Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Free Software as a brand

[Simon Ward]

On Sun, Jun 07, 2009 at 11:11:00AM +0100, Robert Burrell Donkin wrote:
> > "Open source" is actually referred to in the article as "a failed
> > re‐branding effort over which its creators lost control".  There is
> > suggestion that a single brand for free software may be better, but it
> > is in my reading by no means the theme(?) of the article.
> 
> open source was an entirely successful rebranding effort whose triumph
> was down to the creators losing control :-P

Quite true: “open source” as a branding is an absolute triumph.  Also
mentioned in the article is how this has become an undoing in a way:
Everyone wants to be “open source”, it’s a good thing, so now they try
to do things in a way that look to be “open source” at first face, but
are not really in line with the OSI or free software definitions.  The
brand is successful, but the ideals are being lost.  I couldn’t care
less for a name, a branding, but I do care about the ideals, and they
are what I am here to promote.  The question is, can we do more to
prevent the “open source” brand being abused?  Do we need to?

Simon
-- 
A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a
simple system that works.—John Gall

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