For a long time now, NXS/San Francisco folks have begged, pleaded and cajoled our local government to follow the example set by Latin America to mandate a switch to free software whenever the taxpayers are footing the bill.

After all, this is San Francisco! We have more free software user groups than many small countries!

Well, finally, San Francisco has taken a small step towards our goal of a free software government. It isn’t exactly what we wanted … but it sure does come close.

On January 21, San Francisco adopted a policy that “mandates that city agencies always consider open source options when buying new software.” Ok … there’s not much real enforcement there. But San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom went on the record with: “[T]his is just the beginning. The potential is there for millions of dollars [saved] in software licensing costs. That’s the reality.”

More importantly, for free software advocates, this presents higher ground from which we can continue arguing for a stronger policy in favor of free software.

And, this policy has come out of a larger push called the Open Gov Initiative for the City and County of San Francisco, which validates many of the values of free software.

So, even though the policy lacks teeth and might just be a way to get us to stop calling the city’s IT department and complaining, it is, at least, a step in the right direction. Keep watching this space for more information on a stronger, coordinated effort to push for policies and/or legislation that contains real enforcement. If you are a resident of San Francisco and you’re interested in helping out, please get in touch!