Announcing Open GUID

Hello,

Quick intro: my name is Jason Borro, software developer, and I just
launched http://openguid.net

My hope is to establish an open (community driven) repository of
identity for use across the semantic web.  I've developed a
specification (http://openguid.net/specification) for linking
ontological classes, instances, and normal web content.  I'm looking for
any and all feedback.

Brief motivation: while I admire attempts at grand unification of
concepts such as UMBEL, I believe the creators of OWL had it right when
they suggested designing ontologies for use
(http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/REC-owl-guide-20040210/#DesignForUse).  This
flexibility makes it hard to link concepts to instances and to preserve
semantics over time.  In addition, some attempts at making primary URIs
(such as Open Calais) leave me suspicious of corporate interests and I
question the permanency.  I propose a pragmatic solution to these issues
with an permanent open database of identity.

I have seeded the database with WordNet3.0 and am in the process of
linking OpenCyc.  UMBEL and YAGO are next on the list.  RDF documents
declaring the synonyms will be made available.

Please check it out and consider joining the google group
(http://groups.google.com/group/open-guid-discussion) to discuss
further.

Thanks for your time,

Jason
http://openguid.net

Received on Thursday, 25 September 2008 08:38:49 UTC