OpenGovLD vs. OParl

OpenGovLD was forked from OParl. The list below contains some of the reasons why OpenGovLD is a separate project. In spite of this OpenGovLD is collaborating with OParl as far as this helps to develop a common vocabulary and to help those developers interested in creating polyglot servers or clients which implement both specifications.

That being said here is a list of differences, not ordered by importance (the first one is an exception):

• Linked Data: OpenGovLD is Linked Data, OParl ist not, https://github.com/OParl/specs/issues/237

• OpenGovLD is JSON-LD, OParl is pure JSON (even when it is looking like JSON-LD)

• OpenGovLD attempts to base all decisions on sound technical reasons. Some technical decisions made by OParl are neither effective nor efficient to fullfil stated requirements, worse: this happened even when the unsuitability was known, https://github.com/OParl/specs/issues/226

• OpenGovLD uses properties with URLs as ranges where appropriate and does not mix them with strings. OParl mixes URLs and strings (which is a problem because URLs also are strings); example: ranges consisting of strings and skos:Concept objects, originally no strings were allowed in such cases, this change was made in OParl without anyone having filed an issue https://github.com/OParl/specs/issues/212

• OpenGovLD will adopt simple governance rules based on W3C expertise, governance of OParl is not defined, https://github.com/OParl/specs/issues/237 which already has led to transparency issues https://github.com/OParl/specs/issues/225

• OpenGovLD is preparing the future and not just expressing current practices and limitations. On the other side there have been attempts by OParl supporters representing vendors to restrict OParl to the status quo even when there were no technical reasons given for that, example: a long debate on wether allowing a Person in multiple Bodys is reasonable or not (while there already exist several examples of this in reality!) https://github.com/OParl/specs/issues/243

• OpenGovLD supports i18n as a fundamental feature. On the other side i18n was removed from OParl although there was an explicit request to support i18n, https://github.com/OParl/specs/issues/237#issuecomment-48591285

• OpenGovLD is actively interested in close collaboration with other standardization efforts. OParl even let an offer from one of the JSON-LD authors drop to the ground. He had offered to create a JSON-LD context based on the current status of OParl.

• OpenGovLD will always provide a vocabulary which is at least as expressive as the one used by OParl.