Re: Open Hardware

On Thu, May 08, 2008 at 12:46:08PM -0700, Jonathan Gray wrote:
>    http://okfn.org/wiki/OpenHardware

I added a couple of links to work coming from Free Networks
communities in this area. Most of it's covered by the wikipedia
resources you have there. The RONJA project is a classic reference
point, its creator talked on the WSFII.London "Open Hardware" track.
http://publication.nodel.org/node/116/print in partic. reads as 
"notes towards an open hardware definition"

Another reference point would be the "maker" scene as hyped by
O'Reilly, but that seems more focused on adapting and combining
"proprietary" hardware projects.  

> Do people think that the OKF could have a role to play in this area? 
> E.g. in supporting an 'open hardware definition' - or similar?
> I'm going to start contacting relevant groups and mailing lists 

I think that if there's work on, or movement towards, such an effort
in the communities you have contact with, OKF could usefully promote
that, host or link to drafts from opendefinition.org, etc.

HOWEVER. I want to ask what these things are useful for, and probably
caution against asking for too much definition, especially in a
"legal" context. Is an Open Hardware Definition envisaged to be
defensive, in the sense of "keeping open libre"? Defensive against
people who may be "passing off" restricted or encumbered projects
as "open" for marketing reasons with no intention of engaging in an
open process?