The enigma of open source sociology
A work colleague and I got into a discussion recently about online communities; the common threads or characteristics that occur amongst them and what key differences exist; and particularly whether there are recurring and crucial elements that, when present, make certain communities succeed, and when absent, make others fail.
Of particular relevance to my recent indulgence into Ubuntu is the epiphany I came to during the course of the discussion: The greatest examples of passionate online collaboration and vibrant community interaction I’ve seen occur in the open source and free software movements.
The more I think and read about it the more it seems like a common sense conclusion I should have come to long ago but hadn’t. Open source projects existed long before the explosion of the Internet, communicating most notably through Usenet groups, but it was the advent of the Internet that enabled the sorts of mass collaboration we see today in open source to truly proliferate.
I wonder to what degree then you could argue that much of the contemporary social software and so-called Web 2.0 technologies saw their inception from the open source community. Rest assured this is something I plan on looking into.
The significance of all this is in the widespread success of open source community efforts to create engaging self-sustaining entities in support of a shared vision, often times in the absence of any formalised structures. Many similar endeavors have been attempted under different circumstances since then and failed; what is it about open source that’s different?
In open source we’ve seen the emergence of Apache, GNU, Linux, GNOME, Drupal, Ubuntu, Mandriva, Firefox, and countless others; all of which are founded, in large part, on the crucial activities and contributions of volunteers. In a sense they are paid nothing for their contributions above and beyond the software they help produce, and yet are willing to devote hours, days, even years of their time in a passionate embrace of the community’s vision.
Outside of open source I can think of more isolated examples at the level of specific demographics or websites - such as Wikipedia - but not one that is so prevalent across the board and so comprehensive. I’m at such a loss for another example that I’m starting to wonder whether the passion and collaborative contributions you see in open source are largely limited to that specific movement.
What is it that drives people to give freely of themselves for hours per day in some cases, and sustain this over long periods of time. Certainly a belief in the fundamental value and shared idealism of the community, but would that alone be enough to compel this degree of dedication? I’m not sure I think so.
Certainly these two factors are paramount, but I believe there is more to it than that; and I’d like to find out what. Not just for my own interest and belief in the value and idealism of open source, but in the hopes that more fundamental factors will precipitate out that could, in turn, be applied to other projects and thus ensure their success as well.
If you have thoughts, insight or experience into these questions I’m all ears. The sociology and philosophy of the open source and free software communities are an absolutely fascinating example of extraodinary productivity and cooperation occuring in the absence of traditional market structures. It is a unique example that deserves adequate examination and I plan on doing just that.
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
