| Read the AdTI white paper, Opening the Open Source Debate |
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Cyberspace Policy Institute Debate Offer On June 10, 2002, the Alexis de Tocqueville Institute issued a white paper entitled "Opening the Open Source Debate." The Open Source and Free Software Communities welcome this opportunity to engage in an open, fair and frank discussion with the Washington establishment on the merits of the competing software development paradigms. With the arrival of e-Government, where important democratic institutions are increasingly being placed in cyberspace, it has become crucially important to examine the software foundations of the emerging critical information infrastructure. One need only consider the implications of secret code running e-voting machines in future elections, as an example, to realize that software is no longer just a technical or business issue, but rather has become a larger public policy matter, too. In the past, the discussion of which software methodology ought to power e-Government implementations in a democracy was reduced to rhetorical volleys of derogatory phrases like "un-American", "cancer", and most recently, "helping terrorists" by one side, countered by charges of "lobbying", "secret back-room deals" and "terrorizing government employees for speaking honestly" on the other. This is not a productive way to arrive at a nuanced policy decision when so much is at stake. With the release of the ADTI white paper, there is an opportunity for the two camps to sit together and open a new chapter, where a reasoned dialog can prevail. So, let’s all accept the ADTI offer for a full and fair debate on the merits. This summer, each side can submit their facts, figures, examples, reasons and arguments. The results, then, can be presented at the CPI/World Bank’s International Open Source in Government Symposium in Washington, D.C. on October 17 and 18, 2002, for the world to evaluate. To this end, the Cyberspace Policy Institute accepts ADTI’s gracious offer for debate, and submits the paper by John Viega and Bob Fleck, "Dispelling Myths about the GPL and Free Software," to further the dialog.
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