Revision 7.0: DASH File Format Specification and File Intercommunication Architecture.
Tags: Nft, File Format, Web3, 3d, Defi

Throughout the history of the free software and open source movements, there has been ambiguity by the broader and subset communities around what is actually meant by “free software” or “open source”. In fact, the latter term was strategize in order to remove confusion and ambiguity around “free” in terms of freedom as opposed to “free” in terms of monetary value. However, that poses another question entirely, is something really free if you can’t afford to do it or overcome those that are paying to stop you? The fundamental difference between a lot of these terms that get used as common labels, is that some refer to convenient and practical solutions at a more surface level, whilst others are more directly driven by the political, personal and social implications. In the case of free software vs open source, for both, proprietary software is the enemy, however, free software is much more about triggering people to actually think about freedom, about ethical issues and responsibilities over the immediate practical benefits of certain free software as a way to be more “acceptable to business” and increase sales for improving the bottom line.

It’s not that attracting users to free software for practical reasons is not an effective approach, in fact, it has proved very effective. In fact, more than 80% of the internet is run on open source software. Yet, this is only the first step, it’s not the whole job. And if we fall into the comfort of treating it as the full circle, then sooner or later these users will be invited to switch back to proprietary software for some practical advantage. All the work is undone in an instant. And that is the fundamental problem right now with free software vs open source; why would a user decline practical advantages of proprietary software over open source if they haven’t learned the value that the freedom of free software gives them, for its own sake. The point is that “open source” was formed as a movement so that embedded in the code and system architecture the rights and practical abilities of users to access and own the tools we all rely on is enshrined and resilient to take down.

However, there is one fundamental flaw in this. It assumes that users and the broader general populous actually give a shit about their own freedom. Because, frankly, convenience trumps everything. And that’s why the whole campaign that “free software” actually encapsulates, from principles to implementation, is diluted, disregarded and has so much trouble getting people to recognise what’s at stake. Instead, we diminish “open source” because it’s convenient and easier to sell. I mean, it’s got to make you chuckle that one of the largest open source enabling infrastructures globally, is not even open source. Funny that. What are they [Github] actually supporting then?

And this is the same for so many altruistic efforts in web2, because it’s very hard to get people to self-motivate when there is no forcing function and just based on a claim of social good. Web3 re-programs this code. Now, for the first time, everything can be directly incentivised through streamlining the mechanisms for value exchange, securing it all through decentralisation and eliminating barriers to the creation of software based goods and services that you actually own. Now there is a kernel of self interest embedded at the root within the broader game theory of indirect reciprocal semi-infinite games.

In order to abductively merge the practicalities of “open source” with the ethos of “free software”, we are upgrading to define the term Meta Source — the web3 enabled bridge for open source and free software, allowing us to move well beyond both and actually ignite a prosperous metaverse enabled software ecosystem. Because fundamentally, DASH is a file format for existing in the metaverse. In web2 it just doesn’t make sense.

Meta Source is open software with a connected automated and incentivized value layer.

Read the full attributes for Meta Source in the revision documentation.