Regulations, Ethics And Messy Data: Tales From An Open Source Analyst

Best practices for collecting and sharing data in open source projects

• Clearly state how data will be used and retained
• Involve lawyers if there are doubts or concerns
• Read fine print and understand policies and regulations
• Design privacy documentation if necessary
• State sources and define metrics clearly
• Consider whether personally identifiable information (PII) is necessary
• Understand accountability structure for data

The speaker shared a personal experience of being stuck on a website and having to check their registration to confirm that the organizing committee had the right to use their photographs and promotional materials. This highlights the importance of reading fine print and understanding policies and regulations.

Metrics can be a valuable tool for communities to monitor project health, sustainability, operational efficiency and identify deficiencies. For individuals, projects and companies seeking to establish or mature open source metrics programs, this talk will explore opportunities and challenges in and around open source software data and analytics, from identifying relevant metrics to working with unreliable datasets while navigating the ethical challenges of data collection in and around open source communities.