Let's Talk About Open Source And Open Standards.

So, what is open source and what are open standards?

Well, if you haven't come across these concepts before, I'll try to give you the brief rundown.

Have you ever had someone give you a cookie?  Maybe that cookie was delicious, and you asked how they made it. If that person gave you the recipe, they just "opened" the "source" for the cookie to you, revealing the process and steps on how it is made. Now, you are free to replicate that recipe as many times as you have the desire and resources to. You could even alter the recipe to make your own spin on the recipe. That is what "Open Source" is all about. It is not necessarily about giving away things, but allowing access to the knowledge required to make things for yourself, and open up the possibility of collaboration.

Open Source = Access to the knowledge of how to make a certain thing

Now, what if the recipe you were given above, had units of measurement like "a handful of flour","a few dashes of salt", "a heap of chocolate", or "hot enough to melt the sidewalk"? Would you be able to replicate the recipe? Not likely. This is why we need to use "open standards", which are documented measurements, guidelines, and procedures which can be consistently and easily reproduced. This is why most of the world agrees to use the Metric System for measurement, and while the US customary units system  is not as simple, it at least is documented and reproducible. These systems of measurement allow us to bake cookies at consistent temperatures with consistent quantities of each ingredient. The recipe details in between may be harder to reproduce, but with enough standards, a repeatable outcome can occur.

Open standards = Documented  and reproducible measurements, guidelines, and procedures

Now, with an open sourced recipe, using open standards, we have the ability to make as many cookies as we can manage, but  this doesn't mean the cookies are free. No, it takes work and materials to make the cookie. If I gave away the cookies, they would be free to you (gratis), but at a cost to me. Even the creation of the recipe comes with an implied cost of possibly years of fine tuning and effort to refine. This is the cost of being the creator, but it can be offset by other things. Maybe I give away recipes, but sell the cookies. Maybe I give away cookies, but I charge for seating space in my very convenient meeting place where I hand them out? Maybe I give away the recipe as a way to advertise my other recipes, which I do charge for. Maybe I put conditions on the recipe, limiting who can share it, or what they can use it for. Maybe I just want people to spread my name, and know me as "the cookie guy".  Maybe I give them away, with no strings attached (libre), just because I like to see people happy.

There are many ways to produce an open source cookie, just as there are many ways of doing open source. The simplest form is gratis (free as in 'free beer') and fully libre (free as in 'liberty' - no strings attached). Furthermore, while open source is most often associated with software, open source can be applied to anything that humans produce. (eg electronics hardware, mechanical devices, art, books, you name it). 

 I bring this topic to your attention because, frankly, there is too much hidden knowledge in this world. Knowledge to help us fix our stuff, or make new stuff of our own. It is important in a world of finite resources and curious people, to be able to learn these things. I think, for reasons of future accessibility and compatibility, open source and open standards are clearly the way to go for projects that people will want to depend on long term. While closed source has its advantages and may be a necessity in some projects, if you are tied to a closed source project or proprietary standard, you are at the mercy of the creator. Open source and open standards give you added insurance for the ability to fix, alter, and reproduce things in the future. 

 For more information, check out the Open Source Initiative,  Free Software Foundation, Open Source Hardware Association, and Creative Commons.


Also, maybe I give away recipes in order to sell my ingredients, which you can then use to make even more cookies!

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