Recompiling Open Source Attitudes
by Kristin Shoemaker - Oct. 15, 2008Comments (1)- Related Blog Posts
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Bruce Byfield at Datamation wrote about some of the attitudes found in open source circles he feels are selling the community short. He lists some of the usual suspects, such as community infighting focused more on personality conflicts than differing development philosophies.
He mentions some attitudes that seem, at face value, not terribly off-putting -- to the open source enthusiast. However, open source advocates (or at least, effective ones) don't talk about open software solely to fellow enthusiasts.
It was the second point Byfield mentioned, "talking software with outsiders," that hit home and raised some flags. I am calling out this particular point as my focus for a few reasons. First, it seems innocent enough. Sharing your interest and enthusiasm for a good cause is a good thing, right? And it is, but open source software can appeal to a wide range of people for completely different reasons. It can be hard to know your audience.
Byfield mentions the excellent analogy made by Peter Brown of the Free Software Foundation. He said that recyclers don't explain the whole material reclamation cycle, they talk about the positive effects for the people bringing their trash to be recycled. I might love that code is free to be modified and improved upon. I might appreciate the elegance of the development cycle. If I explain my love and appreciation to a majority of people I know, they either mentally begin going over their "to do" lists, or ask if I'm still speaking English.
Is it an "attitude problem?" Attitude? I'm not so sure on that. Exuberant attention to detail might come across as arrogance, but I'm not convinced that it always is. Is this a problem? Most definitely. The details on how open source software works are wonderful, but may be something that enthusiasts need to lay aside until an interested person specifically asks. The "big picture" of what open source can deliver is impressive enough -- topics like open access and open formats transcend technology to become educational and social issues. The open source conversation leaves the "it's a geek thing" realm and becomes a current event.
Talking about open source software in a larger sense is helpful -- because it effectively ends talking about software with "outsiders" and brings both sides of the conversation inside.
