dpgs-decoded.pdf (2.4 MB)
I keep coming across announcements of open source software projects being “digital public goods” and finally looked more closely at it. This is a fantastic initiative connecting open source to the UN sustainability goals. The website is rather UN jargon infused but I’m really happy about it because it helps to make the case for open source as opposed to closed systems dominated and controlled by big tech.
They’ve come up with a standard with nine indicators determining if a product is a digital public good, a registry of verified digital public goods, and a tool for determining eligibility and then nominating a product for inclusion in the registry. The tool is quite nice because it can be used by anybody and provides guidance to help you learn about the concepts behind the nine indicators.
nextcloud and ghost, two of the tools in my-tech-stack, are in the DPG registry already. Surprisingly, discourse and mailcow are not! I will see about helping them get a nomination in.