Re: Boy Scout Open Source

["MBR-2" <user=90@nabble.blu.org>]

 In spite of this having gotten way off topic because of the Boy Scouts' 
Freedom of Association case, I think there's a different issue here that 
_is_ highly relevant to BLU (and also FSF for that matter).  I just 
looked closely at their answer to the question "What is Open Source 
Software?" at http://opensource.scouting.org/classroom, and it looks to 
me like they leave out the most crucial core concept of Open Source (or 
as Stallman prefers to call it, "Free") Software.  They state that Open 
Source software is: 

       1. Open to Review 
       2. Open Standards 
       3. Open Use 

Those may all be true, but the core concept behind "open source" is that 
the source code is open - open not merely to review, and not merely for 
end user use of compiled binaries, but open to modification of the 
source code and redistribution under the requirement that the source 
code must be made available to anyone to whom a binary is distributed.   
This sort of redefinition of the term "open" is the sort of FUD I expect 
to hear from Micro$oft.  It leaves me wondering if the Boy Scouts are 
running some sort of agenda that leads to them misrepresenting the 
meaning of open source, or if they're just clueless regarding what open 
source is truly about. 

    Mark Rosenthal 
    Arlington Software Enterprises 
    [hidden email] 

John Abreau wrote: 
> Hi, Bill. 
> 
> I saw a story this morning about the Boy Scouts starting an opwn source 
> initiative, with its web site at 
> 
>     http://opensource.scouting.org/
> 
> Do you know anything about this? Maybe we could have a talk on it at 
> an upcoming BLU meeting? 
> 
> 
> 
>