] http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/LinkedData.html > [28] http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss > [29] http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss > [30] > http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/jul/16/data-plural-singular > [31] http://wolftune.com/ > > _______________________________________________ > okfn-discuss mailing list > okfn-discuss@lists.okfn.org > http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss > Unsubscribe: http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss > > > > _______________________________________________ > okfn-discuss mailing list > okfn-discuss@lists.okfn.org > http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss > Unsubscribe: http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss > > > > _______________________________________________ > okfn-discuss mailing list > okfn-discuss@lists.okfn.org > http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss > Unsubscribe: http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss > > -- * Theodora Middleton Blog Editor | skype: theodora.middleton The Open Knowledge Foundation <http://okfn.org/> Empowering through Open Knowledge http://okfn.org/ | @okfn <http://twitter.com/OKFN> | OKF on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/OKFNetwork> | Blog <http://blog.okfn.org/> | Newsletter<http://okfn.org/about/newsletter> *
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