Open Source Values

[Garrett Goebel]

I'm uncomfortable lumping the smorgasbord of people, projects, and licenses
together and slapping the OSS label on them. And as everyone has a different
one, I'm unsure of the merit of discussing value systems.

That said, OSS from the legal perspective seems to be about legal frameworks
competing to preserve the equivalent of free-range intellectual property. A
Commons of the mind that is shored up by a functioning system of community
standards and social practices. Where the only coercion is the coercion to
share and share alike.

All of that provides an incredible opportunity to anyone with a mind and the
desire to use it to:

o  create
o  scratch an itch
o  learn from others
o  avoid ideological ax grinding
o  avoid reinventing the wheel

IMHO, the best projects are the ones that foster a self-supporting community
that is welcoming and friendly, but moreover is a meritocracy focused on
actually doing the task at hand. Smart people clump together. When a bunch
of smart and productive people clump together under an OSS license amazing
things can happen.

There is a feeling of awe that I get, when following the creative efforts of
extremely capable people. It makes you feel like a child. I can hear myself
saying: I want to do that. I want to be that good at something. I want to
make a difference.

--
Garrett Goebel
IS Development Specialist

ScriptPro                   Direct: 913.403.5261
5828 Reeds Road               Main: 913.384.1008
Mission, KS 66202              Fax: 913.384.2180
www.scriptpro.com          garrett at scriptpro dot com
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