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Title: Why the ‘spirit’ of open source means much more than a license
The concept of “open source” has become synonymous with transparency and collaboration in the technology industry. However, recent attempts to rebrand or redefine what it means to be open source have raised concerns among advocates for the movement.
Stefano Maffulli, executive director at the Open Source Initiative (OSI), emphasized that having clear parameters is crucial. He highlighted that philosophical concepts like “open design,” community engagement, and development are important but fundamentally subjective. On the other hand, licensing provides an objective measure to ensure consistency across different projects.
“Having definitions is to have criteria that can be scored, and focusing on licensing is how that is accomplished,” Maffulli said in a statement. “The global community and industry have come to rely on the Open Source Definition and now the Open Source AI Definition as objective measures they can rely on.”
In recent years, the term has evolved beyond its initial meaning of software source code being freely available and modifiable. Instead, it has expanded to encompass artificial intelligence (AI) and other aspects of tech.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/08/why-the-spirit-of-open-source-means-much-more-than-a-license/
