rants

While the discussion is still going on this list, 451 Group this morning asks again to define Free Software Business.  Yes, a definition is needed.  The debate on this entry is not over yet 🙂

There is a song translated in Italian (the original in English  says ‘eveybody must get stoned’) that more or less says:

you’re beautiful and they throw stones at you, you’re ugly and they throw stones. Whatever you do, they will always throw stones at you.

This article made me think of this song 🙂

A very interesting and always ongoing debate is trying to identify a clear definition of what is a ‘Free Software Business’.  While we have a very clear definition of what is ‘free software’ (or the other-not-so-good-term open source) we seem not to have the same precision on business practices.  For me the question revolves around a concept that some companies have recently started to care about: ethics.  Free Software is about ethics first and technical excellence then.  Therefore I think FSB should be about ethics first and business model secondarily.

Matt Asay in an article on InfoWorld says:

 I'd define an open source company as one that has distribution, 
 modification, and evolution of (open access) source code core 
 to its business model and to its financial success.

And Simon Phipps answers on his blog:

  I would define an open source business as a company that's 
 business model fundamentally depends on open source software 
 and is positively engaged in the "virtuous cycle" of the 
 community from which that software is derived.

I think that both have good points in their reasoning (read the ir short articles as they are worth the time).  But I think they both miss the point.

My definition of a Free Software Business would more be along the lines of:

  A company that daily accepts its social responsibility towards 
 reaching freedom in the digital age, respecting the ideals 
 contained in the GNU Manifesto.

I am not sure this is the best definition possible, but I am more inclined to define the basic principles of ‘what is the mission of the company’ more than searching ‘how the company deals with software’.

But then the question that needs an answer is:

What company would fall into the FSB category if we start from ethics?