Talk:Open file format

This article was nominated for deletion on 9 July 2008. The result of the discussion was keep.

Some problems

I think this page has some problems:

It doesn't cite its references for statements. It does include a list of references at the end but the statements made on this page contradict some of those on the referenced pages (e.g. the definition on this page does not agree with that on <http://www.openformats.org/en1>). No explanation or even acknowledgment of the differences is made, so this is not a neutral POV.

Specific details: -1- it says that open formats must be "free of legal restrictions on use" but many open formats are subject to licences (which grant wide-ranging rights, but nevertheless are legal restrictions). The point is that the rights are broad enough for users' intended purposes and the restrictions prevent abuse.

-2- it says that "In contrast to open formats, proprietary formats are controlled and defined by private interests". While it is true that propietary formats are almost always controlled by private interests, it is not the case that open formats CANNOT be defined by private interests, so "in contrast to open formats" is inaccurate (PDF would be a good example).

131.111.85.79 10:45, 12 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Compare with Free file format - perhaps some of the text here could be transferred to Free file format? The discussion above suggests to me that the two articles should not be merged, but both improved. Kctucker (talk) 12:02, 7 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Distinction between "open standard" and "open format"

The distinction between "open standard" and "open format" should be addressed in the article. --Bejnar (talk) 22:31, 10 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Original research

Mostly missing reliable references.--Kozuch (talk) 11:04, 24 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Deletion Template

Another editor has added a deletion template to this article, proposing that the article be deleted. The stated reason is:

"Proposed Deletion, for same reason as Proprietary Format. / Concept, with no formal definition or notable references outside of biased mention. Article is full of opinion, nothing but an unsourcable definition to be salvaged."

Without a solid definition, it may be best to delete the article. However, if a rock-solid industry-wide agreed definition could be ascertained, then I would reconsider.--Lester

I think what we need is at least one reliable source for each non-obvious claim in this article. Claims for which no notable reference can be found should be deleted.

However, I don't think this article needs to be about an industry-wide agreed definition. It could also cover several definitions (only from notable sources of course) like in the article open standard. For now, I don't think removing the whole article is a good idea, because open formats are a well known concept in the software industry and we just need to find some good references. Ghettoblaster (talk) 23:53, 8 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

We should also have an eye on Free file format. The main part also does not contain any references. I think merging both articles might be an option. Ghettoblaster (talk) 23:58, 8 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I wouldn't really describe it as notable in the sofware industry, hence i put it up for deletion. While there are people who think in terms of open and closed formats, it's only an insignificant proportion outside of the primary software market, and even if we took that as some notability of the topic, none of these terms are notable, and they are certainly not verifiable. - Jimmi Hugh (talk) 09:40, 9 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

So, I see it was decided to merge articles on free formats and open formats rather than expand the definition of "free file format". Has anything been lost in the process? For example, a free file format requires a free software reference implementation. There used to be a list of free file formats which was really useful at times. The distinction between the terms are of interest beyond the software industry (free culture, free knowledge, ...). Wikipedia is central to the free knowledge movement and only accepts files in a free file formats (see the Wikimedia Commons policy on this). Let us not forget (and thereby undermine) the original vision for Wikipedia and free knowledge in general. -- K (talk) 13:05, 12 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Just picking up on one point you've got there - neither a "free file format" nor "open file format" require a free/open reference implementation. By definition, it just needs the specification freely/openly available for all to use. A reference implementation cetainly helps for verification purposes, etc, but isn't necessary. Nuwewsco (talk) 19:17, 12 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

GIF and JPEG

Is there any reason that GIF and JPEG should not be listed as Open formats at this point? They are documented formats and all the patents have expired. 216.38.130.163 (talk) 18:01, 2 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]