[okfn-discuss] Wikipedia as SaaS by the OSSD?

[Mike Linksvayer]

On Thu, Dec 20, 2012 at 9:03 AM, Bastien <bzg at altern.org> wrote:
> Mike Linksvayer <ml at gondwanaland.com> writes:
>> Whether someone else's computer is doing something
>> narrowly defined as your computing or not is not pertinent. Rather, is
>> the service publishing its source as free software/open source, and is
>> non-private data open knowledge?
>
> I see two problems with this "orthogonal" definition of SaaS:
> (1) it doesn't really match the common meaning of the term and
> (2) it is so broad than I don't see any website that it does *not*
> cover.

Indeed, any website could be considered either Open Software Service
Definition conformant, or not...

> I agree FSF's definition can also have some problems, but at least
> it's narrow enough to limit the topic.

...SaaS can't be rigorously defined.
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html
provides some illumination on a particular dimension ("your
computing"), and certainly services implicating your computing are far
more interesting than most others for OSSD conformance. But many
things in that essay ruled out as doing your computing are also
extremely interesting for OSSD conformance, including Wikipedia.

I don't see any need to narrow the topic. Perhaps in part because I
don't see the Open Definition group isn't going to be certifying
particular service instances as OSSD conforming any more than it
certifies particular works as Open Knowledge Definition conformant
(and a work can certainly be published under an OKD conformant license
and not be an OKD conformant work). And in part because I see some
social benefit, perhaps small, of comprehensive openness, even if a
site is just publishing information, analogous to a local program
which just displays a single artwork (such things used to be pretty
common). It isn't incredibly important that such things be open, but
they ought to be, still.

>> We could use more examples, but honestly I'm not sure anything
>> relating to Wave is intuitive for many people. And there's a
>> distinction between software which is amenable to powering an
>> OSSD-conformant service, and a service itself (eg
>> MediaWiki/Wikipedia). Maybe Kune.cc is OSSD-conformant; I haven't
>> looked closely.
>
> Kune is just a website to facilitate online collaboration.
>
> I think it is OSSD-conformant, but I'll forward the question to the
> developers and let them reply if they can.

I thought Kune is software, which a number of services (websites)
might run. Software might be written in a way that facilitate OSSD
conformance of an instance, or even makes a new installation OSSD
conformant by default. Conformant instances, and software that by
default creates conformant instances, all great, of course!

Thanks,
Mike