It is amazing to me that certain views about free and open source software still persist, despite the success of Linux and the plethora of open source web applications. But as this recent post on Boing Boing shows, closed-minded attitudes toward FOSS still prevail, even in the public educational system, which could certainly benefit from taking advantage of all the high-quality, free, open source software that’s out there.

Two myths bubble to the surface in this teacher’s angry email that is now being reprinted all over the Interwebs. One is that software cannot possibly be free. Based on this misconception, she confiscated her student’s software and prevented him from demonstrating it to his fellow students, without taking a moment to do any investigation into whether her assumption was correct.

The second is that open source software like Linux cannot possibly be as good as Microsoft software, so it is doing students a disservice to even let them know that they have options. While this whole incident makes my head explode, this notion just leaves me speechless. Don’t we want our students to approach things with an open mind, explore and experiment, and then form judgments for themselves? (Wait, maybe we don’t.)

I wish I could say that this is an isolated incident. Unfortunately, we encounter these attitudes in our work as well, although not usually in such an emphatic or negative way. We have heard from our clients that free software cannot be good software and that the quality of Microsoft software has to be better than anything that’s free. We say: Try it  and judge for yourself. That’s exactly what this teacher should have done as well.

By the way, our iHRIS human resource information systems are entirely free to download, distribute and modify. And all the software that is required to run them is also entirely free. So yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as free software.

But our nonprofit, I have to confess, doesn’t always use Open Source software internally. This is has been a subject of much debate. There are cultural issues — how do you take away Microsoft Office from employees who have been using it productively for most of their careers and ask them to learn something new? There are also support, administration and compatibility issues. We take the same attitude internally that we do when we begin a software implementation project in one of our client countries — we choose what is most appropriate for the context in which we are working, even if that means choosing proprietary software in some cases.

I confess, though, that I wish that we adopted more Open Source programs internally. We do use them where it makes sense, such as for web servers and applications (blogs, CMS, online databases) where there are lots of choices and support is well-established. And I am proud to say that we are using our own Open Source HRIS internally, with plenty of customizations, of course.

I’ve dug up a few links that can help a nonprofit move to Open Source, if it so inclined:

• Choosing and Using Free and Open Source Software is a primer for nonprofits from the Nonprofit Open Source Initiative. The updated version was just released in October. It includes case studies, a suggested evaluation process, tips for finding support and some software toolkits.
• NGO in a Box is a collection of Open Source tools, already culled and evaluated, that a nonprofit can begin using right away. It includes everything you need to set up a small or medium-sized office, plus tools for publishing, producing multimedia and using mobile phones for advocacy. If you use this resource, a lot of the hard work has been done for you.
• Open Source Software for Public Health – If your nonprofit operates in the public health arena, this wiki is a great resource to identify tools and resources specific to public health work.

Open Source software makes sense for nonprofits. It’s low cost, getting involved connects you to communities of volunteer support and development, and using it promotes values of openness, collaboration and giving back.