[ale] Motivations of Open Source

[Parker McGee]

Here's my first of two essays that I wrote on the motivations behind
open source.  I recently (a week or two ago) sent out a survey asking
what people's motivations behind using and developing open source was.
 Thanks to the five people on this list that responded!  This was
supposed to be an informative essay and the next essay I write is
going to be a persuasive.  Sorry if I didn't use any your quotes in
this essay; I will be able to use a lot more of the interviews in the
next essay just due to the nature of the essay and responses.   
Thanks again!!


Motivations of Open Source

	Every day, thousands of people go to work at home.  This isn't just
any job, however; these people don't get payed.  They are open source
developers, people who develop software that is freely distributed on
the Internet.  This definition of "free" has two meanings: software
available at no cost and software able to be freely modified.  The
definition of "open source software" always includes the second
definition of "free" and more often than not the first, also.  The
free philosophy makes it very difficult to make money developing open
source software, and yet, thousands of people keep at it, churning out
millions of lines of source code.  So, why do people do it?  Why do
they develop software against all the rules of economics?  They have
no money incentive to create good software, and yet many would argue
that open source software far exceeds the quality of proprietary, or
closed source, software.

	The term "open source" refers to the source code of the software
being freely available.  The source code of a program is like the
recipe for that program.  The programmer tells the computer what to do
in a language, called a "programming language", and the computer will
do what he or she tells it.  This openness of the source code is what
sets open source apart from the more dominant "proprietary software",
such as Microsoft Windows and Office products, which are closed
source.

	So why are people drawn to open source?  They don't get payed for
developing the software, so what is the incentive?  Most people
interviewed use open source for the power that it gives them.  To be
able to modify the source code to fit their needs is something even
money cannot replace.  It gives absolute control over the program.

	The most popular open source program today is the Linux operating
system.  In fact, it is what most open source projects are built to
run on rather than Microsoft's Windows operating system.  The
operating system is the program that controls all the other programs
that are run.  Most Linux users are also developers in that they can
create their own programs using programming languages.  This enables
the Linux user to control every aspect of his or her environment. 
Barry Rountree expresses this in my interview with him, "There's also
the ability to fix annoyances.  This doesn't get used very often, but
/knowing/ that I could go in and tweak something is often enough for
me
to get over it."  Linux users, and all open source users, enjoy the
ability to personally fix things that are broken rather than waiting
for a company to decide that that is something that needs to be fixed.

	Smaller open source projects also see the same advantage as larger
projects such as Linux.  Sean Adams explains the benefits his
for-profit company sees in open source: "We have a virtual development
team all over the world that works for us 24 hours a day and a model
that can increase a user's satisfaction with the product over time"
(Merritt 12).  His company develops an audio box which can run open
source "plug-ins", or small programs that contribute functions to a
larger program, in this case the audio box.  Many different programs
have been created for the box, "Some of the open-source apps[programs]
let the device display news, weather, stock quotes and e-mail.  Others
are simple games, such as a version of Tetris or a screensaver for the
Squeezebox's alphanumeric vacuum-fluorescent display."

	Another advantage derives itself from the ability to fix.  Open
source software is generally thought to be more secure than closed
source software because the software "bugs" that people exploit in
order to illegally access a system are able to be fixed by thousands
of people around the globe whenever they are discovered.  Jorgen
Schafer  explains this, "Oh. And another great thing about Open Source
is the next line that usually follows: 'I found a bug, too. Patch
attached.'"  Anyone can contribute and fix the bugs that occur,
whereas with closed source programs, one has to wait for the company
that creates the program to decide that it needs fixing.

	Open source users also contribute because of a feeling of moral
obligation.  Because the software is given to them at no cost, and is
developed by people without a monetary incentive, users feel as if
they owe it to the community to do some developing of their own and
giving back to the community.  Barry Rountree expresses this quite
nicely: "And if all of these strangers have gone out of their way to
provide me with all of these world-class tools (and a silly golf
game!), why not give a bit back?"  Since open source users tend to
also be the developers, they know that any help on the program is
appreciated and tend to give advice or helpful hints whenever able.

	The open source community creates a garden in which great programs
can flourish.  In a world where the users are also the developers,
programs can quickly evolve into world class applications that are
commercial quality.  Despite closed source projects being the most
popular solution currently, more and more people are discovering that
open source can do exactly what they need at a fraction of the price
of equivalent proprietary solutions.  Open source has a wide variety
of incentives that makes its users ask, "Why not open source?"

Works Cited
Merritt, Rick. "Digital audio startup finds edge in open-source code."
Electronic Engineering Times 9 August 2004: 12.
Rountree, Barry. E-mail Interview. 15 September 2004.
Schafer, Jorgen. E-mail Interview. 15 September 2004.

-- 
Parker McGee