[okfn-discuss] 4 Ideas for Defending the Open Data Commons by Simon Chignard

Michael Bauer michael.bauer at okfn.org
Mon Jan 14 08:49:23 UTC 2013


Hi,

On Fri, Jan 11, 2013 at 04:06:58PM +0000, Kat Braybrooke wrote:
> For those interested in learning more about the open data ecosystem from a
> French perspective, a bit of interesting reading has been featured on the
> OKFN Blog today from Simon Chignard, author of *L’Open data: Comprendre
> l’ouverture des données publiques. *
> *
> *
> In this post, Chignard discusses linkages between the open data movement
> and philosophies of the Commons in France, and proposes four different
> scenarios for the defence of common goods.
> 
> http://blog.okfn.org/2013/01/10/4-ideas-for-defending-the-open-data-commons/

I slightly tripped at point 4. (Charging users of the API for frequent
use). Point 1 of the Open Definition: The work shall be available as a
whole and at no more than a reasonable reproduction cost 

Reproduction costs in APIs is minimal (how much does a GET request cost?) -
Further we don't have micropayment systems that do transmit that little
money for free. What remains is selling requests in bulk and rate limiting
APIs.

To me this puts a risk on app developers: If their (free) app becomes
popular - they are suddenly confronted with having to pay for using an API.
So I'd rather not go down that route.

Michael

-- 
Data Wrangler with the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN.org)
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