i, quaid

This week saw opensource.com kicked out of the nest and told to fly.  I’ve been watching some of the discussion around it and have some comments about a bit of confusion some folks are having.   Please pass this along.

What I see here is a new type of discussion …

… one where our experiences in free/libre and open source software technology and collaboration informs the greater topics …

… one where the greater topics are how to apply the principles of collaboration and community (the open source way) to wider and important issues – education, government, health care, and so forth …

… one where the greater community of readers can participate and help direct the topics …

… one that builds on the brand “Open Source” that already has meaning outside of technology circles, to spread a valuable methodology (the way) to new audiences/communities.

But not …

… not one where a few pundits pontificate while other voices are lost in the comments …

… and not one where a controlling organization is hiding behind faux authenticity.

The degree to which we continue to do that is the amount of attention and help we get from all the other real people out there. The more we enable each other to spread these principles, this open source way, the better free content we all make for each other. Easier our jobs become. More enjoyment we get out of life. Nirvana.

I have high hopes, clearly.

Full disclosure: I am a long-time employee of Red Hat, which is  a major force behind opensource.com and the ones who originated the plan.  I did not work on the design and deployment teams, but I did participate in an internal pilot to help iterate on the site before it launched.  As a proponent of the open source way, I’ll continue to support the site partially by leaning on everyone to improve, iterate, and improve.