> Oh? And what does "OSI Certified Open Source Software" mean
> in an actual
> language, in this case English?
>
It means that the software license conforms to the requirements put forth by
the Open Source Initiative, an unincorporated nonprofit entity.
[It is a good idea to use the full name before the use of the acronym in a
document to help reduce confusion when context may be insufficient (i.e.
_Open Systems Interconnection_ )]
One could also put forth the argument that by putting the term "Open Source"
into the leading caps form you are moving from a general noun to a proper
name. It may be even better to use "open-source software" as the hyphen sets
the term as an adjative (as in open-ended). Of course nobody said "you mean
'open-source software' not 'Open Source Software' at the start of all this
> > I do not recognize OSI as a standards body
>
> Sounds like a personal issue. But I'm interested in how you assign
> meaning to "OSI Certified Open Source Software" given your refusal
> to recognize something that you're willing to talk about.
It means that they do not have a right to define the term "open source" (or
maybe "open-source") any more than the organization that brands something
with "the good housekeeping seal of approval" has a right to say that
because a blender does not have their seal, it is not in fact a blender.
Even if they were the first ones to use the term blender as it relates to a
kitchen appliance.
They are a group of people who got together and decided they wanted to
control the term "Open Source" via a trademark. After having their attempt
rejected (due to the nature of trademark law and no fault of their own) have
created the certification program. The certification process is a perfect
method to do exactly what they want, which is to define which software has
their blessing. They are not evil folk, bad guys or a threat to themselves
or others. I like a lot of what they are doing.
So how about we return this list to is normal use and let this tread die as
it is not getting anybody anywhere.
-
"One of the best examples of pure democracy in action is the lynch mob"
- AA4YU
