With regard to https://egovstandards.gov.in/system/files/PublicReviewDocument/Framework_on_OSS_Ver0.8.pdf
I notice the following: (please add any other points soon or submit it directly by 8th to [email protected] ) ________________________ Adoption of free software is a great idea, but the document has serious shortcomings and lacks vision. We explain these below. There is nothing specific about free software in the document. There are serious differences between the idea and implementation of free software and open source which are particularly relevant in the context of this document. Do see https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html for relevant details. The only concern for OSS seems to be 'reduced cost'. As far as "free software" is concerned, the people drafting the document seem to interpret "free" as "gratis" instead of "free as in freedom" (p.39). Nothing is said about security models, openness of information, knowledge commons and transparency of processes - that can be the outcome of free software adoption. If the adoption process stops at open source software that is not free software then all of the aforesaid benefits cannot be ensured in practice. This is also important in the context of mass surveillance by Government agencies (Indian Govt agencies function in more draconian ways than NSA). The concepts underlying the framework need to be stated more clearly and the goals improved severely. Why does the document say so little about funding free software projects? The document propagates FUD of proprietary software developers in regard to free software licenses like GNU-GPL. It should be required that all software developed by the Government must be under GNU-GPL-3 and above or Affero-GNU-GPL in special cases. GNU-GPL-3+ remains the best license for almost all use cases including commercial ones. For more on licenses see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-recommendations.html and https://www.gnu.org/licenses/quick-guide-gplv3.html . Non copy-left licenses should not be tolerated. They eventually amount to infringing on people's fundamental rights. _______________________ Best A. Mani A. Mani CU, ASL, AMS, CLC, CMS http://www.logicamani.in _______________________________________________ WFS-India mailing list [email protected] Message archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: To unsubscribe, please login to your account at http://www.wfs-india.org/ and unsubscribe to the WFS-India list from your account settings. -- WFS-India - http://www.wfs-india.org
