Free(dom) Software not Open Source (Was Re: [Fsf-friends] Re: KC and open source)

[Krishna Pagadala]

Malovika,
      Please use Free Software on this list, or atleast FOSS.
  http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Open
  
  Why ``Free Software'' is better than ``Open Source''
  http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html
  
  -Krishna
  

malovika roy <malovika at gmail.com> wrote:  hi,

we  keep hearing about projects like mentioned by Kush below done by  various organisations. But these are isolated cases. what is slowing  down the impact of open source in e-governance especially, is the lack  of coordination and sharing of knowledge. Its ironic actually. to some  extent there is coordiantion, but then why arent successful projects  shared or talked about in forums like this one? will someone from Pune  LUG tell us what they have done for e-governance? Likewise will someone  from Bangalore LUG share their knowledge with Delhi LUG? I am not  implying that there is no sharing at all, there is, however, how many  of them are working on e-governance projects? there is nothing to  quantify this fact.

Point is that vaious groups tend to go thru  the same cycle of planning and working out an e-governance project  which can be just cloned and enhanced or modified for customised use.

While  Indian developer community is being noticed and praised for its work,  there is still a big void of contribution to the public sector. And  this is not just my opinion, but the feeling of most leading companies  who are continually encouraging student community, and asking for more  public sector development.

We would like to know why?

Malovika.





> I think we will have to take multiple different approaches with respect
> to the govt adopting open source. The problem is not that conscientious
> officers in govt don't understand that open source is better but they
> are reluctant to act as they are frequently bypassed or interfered in
> day  to day working thru vested interests lobbying the political people.
> Open source gives the organised civil society an opportunity and a
> challenge to start becoming an alternative to organised government. Once
> civil society makes alternative information systems and methods of
> collaboration for the general populace, the existing govt structure will
> be forced to start reducing the establishment costs by giving value for
> money to citizens for govt services (as citizens will start demanding
> them) thru adoption of cost control technologies such as open source.
> This is something which has started to happen in Mumbai now specially
> for the municipal govt. Organised civil society is now taking up the IT
> component of the municipality (praja.org etc). Their system is not open
> source fully but by bypassing the govt IT machinery (which is liable to
> political interference) things have changed. Creation of new bureaucracy
> has been stalled and existing bureaucracy is being forced to act.
>
> Praja is also working in Bangalore. They are bypassing the formation of
> new govt structures such as NIC, CDAC etc which till now had a
> stranglehold on every aspect of egovernance.
>
> Kush


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