This advent calendar has been created by our Japanese Work Group as part of their community outreach. We hope you enjoy their recap of compliance topics to end the year.
Introduction of FAQ subgroup
Today, I would like to introduce the FAQ subgroup of the OpenChain Japan WG.
FAQ Subgroup Activities
The FAQ subgroup creates and publishes “common misunderstanding FAQs related to OSS licenses“, which is mainly targeted at beginners of OSS licenses.
The members of the FAQ subgroup are consist of those who are in charge of OSS license consultation and license compliance support at each company / organization, those who are not in charge but are volunteer-based, and those who are about to start studying OSS licenses or those who are just starting (<-this is important).
There are various QA candidates, such as those that the members actually consulted, those that the members wondered, and those that are generally misunderstood.
How to make QA
To create a QA, first create a base for Questions and Answers using Slack and give your opinion. After that, the QA will be finalized by making corrections at a meeting (which used to be actually gathered, but recently it is online in view of recent circumstances). (<- This is actually the most fun because we have a lot of opinions and discussions.) Then, after confirming with the attorney attorney, we will publish it.
In this way, each QA is verified and nurtured from the perspectives of various companies, organizations, and roles, so I think that the QA collection is relatively homogeneous and has few mistakes.
It’s been about 10 years since I was involved in OSS licensing, but I’m still studying through this FAQ subgroup every time. In particular, I often get noticed from the perspectives and opinions of companies whose business types are different from those of my company.
People who participated for the purpose of studying also commented, “I am studying because I am trying to convey it in an easy-to-understand manner.” and “I will be able to understand by listening to the discussion.” and so on.
Conclusion
It’s been about 10 years since I was engaged in OSS license compliance, but I still study through this FAQ subgroup every time. In particular, I often get noticed from the perspectives and opinions of companies whose business types are different from those of my company.
People who participated for the purpose of studying also commented, “I am studying because I am trying to convey it in an easy-to-understand manner.” and “I will be able to understand by listening to the discussion.” and so on.
If you are interested in the activities of the FAQ subgroup, please join us at any time. Those who want to participate by trial rather than immediately, and those who can not contribute much to the creation of FAQ but want to participate for study purposes are also welcome.
For details, please contact japan-sg-faq@lists.openchainproject.org.
FAQサブグループの紹介
本日は、OpenChain Japan WGのFAQサブグループについてご紹介します。
FAQサブグループの活動
FAQサブグループはOSSのライセンスの初心者を主なターゲットとした、「OSSライセンス関連でよくある誤解FAQ」というものを作成・公開しています。
FAQサブグループのメンバーは、各所属企業・団体で日頃からOSSライセンスに関する相談対応やライセンス遵守支援を担当業務として行なっている方、本来の担当業務ではないがボランティアベースで相談対応されている方、そして、これからOSSライセンスを勉強を始めようとしている方、または、始めたばかりという方（←ここ重要）などで構成されています。
インプットとなるQAの候補も、メンバーの方が実際に相談を受けたもの、メンバーの方が疑問に思ったもの、一般的に誤解されがちなものなどさまざまです。
QAの作りかた
QAの作り方は、まずSlack上でQuestionとAnswerのたたき台を作成、意見出しをします。その後、会合（以前は実際に集まっていましたが 最近は昨今の事情を鑑みオンラインです）で再度揉みなおしてFIXします。（←喧々諤々議論をかわすので実はここが一番楽しい）そして仕上げに弁護士の先生にご確認いただいたものを公開するという流れで行っています。
このように一つ一つのQAをさまざまな企業・団体・役割の方の目線から検証して育てていますので、比較的均質で、また間違いも少ないQA集にできていると思います。
おわりに
私自身、OSSライセンスに関わるようになって10年ほど経ちますが未だにこのFAQサブグループを通じて毎回勉強させていただいてます。特に自分の所属企業と業種業態が違う企業さんからの目線やご意見から気づきをいただくことが多いです。
勉強目的で参加いただいている方からも、「わかりやすく伝える努力をしているので誤解が解けていくような感じがして勉強になる。」、「聞いてなるほどと思う。」などのご感想をいただいています。
FAQサブグループの活動に興味がある方はいつでもご参加ください。どっぷり参加ではなくまずは様子見したいという方や、FAQの作成にはあまり貢献できそうにないけど勉強目的で参加したいという方も大歓迎です。
詳しくは japan-sg-faq@lists.openchainproject.org まで。
