Resources

Form Emails to Enquire About the Status of a Work

Email templates for enquiries regarding the status (open or not) of work found on the internet.

Word-wrapped at column 72 for convenience.

Looks Like it is Supposed to be Open

Hi,

I came across your site and the work available there[1]. What you've got
looks great and from appearances it seems that the material is intended
to be 'open'[2]. However I couldn't see an explicit statement of this
fact such as a reference to an open knowledge license[3] so I'm writing
to find out what the exact situation is, specifically to ask you whether
the material is being made available under an open knowledge license of
some kind[3].

Regards,

[[INSERT NAME HERE]]

[1]: [[INSERT LINK HERE]]
[2]: http://okd.okfn.org/1.0/
[3]: http://okd.okfn.org/licenses/

Doesn't Appear To Have Thought About It

Hi,

I came across your site and the work available there[1]. What you've got
looks great and I'd be interested in using it so I wondered whether it
is 'open knowledge' in the sense that it can be used, reused and
redistributed freely[2]. If it is intended to be open that's fantastic
and you might want to consider explicitly licensing your material using
an open knowledge license[3].  If it isn't intended to be open I quite
understand. In either case I look forward to hearing what the situation
is.

Regards,

[[INSERT NAME HERE]]

[1]: [[INSERT LINK HERE]]
[2]: http://okd.okfn.org/1.0/
[3]: http://okd.okfn.org/licenses/

Templates for Emails About Open Definition Web Buttons

Word-wrapped at 72 characters for convenience.

About the Open Knowledge Web Buttons

About the Open Knowledge Web Buttons
====================================

At the Open Knowledge Foundation (http://www.okfn.org/) we work to
promote open knowledge wherever we can. As one part of that we have
developed an 'open knowledge definition':

  http://www.opendefinition.org/

This is very similar to the open source definition but it adapted to the
case of 'knowledge' -- be that data, content or any other kind of
information (some more information about the Definition can be found
below as well as on the website).

As part of the work in developing the Definition we've produced some
open knowledge/open data web buttons which people can use to indicate
that the work they are producing is 'open':

  http://www.opendefinition.org/buttons/

Your project clearly shares exactly the concept of openness set out in
the Open Knowledge Definition. I was therefore wondering whether you
would consider placing one of these buttons on your site to indicate
this (I notice you already have a Creative Commons button on your site).

Why Have an Open Knowledge Definition

Why Have an Open Knowledge Definition
=====================================

The concept of openness has already started to spread rapidly beyond its
original roots in academia and software. We already have 'open access'
journals, open genetics, open geodata, open content etc. As the concept
spreads so we are seeing a proliferation of licenses and a potential
blurring of what is open and what is not.

In such circumstances it is important to preserve compatibility, guard
against dilution of the concept, and provide a common thread to this
multitude of activities across a variety of disciplines. The definition,
by providing clear set of criteria for openness, is an essential tool in
achieving these ends.