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{{short description|Non-profit organization promoting open-source software}}{{distinguish|Open Software Foundation|Open Access Initiative|National Open Source Enterprise}}

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209,500HTTPS://WWW.CHARITYNAVIGATOR.ORG/INDEX.CFM?BAY=SEARCH.PROFILE&EIN=912037395 > ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://ARCHIVE.TODAY/20190512053355/HTTPS://WWW.CHARITYNAVIGATOR.ORG/INDEX.CFM?BAY=SEARCH.PROFILE&EIN=912037395 ARCHIVE-DATE=2019-05-12, Charity Navigator - Unrated Profile for Open Source Initiative, link=yes}}209,500HTTPS://WWW.CHARITYNAVIGATOR.ORG/INDEX.CFM?BAY=SEARCH.PROFILE&EIN=912037395 > ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://ARCHIVE.TODAY/20190512053355/HTTPS://WWW.CHARITYNAVIGATOR.ORG/INDEX.CFM?BAY=SEARCH.PROFILE&EIN=912037395 ARCHIVE-DATE=2019-05-12, Charity Navigator - Unrated Profile for Open Source Initiative, | name = Open Source Initiative| image_border = | size = 200pxCalifornia, U.S.HTTPS://WWW.CHARITYNAVIGATOR.ORG/INDEX.CFM?BAY=SEARCH.PROFILE&EIN=912037395 URL-STATUS=DEAD TITLE = CHARITY NAVIGATOR - UNRATED PROFILE FOR OPEN SOURCE INITIATIVE, | membership = | num_staff = | area_served = Worldwideweblink}}}}The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is the steward of the Open Source Definition, the set of rules that define open source software.WEB, About the Open Source Initiative | Open Source Initiative,weblink dead,weblink 2019-05-12, It is a California public-benefit nonprofit corporation, with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. The organization was founded in late February 1998 by Bruce Perens and Eric S. Raymond, part of a group inspired by the Netscape Communications Corporation publishing the source code for its flagship Netscape Communicator product. Later, in August 1998, the organization added a board of directors.Raymond was president from its founding until February 2005, followed briefly by Russ Nelson and then Michael Tiemann. In May 2012, the new board elected Simon Phipps as presidentWEB,weblink OSI Board Elects New Officers, 2012-05-23, 2012-05-21, 2012-05-27,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120527102822weblink">weblink dead, and in May 2015 Allison Randal was elected as presidentWEB, Phipps, Simon, Outgoing President tweet,weblink 13 May 2015, when Phipps stepped down in preparation for the 2016 end of his board term.WEB, Phipps, Simon, Handing On The Baton,weblink dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20151121095939weblink">weblink 21 November 2015, 15 May 2015, Open Source Initiative, Phipps became President again in September 2017.WEB, Randal, Allison, 28 September 2017, Transitions in Leadership,weblink dead,weblink 1 October 2017, 10 October 2017, Molly de Blanc was electedWEB, OSI Board Evolution | Open Source Initiative,weblink President in May, 2019, followed by Josh SimmonsWEB,weblink Tweet about 2020 Officer Elections, in May, 2020.The organization appointed Stefano Maffulli as its executive director in September 2021,WEB, Vaughan-Nichols, Steven J., The Open Source Initiative names Stefano Maffulli as its first Executive Director,weblink 2021-09-20, ZDNet, en, at the end of a process set by the board of directors to transform the organization. Josh Simmons is chair of the board.

History

As a campaign of sorts, "open source" was launched in 1998 by Christine Peterson, Jon "maddog" Hall, Larry Augustin, Eric S. Raymond, Bruce Perens, and others.WEB,weblink History of the OSI, WEB,weblink A Look Back at 10 Years of OSI, 2018-04-29,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180429095902weblink">weblink The group adopted the Open Source Definition for open-source software, based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines. They also established the Open Source Initiative (OSI) as a steward organization for the movement. However, they were unsuccessful in their attempt to secure a trademark for 'open source' to control the use of the termweblink Announcement of losing 'open source' trademark In 2008, in an apparent effort to reform governance of the organization, the OSI Board invited 50 individuals to join a "Charter Members" group; by 26 July 2008, 42 of the original invitees had accepted the invitations. The full membership of the Charter Members has never been publicly revealed, and the Charter Members group communicated by way of a closed-subscription mailing list, "osi-discuss", with non-public archives.WEB,weblink OSI Charter Member Discuss List, 2012-06-19,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130421094608weblink">weblink 2013-04-21, dead, In 2012, under the leadership of OSI director and then-president Simon Phipps, the OSI began transitioning towards a membership-based governance structure. The OSI initiated an Affiliate Membership program for "government-recognized non-profit charitable and not-for-profit industry associations and academic institutions anywhere in the world".WEB,weblink Become an OSI Affiliate, 22 May 2012, Subsequently, the OSI announced an Individual Membership programWEB,weblink OSI Announces Individual Membership, and listed a number of Corporate Sponsors.WEB,weblink OSI Corporate Sponsors, 23 July 2023, On November 8, 2013, OSI appointed Patrick Masson as its general manager.NEWS,weblink OSI Names New General Manager, 2013-10-23, LWN, 2014-01-27, From August 2020 to September 2021, Deb Nicholson was the interim general manager.WEB, Deb Nicholson to Join Open Source Initiative as Interim General Manager,weblink 2021-02-16, Software Freedom Conservancy, en, Under the direction of Deborah Nicholson, the interim manager, the voting and election was held with results and then halted and set for re-election due to vulnerabilities in the election process. "This week we found a vulnerability in our voting processes that was exploited and had an impact on the outcome of the recent Board Election."NEWS, OSI election update,weblink No election results or further updates are posted {{as of|June 2021|lc=true}}.NEEDED, September 2023, In January 2020, founder Bruce Perens left OSI over controversy regarding a new license (the Cryptographic Autonomy License), which had been proposed for the OSI's approval.NEWS, OSI co-founder leaves initiative over new license,weblink Later, in August 2020, Perens elaborated on his concerns: "We created a tower of babel of licenses. We did not design-in license compliance, and we have a tremendous noncompliance problem that isn't getting better. We can't afford to sue our copyright infringers."WEB,weblink What comes after Open Source?, DebConf20, Bruce, Perens, 2020-08-24, 2021-06-01, Eric S. Raymond, another co-founder of the OSI, was later banned from the OSI mailing list in March 2020.WEB,weblink Co-founder of OSI Banned from Mailing Lists, In November 2020 the board of directors announced a search for an executive directorWEB, OSI Seeks to Hire Executive Director {{!, Open Source Initiative |url=https://blog.opensource.org/executive_director/ |access-date=2021-09-20 |website=opensource.org|date=19 November 2020 }} which was concluded in September 2021 with the appointment of Stefano Maffulli. At the same time, the role of president of the board was abandoned in favor of chair of the board.

Relationship with the free software movement

Both the modern free software movement and the Open Source Initiative were born from a common history of Unix, Internet free software, and the hacker culture, but their basic goals and philosophy differ, the free software movement being more focused on the ethics of software, and their open source counterparts being more focused on practical benefits. The Open Source Initiative chose the term "open source", in founding member Michael Tiemann's words, to "dump the moralizing and confrontational attitude that had been associated with 'free software{{'"}} and instead promote open source ideas on "pragmatic, business-case grounds".WEB,weblink History of the OSI, Tiemann, Michael, Michael Tiemann, 2006-09-19, Open Source Initiative, 2009-04-25, As early as 1999, OSI co-founder Perens objected to the "schism" that was developing between supporters of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the OSI because of their disparate approaches. Perens had hoped the OSI would merely serve as an "introduction" to FSF principles for "non-hackers."WEB,weblink It's Time to Talk About Free Software Again, 2014-11-19, 2014-11-19, dead,weblink 2014-07-16, Richard Stallman of FSF has sharply criticized the OSI for its pragmatic focus and for ignoring what he considers the central "ethical imperative" and emphasis on "freedom" underlying free software as he defines it.WEB,weblink Why 'Open Source' Misses the Point of Free Software, 2009-04-25, Stallman, Richard, Richard Stallman, 2009-04-21, Free Software Foundation, Nevertheless, Stallman has described his free software movement and the Open Source Initiative as separate camps within the same broad free-software community and acknowledged that despite philosophical differences, proponents of open source and free software "often work together on practical projects."On March 23, 2021, in response to Richard Stallman's reappointment to the Board of the Free Software Foundation, the OSI released a statement calling upon the FSF to "hold Stallman responsible for past behavior, remove him from the organization's leadership and work to address the harm he caused to all those he has excluded: those he considers less worthy, and those he has hurt with his words and actions." The OSI also stated that they would not participate in any events that include Stallman and "cannot collaborate with the Free Software Foundation until Stallman is removed from the organization's leadership."WEB, OSI Response to RMS's reappointment to the Board of the Free Software Foundation {{!, Open Source Initiative |url=https://blog.opensource.org/osi_response/ |access-date=2021-04-03 |website=opensource.org|date=23 March 2021 }}

Board members

{{as of|February 2024}}, the Open Source Initiative Board of Directors is:WEB, Current composition of OSI board of directors, 20 September 2022,weblink Open Source Initiative, {{Col-begin}}{{Col-3}}

• Aeva Black
• Anne-Marie Scott
• Pamela Chestek
• Gaël Blondelle{{Col-3}}
• Carlo Piana
• Tracy Hinds
• Thierry Carrez
• Sayeed Choudhury

{{Col-3}}

• Catharina Maracke
• Josh Berkus
• Justin Colannino

{{Col-end}}Past board members include:WEB,weblink Open Source Initiative, 17 February 2019, OSI Emeritus Members | Open Source Initiative, {{Col-begin}}{{Col-3}}

• Matt Asay
• Brian Behlendorf
• L. Peter Deutsch
• Ken Coar
• Danese Cooper
• Molly de Blanc
• Chris DiBona
• Karl Fogel
• Richard Fontana
• Rishab Aiyer Ghosh
• Mike Godwin
• Harshad Gune
• Christine Hall
• Leslie Hawthorn
• Joi Ito

{{Col-3}}

• Jim Jagielski
• Fabio Kon
• Raj Mathur
• Martin Michlmayr
• Mike Milinkovich
• Ian Murdock
• Russ Nelson
• Nnenna Nwakanma
• Andrew C. OliverWEB,weblink 2009 OSI Board Elections held in April, 2009-05-23, 2022-04-07,weblink dead,
• Bruce Perens
• Simon Phipps
• Allison Randal
• Eric S. Raymond
• Guido van Rossum
• Chip Salzenberg

{{Col-3}}

• Tim Sailer
• Alolita Sharma
• Josh Simmons
• Carol Smith
• Bruno Souza
• Paul Tagliamonte
• Michael Tiemann
• Luis Villa
• Tony Wasserman
• Sanjiva Weerawarana
• Stefano Zacchiroli
• Chris Lamb
• Faidon Liambotis{{Col-end}}

See also

• Digital rights
• Comparison of open-source and closed-source software
• Business models for open-source software
• Commons-based peer production â€“ an economic model for organizing projects without leaders or financial compensation
• Open-source governance â€“ use of open-source principles to transform human social governance
• Techno-progressivism â€“ a stance of active support for the convergence of technological change and social progress
• Open-source-software movement â€“ the evolution and evidence of the open-source ideology

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

External links

• {{Official websiteweblink}}
• List of OSI approved licenses

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