[okfn-discuss] Our vision: Why, How and What for the Open Knowledge Foundation

Tue Jul 14 16:06:07 UTC 2009

On Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 8:47 AM, Rufus Pollock<rufus.pollock at okfn.org> wrote:
> * We strive to be more like Apache than FSF

Apache is not into copyleft. Ok, I realize this isn't the sense you mean. :)

> (I hope i'm not offending
> anyone with this analogy!): i.e. a community built around a network of
> projects (and working groups) joined by shared understanding of
> openness (and its value) -- as opposed to something centrally driven
> and organized (and very strongly committed to a particular
> philosophy).
>
> * A clear espousal of openness with explicit application across a
> variety of domains (so not just content, not just data -- genes to
> geodata, sonnets to statistics ...). Many other groups/orgs are
> focused on one particular thing (e.g. openlibrary)

The Apache umbrella analogy for OKF really helps me understand what
the OKF is and/or is trying to be, more than anything I've ever read
before -- I've never really understood exactly how all of the projects
I see mentioned in relation to the OKF hang together other than "very
loosely" but ASF-like makes that answer make sense to me.

Mike