Values and Goals of OpenWISP
Table of Contents:
What is OpenWISP?
OpenWISP is a robust and versatile software platform designed to simplify and automate network management, with a strong emphasis on wireless networks. It's widely used in various scenarios, including public WiFi hotspots, mesh networks, community networks, and IoT applications.
In December 2016, OpenWISP 2 was launched, marking the next generation of our software. This version, built with Python and Django, replaced the original version developed with Ruby on Rails. The OpenWISP community has since cultivated an ecosystem of applications and tools that empower developers to create custom networking solutions. Our mission is to drive innovation and promote freedom in the realm of network infrastructure automation.
History
Refer to History of OpenWISP.
Core Values
1. Communication through Electronic Means is a Human Right
We believe that communication through electronic means is a fundamental human right.
According to Mozilla, 4 billion people live without internet access today.
Having witnessed the significant progress the internet has brought to our society, we are deeply convinced that addressing the issue of internet connectivity will help to alleviate the economic disparity that is so evident at the beginning of the 21st century.
For these reasons, fighting the digital divide, both primary (lack of infrastructure) and secondary (lack of know-how), is our utmost priority.
2. Net Neutrality
We believe Net Neutrality is beneficial to the internet because it ensures fair treatment (non-discrimination) of private communications.
The very first public WiFi networks built with OpenWISP in Italy adhere strictly to this principle: no content filtering of any type is allowed on these networks, and no special privileges are given to any private entities.
For this reason, we are opposed to including in our ecosystem and documentation any software tools or tutorials that aim to implement solutions contrary to Net Neutrality.
3. Privacy
Privacy is fundamental to a healthy and functional society.
The initial public WiFi networks built with OpenWISP in Italy adhere strictly to this principle: traffic logs are stored only for the duration mandated by law, and personal data is never sold to third parties.
Therefore, we oppose the inclusion in our ecosystem and documentation of any software tool or tutorial that aims to intrude upon user privacy by collecting and selling their data to third parties for profit.
4. Open Source, Licenses, and Collaboration
We release all our software under Open Source licenses on GitHub.
We primarily use two types of licenses:
GPLv3: Used for software modules we consider to have significant commercial value for ISPs and private companies. This license aims to prevent these tools from being included in proprietary closed-source solutions, ensuring that private entities do not profit from our community's work without contributing back.
BSD3 and MIT: These highly permissive licenses are used for experimental and innovative software modules that are valuable but less monetizable. By allowing these modules to be included in proprietary solutions, we aim to reduce duplication of effort and encourage contributions from organizations and individuals.
We advocate for transparency and a community-driven approach, welcoming all new participants, contributors, and users.
Our community values support, friendliness, and collaboration, aiming to make our software as useful as possible to a wide audience, while upholding our core values.
We encourage those who share our values to reach out to us through our support channels and contribute to the project in any way they can, according to their means and available time.
5. Software Reusability for Long-Term Sustainability
Long-time contributors to OpenWISP have firsthand experience with the pitfalls of dealing with inflexible monolithic applications that are difficult to reuse beyond their original design scope.
We've witnessed numerous projects emerge with great promise, only to develop their code from scratch and eventually fade into obscurity. This recurring cycle represents a tremendous waste of human effort, energy, and resources.
For this reason, OpenWISP 2 places a strong emphasis on modularity and reusability, drawing inspiration from best practices established in the Unix world as outlined in The Art of Unix Programming by Eric S. Raymond.
The core modules of OpenWISP 2 are licensed and designed to facilitate inclusion by developers outside the OpenWISP community in their own applications (subject to licensing terms).
This approach fosters an ecosystem of modern networking software tools that attracts developers from around the globe.
The shared interest of users, modifiers, sharers, resellers, and contributors of these modules forms the bedrock of long-term sustainability.
Goals
Help solve the problem of lack of internet connectivity by simplifying the deployment and management of low-cost network infrastructure worldwide.
Drive innovation in the networking software realm through automation, modularity, reusability, flexibility, extensibility, and collaboration.
Foster an ecosystem of software tools capable of generating numerous OpenWISP derivatives, enhancing the accessibility and affordability of electronic communication.
Mitigate vendor lock-in by striving to support multiple operating systems and hardware vendors. While our official support is currently limited to OpenWrt derivatives, we have experimental configuration backends for Raspbian and AirOS, demonstrating feasibility for supporting multiple systems.
Provide comprehensive documentation for both users and developers.
Develop user-friendly web interfaces accessible to a broad audience.