Mexico's government has been actively promoting and adopting open source software for over two decades, driven by cost savings, technological independence, and community engagement. This journey has included developing a national open source distribution ("Guadalinex"), promoting open standards, and fostering a collaborative ecosystem. Despite facing challenges such as bureaucratic inertia, vendor lock-in, and a shortage of skilled personnel, the commitment to open source persists, demonstrating its potential benefits for public administration and citizen services. Key lessons learned include the importance of clear policies, community building, and focusing on practical solutions that address specific needs.
The General Services Administration (GSA) is effectively dismantling 18F, its renowned digital services agency. While not explicitly shutting it down, the GSA is absorbing 18F into its Technology Transformation Services (TTS) and eliminating the 18F brand. This move comes as the GSA reorganizes TTS into two new offices, one focused on acquisition and the other on enterprise technology solutions, with former 18F staff being distributed across TTS. GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan stated the goal is to streamline and consolidate services, claiming it will improve efficiency and service delivery across government. However, the announcement sparked concern among many about the future of 18F's distinct agile approach and its potential impact on the agency's ability to deliver innovative digital solutions.
HN commenters express skepticism about the claimed cost savings from eliminating 18F, pointing out that government often replaces internal, innovative teams with expensive, less effective contractors. Several commenters highlight 18F's successes, including Login.gov and cloud.gov, and lament the loss of institutional knowledge and the potential chilling effect on future government innovation. Others suggest the move is politically motivated, driven by a desire to return to the status quo of relying on established contractors. The possibility of 18F staff being reabsorbed into other agencies is discussed, but with doubt about whether their agile methodologies will survive. Some express hope that the talented individuals from 18F will find their way to other impactful organizations.
The dataset linked lists every active .gov domain name, providing a comprehensive view of US federal, state, local, and tribal government online presence. Each entry includes the domain name itself, the organization's name, city, state, and relevant contact information including email and phone number. This data offers a valuable resource for researchers, journalists, and the public seeking to understand and interact with government entities online.
Hacker News users discussed the potential usefulness and limitations of the linked .gov domain list. Some highlighted its value for security research, identifying potential phishing targets, and understanding government agency organization. Others pointed out the incompleteness of the list, noting the absence of many subdomains and the inclusion of defunct domains. The discussion also touched on the challenges of maintaining such a list, with suggestions for improving its accuracy and completeness through crowdsourcing or automated updates. Some users expressed interest in using the data for various projects, including DNS analysis and website monitoring. A few comments focused on the technical aspects of the data format and its potential integration with other tools.
Summary of Comments ( 42 )
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43579104
HN commenters generally praised the Mexican government's efforts toward open source adoption, viewing it as a positive step towards transparency, cost savings, and citizen engagement. Some pointed out the importance of clear governance and community building for sustained open-source project success, while others expressed concerns about potential challenges like attracting and retaining skilled developers, ensuring long-term maintenance, and navigating bureaucratic hurdles. Several commenters shared examples of successful and unsuccessful open-source initiatives in other governments, emphasizing the need to learn from past experiences. A few also questioned the focus on creating new open source software rather than leveraging existing solutions. The overall sentiment, however, remained optimistic about the potential benefits of open source in government, particularly in fostering innovation and collaboration.
The Hacker News post "Lessons from open source in the Mexican government" (linking to an LWN.net article about the same) generated several comments discussing the challenges and successes of open-source adoption in government.
One commenter highlighted the inherent difficulty in changing entrenched bureaucratic processes, even with the benefits of open source. They argued that open source itself isn't a magic bullet and that successful implementation requires addressing underlying organizational issues and fostering a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing. This commenter also pointed out that governments often rely on proprietary software due to perceived convenience or existing contracts, making a shift to open source a significant undertaking.
Another comment focused on the importance of community involvement in open-source projects. They emphasized that government-led open-source initiatives should prioritize building a strong community of contributors and users to ensure long-term sustainability and avoid vendor lock-in. This commenter suggested that simply releasing code isn't enough; active engagement with the community is crucial for success.
Several commenters discussed the potential cost savings associated with open source, but acknowledged that these savings are not always guaranteed. They pointed out that while licensing costs might be lower, there are other costs associated with implementation, maintenance, and training that need to be considered. One commenter specifically mentioned that the "cost savings" argument is often less convincing to governments than the "avoid vendor lock-in" argument, as budgetary cycles and departmental silos can make long-term cost savings difficult to demonstrate.
Another thread of discussion revolved around the issue of security and trust in open-source software. One commenter raised concerns about the potential for vulnerabilities in open-source code and the importance of rigorous security audits. Others argued that the open nature of the code actually enhances security by allowing for greater scrutiny and community-driven vulnerability detection.
Finally, some commenters shared their own experiences with open-source adoption in government and other large organizations. These anecdotes provided real-world examples of both the challenges and successes of such initiatives, highlighting the importance of careful planning, stakeholder engagement, and ongoing community support. One commenter suggested that successful open-source adoption often depends on finding "champions" within the organization who are passionate about the technology and willing to advocate for its use.