Since Lead Developer Efraim Feinstein drew up a helpful flowchart describing the technical architecture for the Open Siddur Project, I felt another flowchart might still be useful in illustrating how data flows between end users, collaboration groups, Jewish source texts, other free culture projects, and the goal of a more vibrant Jewish culture. So I drew one up.
The following chart shows the flow of data within the project between end users, collaboration groups, Jewish source texts, other free culture projects, and the goal of a more vibrant Jewish culture.
The data flow starts in the upper right hand corner, with traditional Jewish source texts available in print and which are in the Public Domain due to their age. Some of these texts are already digitized and free. Compatible free culture and open source licensing enables these digitized texts to be used in other open source projects, as well as included within the Open Siddur Project’s free digital library.
For texts that are not yet digitized, the Open Siddur Project is engaged in a process of transcription, proofreading, and encoding. Through this process, the material in our digital library will be interlinked with each other and organized as a public database. Our use of a well documented open standard for encoding this material permits it to be efficiently served to our users and other open source projects over the Internet.
Open Siddur Users with common interests can join collaboration groups to advance the development of specific texts. Users engaged in transcribing, proofreading, and encoding texts comprise an important collaboration group within the Open Siddur Project, as they are contributing core material to this public database. Any user of the Open Siddur can join this group which operates consistent with our Mission Statement. We envision other collaboration groups coalescing around translating, authoring, and/or transcribing texts that will be shared with free culture licensing.
Free culture licensing provides the legal framework for this type of sharing to flourish. Material in our library (texts, graphics, audio, and video) is open for editing and remixing by our users. Modifications, adaptations, and newly authored works can be shared with other users or groups. An act of sharing requires acceptance of one of the free culture licenses our project relies on (CC0, CC-BY, and CC-BY-SA).
We recognize that davvening (Jewish prayer) is as much a private experience as it is often enough (although not necessarily) framed within a communal setting. For that reason, the Open Siddur platform will support a user-private database, offering users (and private collaboration groups) opportunities to limit the sharing of their work in the public library. Privacy is what distinguishes the Open Siddur Project from a wiki devoted to collective work on the Siddur.
Once texts from the database are edited, ordered and remixed, our rendering technology will compile them into digital or custom printed formats suitable for reading, printing with on-demand printers, or further offline crafting.
Crafting a siddur is not only a matter of selecting, arranging, and modifying text. A siddur also reflects the aesthetic of its maker. Besides offering a selection of open source fonts and a rudimentary layout editor, we welcome the opportunity for book artists, book binders, and other consultants to get involved in the production process of siddurim. Our selection of licenses was considered carefully so that individuals producing or helping to produce siddurim using the Open Siddur can derive revenue through their efforts.
The project of Jewish spirituality is a matter of common interest and private engagement. When Jewish individuals and collectives engage and share in the legacy of their common cultural heritage what results is a more vibrant and vital Jewish culture.
The colors and shapes on the flowchart below are not self-explanatory, so here’s a key:
- Rectangles are Processes.
- Rhomboids represent Data.
- Curve-cut rectangles are Documents.
- Concave/convex-ended rectangles are Databases.
- Orange identifies work deriving from the Public Domain.
- Yellow identifies work licensed with permissive copyright (free culture) licensing.
- Blue identifies public resources maintained by the Open Siddur Project team. (Light blue identifies user/private resources within Open Siddur.)
- Green represents external processes. (Dark green is other projects using our public resources; light green are external resources for users; bright green represents a more vibrant Jewish culture.)
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