This post is a slightly edited version of a message sent to our discusssion list here, which is why it addresses the participants of this working group! Interested in getting involved? Join us!

A quick recap of the last workhsop for the Open Design definition we did at Fab* @ Future Everything, Manchester (UK).
We had a great discussion in a very nice place, Victoria Baths, but unfortunately the internet connection wasn’t working, so we could not start to work on the repository with the participants. The discussion was very good and I’ve changed a bit the presentation to include few more replies to some questions raised during the workshop. You can find the presentation on Slideshare here.

One issue emerged from the discussion: we should clarify further that we are working on a definition now, not on a license!
A definition is not a legal tool like a license, it is a shared document that tries to define what is Open Design, hopefully including all the different possible types of Open Design, all the perspectives, the critical point, and what can be achieved with it and how it can be improved and further promoted and adopted. It is, basically, the result of a collaborative discussion, and it is a community standard, not a legal standard like a license.

About GitHub:the discussion has started on our repository there, and you can already see some issues opened (and closed): https://github.com/OpenDesign-WorkingGroup/Open-Design-Definition

Don’t forget to send an e-mail to the discussion list of this working group writing your username to get started, so that we can add you to the organization group on GitHub and we can work together on the repository!
As you can see, at the moment there are already 20 members:
https://github.com/OpenDesign-WorkingGroup

About Git, here are few more resources about using it:

• http://sixrevisions.com/resources/git-tutorials-beginners/
• http://designfestival.com/git-a-designers-primer/
• http://betterexplained.com/articles/intro-to-distributed-version-control-illustrated/

and more news about how the use of GitHub is spreading:

http://fedscoop.com/is-github-governments-next-big-thing/