Hi, A lot of the arguments presented here centered around the freedom of choice and that making it mandatory to use FOSS in government is tantamount to removing that freedom of choice. I could not disagree more.
When I was working in a private institution, I did not have a choice as to what software I would like to use or have installed in my PC because that choice has already been made for me as a matter of policy. That policy was in place for a reason. In order to make it more efficient for the company to manage its data it is necessary that an orderly and uniform system be in place. It included a policy on which specific format was used to save data which allowed everyone access to the data. In order to implement this policy, the company made sure that everyone understood it and were provided with sufficient training on how the policy was applied to each person's work. In this case, the choice exist. But it is not the individual's choice to make rather the institution's as a whole. In the case of this legislation, what is proposed here from what I understand, is that it is the government as an institution that decides on the policy and thus makes the choice. The government is free to choose the means by which it can effectively and efficiently serve and govern. This legislation is not discriminatory since what it seeks to establish as policy is how the software it purchases or uses have to be provided (free terms) and not who has to provide them. Software providers are free to choose what licensing terms apply to the software they provide and the government is free to choose the terms by which it will purchase software. This proposal merely sets that policy in place. To quote http://www.opensource.org/docs/peru_and_ms.php "By way of an example: nothing in the text of the Bill would prevent your company offering the State bodies an office "suite", under the conditions defined in the Bill and setting the price that you consider satisfactory. If you did not, it would not be due to restrictions imposed by the law, but to business decisions relative to the method of commercializing your products, decisions with which the State is not involved." In fact, there is no mention of which software to use, rather it only mentions the conditions which the government requires for software it uses or purchases. Much has also been said about whether or not it is even necessary to have such a policy in place. I argue that it is necessary for the reason I set forth above and in the following. Without a policy on the use of software in government we are in danger of creating critical systems that do not integrate well as a whole. We are at risk that state bodies may use software that is not at par or compatible with what others are using. Without a policy in place, government institutions who have already decided to migrate to FOSS -based solutions are doing so on there on without any guidance whatsoever. Without policy, we cannot rationally set rules and procedures that need to be enforced when implementing FOSS. Without policy, public data is at risk of being inaccessible and impermanent. Without policy, basic services and the government institutions that provide these are going to be crippled by the "unsustainable cost of government". Policy defines the objectives we want to meet. It provides guidance on how we can achieve these objectives. Without policy, there is chaos. It is therefore important that the subject of this discussion (the use of FOSS and open standards in government) comes within the purview of those who, while not being aware that such a possibility exists, stand to benefit from it the most. Having said the above, may I ask everyone to refrain from using derogatory terms like zealots or fascists. There is no need for name calling or a shouting match. We are all rational people here so please keep your arguments to the point. Friendly, Rage _________________________________________________ Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List plug@lists.linux.org.ph (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) Read the Guidelines: http://linux.org.ph/lists Searchable Archives: http://archives.free.net.ph
