[okfn-discuss] New name for ckan.net: call for proposals

Sun Nov 21 21:34:01 UTC 2010

cool thanks.

so like an index of structured, open, re-useable knowledge?

On Sun, Nov 21, 2010 at 3:12 PM, John Bywater <
john.bywater at appropriatesoftware.net> wrote:

> Jessy Kate wrote:
>
>> hmm, well with all the descriptions so far i'm actually still not really
>> clear what "it" is :).
>>
>> maybe it's worth describing why someone would use it? (and why they would
>> use it over other data repositories?)
>>
>> ie, would i used it to store arbitrary datasets? or would i use it to link
>> to other datasets? could it be compared to, say, infochimps? they don't
>> necessarily host all the data listed there. the unifying thing is that
>> it's
>> a place to index and store information about what other data is out there
>> (and, of course, to optionally charge for it).
>>
>> is this like infochimps for free and open data?
>>
>>
> FWIW, the original requirements for CKAN are recorded here:
> http://desire.appropriatesoftware.net/products/30/
>
> "Knowledge and data will increasingly be provided in packaged form to be
> re-used combined in a manner similar to software. Need a registry to keep
> track of what open knowledge projects and packages exist."
>
> The "Scope of the System" shows that CKAN was originally intended as a
> central register of metadata.  The main use case is recorded here:
> http://desire.appropriatesoftware.net/stories/84/
>
> "Create, read, update, or delete records of open knowledge projects or
> packages"
>
> So the "archive network" part was always a bit of a misnomer. Obviously
> enough, the issue with archiving the data (which Perl scripts mostly don't
> suffer from) is that archiving data sets can require very large storage
> capacity. So it makes sense to have the data decentralised.
>
> Of course the metadata can also be decentralised (that's how the Location
> Information Infrastucture side of data.gov.uk will work) and as Rufus
> points out Google does a pretty good job of indexing stuff. Nevertheless,
> there appears to be a value in maintaining an inventory, particularly for
> large organisations, and especially for large public organisations like
> central governments.
>
> J.
>
>
>
>  jessy
>>
>>
>
>
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-- 
Jessy Cowan-Sharp
http://jessykate.com
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