OpenStand recently received very salient feedback from a supporter. In his email, he likened the OpenStand website to one that advocates for clean air. In short, he argued that no one could argue with such a site: Clean air is good. Just like open development and the OpenStand Principles are good. However, he asserted the site might be more effective if it armed its readers with a better understanding of the threats to clean air (or, in this case, challengers to open standards and open development), thereby helping readers develop their own positions and empowering them to engage on the specific issues of the day.
This supporter made a great point that addresses a collective need for greater simplicity. At the same time, this poses some challenges: First, the open development community faces a host of incredibly complicated topics, issues and debates today, which are global in scale. Further, the participants, organizations, entities and parties involved in these issues are incredibly diverse. Finally, the open development community itself contains many different perspectives on the complex issues we face, making it in itself, somewhat fragmented in its positioning.
It is not within OpenStand’s purview to recommend positions on complex issues of our day. However, the OpenStand Principles are proving to be increasingly helpful in informing and aligning the open development community around a common set of values to enable problem solving. As OpenStand values are leveraged in public dialog, debate, policy making and development, future models for technology collaboration will emerge that leverage what has worked in the past and address the shortcomings of the day. It is our hope that the preservation of these time-tested principles will help secure a future of open, market-driven innovation that speeds innovation and benefits humanity.
Over the past two years, the OpenStand principles have proven to be an increasingly relevant, influential, unifying force in public discussion. As we approach OpenStand’s two-year anniversary, it is our hope that OpenStand will continue to serve as a catalyst for discussion and action within the the open standards and technology development community and that OpenStand values will form the bedrock for future technology innovation.
We welcome the ongoing feedback, dialog and participation of our readers and supporters.