Permissions to use and combine data
The Open Data Handbook emphasizes availability, reuse and universal participation. Data should be obtainable in a modifiable form, with permission for redistribution and combination rather than use restricted to particular professions or noncommercial purposes.
Viewing weather records and being allowed to download, correct, combine and redistribute them are different capabilities. Open terms support repeated reuse, sometimes with attribution or share-alike conditions.
Representations affect usability
Open Definition includes machine readability and open formats alongside permissions. A table image can be readable without preserving fields and rows in a form suitable for computation.
Research data also need accompanying metadata. Units, sampling times and processing descriptions help interpret values; UNESCO’s open-science framework includes both raw and processed data, metadata and continuing stewardship.
Openness has justified boundaries
Opening data is not an instruction to publish every record without assessment. The handbook focuses on non-personal data and recognizes restrictions affecting some government information.
For research, UNESCO calls for proportionate, justified restrictions protecting privacy, participants and knowledge holders. Controlled sharing may be appropriate, but should be distinguished from data openly reusable by everyone.