The But Is It Open? blog

Notes on openness.

Essays on open source, AI systems, licensing and the many dimensions of openness. Alongside the writing of But Is It Open?.

On opennessNovember 3, 2026

The Spectrum Is Not a Ladder

Openness is a shape, not a number: accessible but weakly reproducible, transparent today, relicenseable tomorrow.

On opennessNovember 3, 2026

“Open” now describes almost everything more available than a closed API. Different conditions, different capabilities, different dependencies.

On licensingNovember 3, 2026

Network services exposed a gap in the GPL bargain. AI is exposing similar ones — and the community has choices.