Helping FOSS projects be more successful through clearly defined project data.

CC0

FAQ

What is this project?

ClearlyDefined is an open source project to crowd-source the gathering, curation, and upstreaming of licensing and security (and more) data about free and open source projects. The ultimate goal being to help projects thrive by more clearly defining their contract and status.

What is the status of ClearlyDefined?

The answer is to this is changing fast but in the big picture, the project is very young. We are still setting directions and understanding the user scenarios and approaches. There is code and data. The system runs but is best thought of as pre-alpha. We have just enough to paint the picture and show how it might work. From here we are looking forward to collaborating with folks from all over to make it happen (and define what ‘it’ is).

What’s the governance model of ClearlyDefined?

This is an open source project like any other. The source code is licensed under the MIT license and all the data is distributed under CC0. The project is an incubator project under the Open Source Initiative. You can find the Charter of the organization here. We adhere to the Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct.

How is ClearlyDefined different than other projects like SPDX, OpenChain, etc.?

Other technologies like SPDX, OpenChain, Quartermaster, etc. are complementary to ClearlyDefined. Where they bring tools, process, approaches, and data formats, ClearlyDefined brings the data itself. In this way ClearlyDefined is the proverbial missing piece. ClearlyDefined is most like npm1k.org and libraries.io though we vary in breadth and depth.

This is awesome, how can I/we/my organization get involved?

There are lots of different ways to get involved. So many in fact that we wrote a whole document on how to get involved. Check out the doc and pick the means that best suits your needs.

Who is behind ClearlyDefined?

ClearlyDefined started with some work in the Microsoft Open Source Programs Office but quickly attracted folks from an array of organizations (foundations and companies). The team takes pride in the project being very broad-based, open, and vendor/community neutral. For details of current participants, check out the partners page.

This project is maintained by clearlydefined

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