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Re: [EP-tech] Is EPrints 3.4 and beyond open source software?

Dear Tomasz, 

thank you for bringing this up. I was not aware of this. 
We are still operating 3.1. but in terms of having the possibility of an upgrade or not makes a big difference. 
“Managed availability” does sound kind of concerning. 

How should we as a community proceed? 

Best, 
Barbara 


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Barbara Petritsch
Library

Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Phone +43-(0)2243 9000-1167
Am Campus 1
A-3400 Klosterneuburg








On 28 Jun 2017, at 21:22, Tomasz Neugebauer <Tomasz.Neugebauer@concordia.ca> wrote:

It is time to bring up the question of whether or not EPrints 3.4 and beyond is open source software.
The answer to this question is determined by the license under which EPrints 3.4 is distributed.
These are Open Source software licenses:  https://opensource.org/licenses
EPrints 3.3 has a GPL license.
What about EPrints 3.4?  Is it distributed under a GPL license?
I ask this, because Eprints Services keeps referring to something called "managed availability", is that a new license?
The name "managed availability" doesn't sound like the name of an open source license, but perhaps "managed availability" doesn't refer to a new (closed source?) license, and EPrints 3.4 is still distributed under a GPL license?
What would be the equivalent of "managed availability" in the world of journal article availability? Not open access, right?
I think we deserve to have a clear answer to this, so that we can think about the implications for the community that has contributed to EPrints.
I saw on a slide from EPrints Services during the OR conference something like this:
"Open source software models have their limitations"
That may be so, but I, for one, am deeply committed to open source software in the open access repository space.
Open source is a value and a culture.  It also has many advantages, and I probably don't need to list in detail on this list because you are all well aware of them, but let me just use a quote from a 2010 paper where I commented on my choice of EPrints:
"low initial cost, accessibility to evaluation without a limited trial period, availability to develop software enhancements without the need to convince a corporation of the enhancement’s financial viability".

Tomasz Neugebauer
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