alt Hacker NewsMy bedraggled plea: capitalize proper nouns. Proper nouns are specific, unique entities. Proprietary definitions of phrases like Open Source or Free Software are proper nouns.
"My visa has expired" means something different than "my Visa has expired". "Which way is the Subway" is a different question than "which way is the subway". This is a basic convention in written English.
I've used the phrase 'open source' to mean what now is commonly labelled source-available for 30 years. I'll never stop. Open, as in a book cover or a window. Source, as in the unicode or whatever that gets eaten by a compiler and turned into computer programs. Normal words with normal usage.
The OSI or FSF have no authority over your usage of these words, and you should not presume that it has authority over other people's usage of the words. Capitalizing Open Source signals to readers that a SPECIFIC_THING is being referenced.
As is, it's always a coin flip to determine whether usage of 'open source' is the colloquial or proprietary version. Makes me insane.
Have you considered that some people listen to text rather than read it? Do you think screen readers, non-native English speakers, or anyone else listening to these are able to reasonably differentiate between “Open Source” and “open source”?
Most readers won’t notice the difference or disregard it as meaningless and if you have to explain to everyone your position on a matter of communication it’s likely that you are the one who needs improvement with respect to your communication, not the rest of the world.