[ FreeSoftwareCertificationProject / CertificationOfServices ]
By services, is meant the wide array of services offered to companies and individuals to grant them access to external computer resources through the network for specific applications. This includes all computer business services, particularly those of application service providers that are today generalized. Examples: (Web, E-Mail, Calendar hosting), accounting, tax preparation, e-commerce solutions, etc.
Reasons
- help the citizens enlightened on the question of software freedom to subscribe to services which conform to their values and principles
- indirectly, to show service providers that there are citizens who desire services based of free software computing
Criteria
When is a software service certifiable? Essentially when the offer is entirely based on free software. For example, in the case of an e-mail hosting service, when all components of the service (sending server, receiving server, database server, client interface) are all free software.
Verification
How to check the conformity of the service? By requiring to see the source code of all the components which are directly involved in the delivery of the service. If the service can be completely recreated on test systems, then it is usable without recourse to non-free software.