this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2023
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Why do all these companies developing privatised software use the word "Open"? Real question. (lemmy.cat)
submitted 1 year ago by retiolus@lemmy.cat to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] smileyhead@discuss.tchncs.de 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

From Wikipedia:

Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose.

From Open Source Initiative:

Open source doesn’t just mean access to the source code. The distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the following criteria: (...) https://opensource.org/osd/

AnyType is "source available". Open Source is a term exisiting for many years with already established precise meaning and messing it up makes much harm in a world where talking about computing morality is already messed up with the lack of words in public awareness, as computer software is very abstract and need proper terminology.

[–] gloriousspearfish@feddit.dk 1 points 1 year ago

You are cherry-picking quite a bit in that Wikipedia article. There is also a whole section discussing the confusion between the terms open source, free and libre.

I would venture that the most commonly understood definition of the term is that open source software simply means what it says, that the source code is openly available. And nothing more.

Free or libre software expresses the intention you describe explicitly, that the recipient is allowed to share and modify the software. Thus removing ambiguity.

Open Source is indeed a term existing for many years, probably a lot longer than you are thinking about. Trying to redefine that as meaning anything more than what is says is what is causing confusion.