We have added something new to the LibrePlan project: our own LibrePlan Open Badges Server, available at:
The idea is simple. LibrePlan is more than just a piece of software. It is also a community of developers, users, trainers, partners and people who simply like what we are doing. We wanted a visible and portable way to recognise that involvement.
Open Badges provide exactly that.
Badges for contributions and involvement
Through the new server we can issue digital badges for different kinds of involvement with LibrePlan.
For example, we can award Developer badges to people who contribute code or otherwise help improve the software.
We can issue Partner badges to organisations and professionals who work with LibrePlan, provide services around it, or actively support the project.
There are also Training badges, which can be used to recognise participation in LibrePlan training and education.
Over time we expect to add more badges as the project and its community continue to grow.
And yes, there is a Fan badge
Not every form of support needs a formal verification process.
If you use LibrePlan, like the project, follow its development or simply want to show your support, you can visit the badge server and self-assign the LibrePlan Fan badge.
No exam. No pull request. No complicated procedure.
Being a fan is enough.
Why Open Badges?
A badge is more useful when it is not locked inside a single website.
Open Badges are based on an open standard for issuing and sharing digital credentials. A badge can contain information about what it represents, who issued it and, where applicable, why it was awarded.
That makes them useful for training, professional recognition and community participation, while fitting very well with the open-source philosophy behind LibrePlan.
It also gives us another small piece of infrastructure that we can operate ourselves rather than depending on a closed third-party platform.
Take a look
The new LibrePlan Open Badges Server is now online at:
If you have contributed to LibrePlan, work with LibrePlan as a partner, or have taken part in one of our training activities, you may encounter one of our badges soon.
And if none of those apply yet, there is always the Fan badge.
We would be very happy to see a few of those appearing in the wild. As with LibrePlan itself, we believe that recognition and credentials should be based on open standards and open technology wherever possible.
A little more background info
The LibrePlan Open Badges Server was developed as a separate LibrePlan project. The complete source code, installation instructions and documentation are available on GitHub:
https://github.com/LibrePlan/open-badges-server
So if you want to run your own Open badges server instance, you can inspect how it works, contribute improvements, or reuse parts of it for your own project, everything is available there. It should run right out of the box!
If you would like to learn more about the Open Badges concept and standard, have a look at:
Please note that some of this is a walled commercial ecosystem around a 100% open standard.