[OT] What is Open Source?

[David Mertz, Ph.D.]

|Do you think the set of "open source software" as defined by OSI and the
|set of "free software" as defined by FSF are
|1) the same set,
|2) two different sets,
|3) none of the above;

Well, both the OSI and the FSF are quite unambiguous in stating that
these are two different sets.

And both groups are equally unambiguous in stating that there is a lot
of overlap between the sets.  And moreover, the FSF is awfully clear in
stating exactly what they don't like about the set of things that are
Open Source but not Free Software (i.e. exactly the same the same thing
they don't like about all non-Free software).

It is somewhat up-in-the-air whether the set of Open Source Software is
a strict superset of Free Software.  At the least, Open Source includes
generally more software, and -very nearly- all software that is Free
Software is also Open Source Software.

There is nothing very difficult (and nothing -at all- ambiguous) in
here.  However, it *IS* true--as with any area of human cognition--that
there are people who fail to understand the categories.  Big deal.  Some
people are wrong, and some things are so.

Yours, David...

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