Opening Up on "Openness"

My plane leaves tomorrow and I'm turning my mind to the upcoming week. As I've mentioned below, my assignment is to research and write a substantial paper on the theme of "openness" at the IGF. So where does one even begin?

The term open certainly has a long proud history as related to technology. Open-source software[OSS] is perhaps the best-known example: part software development model, part law, and part religion. Richard Stallman and the General Public License [GPL] have even become synonymous with "openness" within the legal and technology communities.

The openness model has also given us open standards, open content, open access publishing, and even open business. These alternative paradigms have generated best-selling books (see also), countless doctoral theses, and the foundation for the much-hyped Web 2.0. I might go so far as to say that "open" is the new ".com".

But where does this leave me for my paper? What are the implications of openness for even broader social institutions including democracy, law, and the media? Rather than flail about in the sheer vastness of the topic, I've been catalyzed with a narrower question by the project leaders, quoting:

"Openness" is often cited the essential defining architectural principle but different kinds of openness prevail in each layer of the internet
stack. What does openness appear to mean for policy makers and how does it get defined by communities of the internet?

Perfect. So it looks like I'll be looking at how the term/model/ideology/theology is adapted and applied to different tiers of the Internet.

I can't write much more until I'm on the ground, but I thought that I might begin with an additional question of my own: "Is Wikipedia a truly open platform?"

Yes:
- anybody with a computer and an Internet connection can contribute
- content is available in multiple languages
- changes are transparent and can be viewed by any user
- content is licensed under the GNU Documentation License
- content is free and requires no registration
- content is hosted by a registered charity

No:
- content contributors are anonymous
- administrators protect controversial topics from editing (see e.g. Judaism)
- no accountability for misstatement or malicious conduct

My plan is to ask this question to as many participants as possible and then compare answers. Up, up, and away....