Dear Open Sourcers,
I'm currently involved in Luxembourg in information retrieval, processing and
information. Having read quite a bit about Open Source, Linux, etc. I thought the same
approach could be fruitfuland necessary for longer-lasting reference information
(textual, visual, etc). There as well we have a risk of things being monopolized with
all its well-known consequences.
So I took some time over the Christmas holidays and adapted some Open Source documents
to the concept of Open Information, which could be actually a generalization of the
Open Source concept. I attach the amended drafts of your Open Source Definition and
its Ratioanale.
Could you please let me know what you think about this idea. Please look at the
documents as quickly written Christmas drafts, far from being perfect.
Best wishes for the new year,
Torsten
__
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Title: Open Information Definition
[Translations available: NONE]
The Open Information Definition
(Version 0.1)
Open information doesn't just mean access to information. The distribution terms of open-information documents must comply with the following criteria:
1. Free Redistribution
The license may not restrict any party from selling or giving away the information as a component of an aggregate distribution containing information from several different sources. The license may not require a royalty or other fee for such sale. (rationale)
2. Readable Source Format
The open-information document must include the complete information in a format that is readable, understandable and usable by an educated person without any knowledge of internal procedures of the information provider. For parts of the information that are only executable on a computer, the document must include source code. The formats used must have been documented extensively and must be publicly available free of charge on a continuous basis, they are referred to below as "readable source format".
The license must allow distribution in readable source format as well as executable form. Where some form of a product is not distributed with readable source format, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the readable source format for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost -- preferably, downloading via the Internet without charge. The readable source format must be the preferred form in which a peer would modify the information. Deliberately obfuscated source format is not allowed. Intermediate forms such as the output of a preprocessor or translator are not allowed. (rationale)
3. Derived Works
The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original information. (rationale)
4. Integrity of The Author's Information.
The license may restrict information from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of "updates/deviations (?)" with the information for the purpose of modifying the information at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of documents built from modified information. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original document. (rationale)
5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups.
The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons. (rationale)
6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor.
The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the information in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research. (rationale)
7. Distribution of License.
The rights attached to the information must apply to all to whom the information is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties. (rationale)
8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product.
The rights attached to the information must not depend on the information's being part of a particular distribution. If the information is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the information's license, all parties to whom the information is redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in conjunction with the original distribution. (rationale)
9. License Must Not Contaminate Other Information.
The license must not place restrictions on other information that is distributed along with the licensed information. For example, the license must not insist that all other information distributed on the same medium must be open-information documents. (rationale)
Conformance
(This section is not part of the Open Information Definition.)
The OII Certified mark is OII's way of certifying that the license under which the information is distributed conforms to the OID; the generic term "Open In
