...[I]f you're not familiar with the "schism" [between free and open source software], there's some background. I've argued that the same sort of openness as brought to mind by Free/Open Source Software is vital for the future of science, and since a movement needs a name I've tentatively proposed Open Science as the banner under which open access, open data, open standards, open licensing and open source might assemble to their greatest mutual benefit. As it happens though, one of the earliest movements towards what I am calling "open" science was called the Free Science Campaign, run by Stefano Ghirlanda. (The page is offline now. I ran across it while doing my graduate studies, and it is an enduring regret that I never signed up.)
Here's the idea, then, for all that it opens up an awful can of worms: should we be calling the campaign to free up scientific information (text, data and software) "Free Science", for the same reasons Stallman insists on "Free Software"?
It would be rather too much to just toss that out there, so here's my view. While I have great sympathy with Stallman's arguments in favour of Free, and am personally committed to do as much of my science completely in the open as I can, I know my tribe. Scientists are a cynical, self-interested lot. For instance, I was scoffed at for recommending BioRoot to colleagues -- the whole idea of sharing tends to be seen as naive, asking to be taken advantage of. It's been my experience that the first response of most scientists to any "open" scheme (like BioRoot, or Open Notebook Science) is not "how cool!" but "what about bad actors? how will you keep from being robbed?". (Which says something about what the culture of science does to a person, but I digress.) To my mind, this largely explains why BioRoot hasn't taken off as I would have hoped/expected, and is something of which to be wary. I am concerned that "Free Science", particularly if explicitly connected with "idealistic" Stallman (as contrasted with the "pragmatic" OSI), might meet with a chorus of sneers from the people who need it most. So for now, I think we should stick with "Open Science".
Posted by
Peter Suber at 12/05/2006 09:47:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
