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