| Open source describes the principles and | | | | The term was given a big boost at an |
| methodologies to promote open access to | | | | event organized in April 1998 by |
| the production and design process for | | | | technology publisher Tim O'Reilly. |
| various goods, products, resources and | | | | Originally titled the "Freeware Summit" |
| technical conclusions or advice. The | | | | and later known as the "Open Source |
| term is most commonly applied to the | | | | Summit", the event brought together the |
| source code of software that is made | | | | leaders of many of the most important |
| available to the general public with | | | | free and open source projects, including |
| either relaxed or non-existent | | | | Linus Torvalds, Larry Wall, Brian |
| intellectual property restrictions. This | | | | Behlendorf, Eric Allman, Guido van |
| allows users to create user-generated | | | | Rossum, Michael Tiemann, Paul Vixie, |
| software content through either | | | | Jamie Zawinski of Netscape, and Eric |
| incremental individual effort, or | | | | Raymond. At that meeting, the confusion |
| collaboration. | | | | caused by the name "free software" was |
| Some consider open source as one of | | | | brought up. Tiemann argued for |
| various possible design approaches, | | | | "sourceware" as a new term, while |
| while others consider it a critical | | | | Raymond argued for "open source." The |
| strategic element of their operations. | | | | assembled developers took a vote, and |
| Before open source became widely | | | | the winner was announced at a press |
| adopted, developers and producers used a | | | | conference that evening. |
| variety of phrases to describe the | | | | This milestone may be commonly seen as |
| concept; the term open source gained | | | | the birth of the open source movement. |
| popularity with the rise of the Internet | | | | However, earlier researchers with access |
| and its enabling of diverse production | | | | to the Advanced Research Projects Agency |
| models, communication paths, and | | | | Network (ARPANET) used a process called |
| interactive communities. Subsequently, | | | | Request for Comments, which is similar |
| open source software became the most | | | | to open standards, to develop |
| prominent face of open source practices. | | | | telecommunication network protocols. |
| The open source model of operation can | | | | Characterized by contemporary open |
| be extended to open source culture in | | | | source work, this collaborative process |
| decision making which allows concurrent | | | | led to the birth of the Internet in |
| input of different agendas, approaches | | | | 1969. An early use of open source was in |
| and priorities, in contrast with more | | | | the 1950s, when IBM distributed |
| centralized models of development such | | | | operating systems in source format and |
| as those typically used in commercial | | | | the SHARE user group was formed to |
| companies. "Open source" as applied to | | | | facilitate the exchange of source code. |
| culture defines a culture in which | | | | The Open Source Initiative formed in |
| collective decisions or fixations are | | | | February 1998 by Eric S. Raymond and |
| shared during development and made | | | | Bruce Perens. With about 20 years of |
| generally available in the public | | | | evidence from case histories of closed |
| domain- - - as seen with Wikipedia. This | | | | development versus open development |
| collective approach moderates ethical | | | | already provided by the Internet, the |
| concerns over a "conflict of roles" or | | | | OSI continued to present the 'open |
| conflict of interest. Participants in | | | | source' case to commercial businesses. |
| such a culture are able to modify the | | | | They sought to bring a higher profile to |
| collective outcomes and share them with | | | | the practical benefits of freely |
| the community. | | | | available source code, and they wanted |
| The "open source" labels came out of a | | | | to bring major software businesses and |
| strategy session held at Palo Alto, | | | | other high-tech industries into open |
| California, in reaction to Netscape's | | | | source. Bruce Perens adapted Debian's |
| January 1998 announcement of a source | | | | Free Software Guidelines to make the |
| code release for Navigator. The group of | | | | Open Source Definition. |
| individuals at the session included | | | | Critics have said that the term "open |
| Christine Peterson who suggested "open | | | | source" fosters an ambiguity of a |
| source" and also included Todd Anderson, | | | | different kind, in that it confuses the |
| Larry Augustin, Jon Hall, Sam Ockman, | | | | mere availability of the source with the |
| and Eric S. Raymond. They used the | | | | freedom to use, modify, and redistribute |
| opportunity before the release of | | | | it. Developers have used the term Free |
| Navigator's source code to free | | | | Open-Source Software (FOSS), or Free |
| themselves of the ideological and | | | | Libre/Open-Source Software (FLOSS), |
| confrontational connotations of the term | | | | consequently, to describe open-source |
| free software. Netscape licensed and | | | | software that is freely available and |
| released their code as open source under | | | | free of charge. |
| the name of Mozilla. | | | | |