Open Source Office

Welcome to our OSO page! Our OSO manages our open-source program and community and ensures we engage with the open-source community transparently and effectively. Below, OSO members have included some information about our open-source policies, processes, and resources for contributors and community members.

Why are we doing Open Source?

• Current State: Cardano offers a community with access to funding to develop a blockchain network.
• Future state: Open source builds the community with franchise leverage, which creates development speed.
• Speed of development** creates adoption of the technology
• Adoption creates Utility (dependency of a customer on the network - this is where we want to be)
• Cardano has to survive on transaction fees when funding runs out, and the treasury runs dry. Cardano can only develop sufficient transaction fees if it has utility, which millions of customers need and/or want to use.
• Open source is the conduit for the delivery of the business plan.

Why an OSO?

• Enhanced Innovation: An OSO fosters collaboration with open-source communities, allowing the Intersect to tap into a wealth of innovative ideas, technologies, and solutions.
• Cost Savings: Utilizing open-source software can significantly reduce licensing and development costs, improving the organization's cost-efficiency.
• Strategic Advantages: Through open source engagement, the Intersect gains strategic advantages, such as quicker time-to-market, adaptability to emerging trends, and a competitive edge in technology adoption.
• Risk Mitigation: The OSO ensures compliance with open-source licenses, reducing the legal and operational risks associated with mismanaged open-source software.
• Operational Efficiency: With a structured framework for managing open source contributions and engagements, the OSO enhances operational efficiency and streamlines the organization's open source strategy for maximum effectiveness.

Background: 

Open source is becoming increasingly crucial for Cardano as it provides access to faster development and community involvement and allows for more significant innovation through collaboration with the broader ecosystem. However, managing open-source software can be challenging, which is where an Open Source Office (OSO) comes in.

Definitions: 

• An Open Source Office (OSO) is a dedicated team managing Intersect's open-source strategy, policy, and processes. It ensures that Intersect and its projects comply with open-source licenses, contribute back to the open-source community, and maximize the benefits of using open-source.
• The Open Source Committee (OSC) is a crucial body dedicated to fostering and overseeing the open-source development of the Cardano blockchain within the Intersect organization. Think of the OSC as a steering committee for Cardano's open-source journey within Intersect.
• The Open Source Organization (OSOrg) is a fully functional system composed of the Open Source Office and the Open Source Committee.

Objectives of the Open Source Office:

Cardano Open Source Strategy

The OSO serves as the steward of Cardano's open-source strategy. The open-source strategy will focus on bringing Cardano fully into open source. It will define how we work, govern, and intend to build a community purposed and developed Cardano.

Cardano Open Source Pilot Oversight

The OSO will oversee a pilot of the Cardano Strategy. This will be the test case to validate the strategy and its execution. Through this pilot, we will validate the Proof of concept that Cardano is open source.

OSO Responsibilities:

The OSO has a wide range of responsibilities, including:

• Developing an open-source strategy and policy for Intersect.
• Maintaining an inventory of open-source software used within Intersect.
• Ensuring compliance with open source licenses and addressing any license violations.
• Encourages the open-source community to make code contributions, fix bugs, and engage in other forms of engagement.
• Manage the intersecting relationship with the open source community, educate members on open source and its benefits, and provide guidance and support to development teams on using and contributing to open source projects.

OSO workflow

Other Important aspects:

• Our open-source policy outlines our commitment to open-source software and our principles for contributing to open-source projects.
• We created contribution guidelines to provide a clear and transparent process for our open-source projects.
• All our open-source projects are released under the Apache 2.0 license, allowing users to use, modify, and distribute our software.
• Getting Started If you are new to open-source software and would like to get involved in our community, we recommend starting with our [getting started guide](link to guide), which provides an overview of our open-source projects and community.
• Code of Conduct We have adopted a code of conduct for our open-source community, outlining our behavior and interaction expectations. You can find our Code of Conduct.
• Issue Tracker If you would like to report an issue or request a new feature for one of our open-source projects, you can submit a ticket using our issue tracker [link to issue tracker].
• Community Chat We have a community chat channel on Discord where you can connect with other contributors and community members. You can join our community chat [here](link to chat).
• Open Source Projects We maintain a list of our open-source projects on our website, as well as information about each project and links to the project repositories. Our list of open source projects [here](link to projects).
• Community Blog We maintain a blog that posts updates about our open-source projects, articles, and tutorials on open-source software. You can find our Blog [here](link to Blog).
• Events We occasionally host events and meetups for our open-source community. You can find information about upcoming events on our [events page](link to events page).
• Contact Us If you have any questions or concerns about our open-source program, or if you would like to get in touch with our OSO team, you can contact us at oso@intersectmbo.org