A few years ago, I thought open-source software was about licensing (particularly being ‘free’ software), and imagined that those creating, supporting, and using open source software as bucking the establishment, trying to stick it to the MAN types that did not want to work within the capitalist system (UC-Berkeley came to mind).  Furthermore, I figured that it just had to be buggy and unsupported garbage that was worth only the money paid for it.

Of course, that characteristic is simply not true, and open-source is frequently about profits; support is usually better than commercial software, and that transparency in the software project can create some damn good software in a timely manner.  But one of the key things about open-source is it is about conversations, engagement and immersion. 

I frequently encounter those in the business that do not get it yet, and ran across Tim O’Reilly’s keynote address at Computers, Freedom and Privacy, Toronto, Canada, April 6, 2000 that puts much of this in perspective, especially in this time of the social web or web-engaged conversations.  An excerpt from the article:

“If you believe me that open source is about Internet-enabled collaboration, rather than just about a particular style of software license, you’ll open a much larger tent. You’ll see the threads that tie together not just traditional open source projects, but also collaborative “computing grid” projects like SETIAtHome, user reviews on Amazon.com, technologies like collaborative filtering, new ideas about marketing such as those expressed in The Cluetrain Manifesto, weblogs, and the way that Internet message boards can now move the stock market. What started out as a software development methodology is increasingly becoming a facet of every field, as network enabled conversations become a principal carrier of new ideas.”

Am I saying that open-source is the be-all-end-all?  Hell, no.  I will use the best tool available to fulfill the need, unprejudiced in its social, financial, or architectural background, stereotypes be damned.  I WILL say that if you are building a site to inform and engage people, organizations or communities, and you don’t use open source, you could be making a huge mistake, or at the least, not fully achieving the potential of your project.

If you still think that “open-source” is a lesser form of software, please read the address with an open mind.  You may just realize that there is another type of software that contributes greatly to all of us, and deserves to be heard.

By the way, Happy Birthday, Dr. King.

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