The Social Production of Ethics in Debian and Free Software Communities

2005 ◽  
pp. 273-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.G. Coleman ◽  
Benjamin Hill
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Free Software ◽  
Social Production ◽  
Software Projects ◽  
Collaborative Development ◽  
Software Licenses ◽  
The Social ◽  
Volunteer Labor ◽  
Ethnographic Analysis

This chapter examines the way that participation in Free software projects increases commitments to information freedom among participants. With the Debian project as its core case study, it argues that in Free and Open Source software communities, ethics are reinforced through the sustained collaborative development of code and discussions and decisions around Free software licenses and project policy. In the final section, the chapter draws on the ethnographic analysis of ethical cultivation in Debian to describe a model of ethical volunteerism based on institutional independence, volunteer labor, and networks of trust that is applicable to a range of vocations.

Assessing the Health of an Open Source Ecosystem

2007 ◽  
pp. 238-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Wynn Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Ecosystem Health ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Software Projects

This study examines the concept of an ecosystem as originated in the field of ecology and applied to open source software projects. Additionally, a framework for assessing the three dimensions of ecosystem health is defined and explained using examples from a specific open source ecosystem. The conceptual framework is explained in the context of a case study for a sponsored open source ecosystem. The framework and case study highlight a number of characteristics and aspects of these ecosystems which can be evaluated by existing and potential members to gauge the health and sustainability of open source projects and the products and services they produce.

Volunteers in Large Libre Software Projects

2007 ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Michlmayr ◽  
Gregorio Robles ◽  
Jesus M. Gonzalez-Barahona
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Technical Skills ◽  
Voluntary Work ◽  
Software Projects ◽  
Free Open Source Software ◽  
Libre Software ◽  
Free Open Source ◽  
Over Time

Most libre (free, open source) software projects rely on the work of volunteers. Therefore, attracting people who contribute their time and technical skills is of paramount importance, both in technical and economic terms. This reliance on volunteers leads to some fundamental management challenges: Volunteer contributions are inherently difficult to predict, plan, and manage, especially in the case of large projects. In this chapter we present an analysis of the evolution over time of the human resources in large libre software projects, using the Debian project, one of the largest and most complex libre software projects based mainly in voluntary work, as a case study. We have performed a quantitative investigation of data corresponding to roughly seven years, studying how volunteer involvement has affected the software released by the project, and the developer community itself.

Open Source in Government

2011 ◽  
pp. 1287-1290 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Berry
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
General Public ◽  
Source Code ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Free Software ◽  
Software Projects ◽  
Software Companies ◽  
Develop Software ◽  
Software Distribution

Open source software (OSS) is computer software that has its underlying source code made available under a licence. This can allow developers and users to adapt and improve it (Raymond, 2001). Computer software can be broadly split into two development models: • Proprietary, or closed software, owned by a company or individual. Copies of the binary are made public; the source code is not usually made public. • Open-source software (OSS), where the source code is released with the binary. Users and developers can be licenced to use and modify the code, and to distribute any improvements they make. Both OSS and proprietary approaches allow companies to make a profit. Companies developing proprietary software make money by developing software and then selling licences to use the software. For example, Microsoft receives a payment for every copy of Windows sold with a personal computer. OSS companies make their money by providing services, such as advising clients on the GPL licence. The licencee can either charge a fee for this service or work free of charge. In practice, software companies often develop both types of software. OSS is developed by an ongoing, iterative process where people share the ideas expressed in the source code. The aim is that a large community of developers and users can contribute to the development of the code, check it for errors and bugs, and make the improved version available to others. Project management software is used to allow developers to keep track of the various versions. There are two main types of open-source licences (although there are many variants and subtypes developed by other companies): • Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) Licence: This permits a licencee to “close” a version (by withholding the most recent modifications to the source code) and sell it as a proprietary product; • GNU General Public Licence (GNU, GPL, or GPL): Under this licence, licencees may not “close” versions. The licencee may modify, copy, and redistribute any derivative version, under the same GPL licence. The licencee can either charge a fee for this service or work free of charge. Free software first evolved during the 1970s but in the 1990s forked into two movements, namely free software and open source (Berry, 2004). Richard Stallman, an American software developer who believes that sharing source code and ideas is fundamental to freedom of speech, developed a free version of the widely used Unix operating system. The resulting GNU program was released under a specially created General Public Licence (GNU, GPL). This was designed to ensure that the source code would remain openly available to all. It was not intended to prevent commercial usage or distribution (Stallman, 2002). This approach was christened free software. In this context, free meant that anyone could modify the software. However, the term “free” was often misunderstood to mean no cost. Hence, during the 1990s, Eric Raymond and others proposed that open-source software was coined as a less contentious and more business-friendly term. This has become widely accepted within the software and business communities; however there are still arguments about the most appropriate term to use (Moody, 2002). The OSMs are usually organised into a network of individuals who work collaboratively on the Internet, developing major software projects that sometimes rival commercial software but are always committed to the production of quality alternatives to those produced by commercial companies (Raymond, 2001; Williams, 2002). Groups and individuals develop software to meet their own and others’ needs in a highly decentralised way, likened to a Bazaar (Raymond, 2001). These groups often make substantive value claims to support their projects and foster an ethic of community, collaboration, deliberation, and intellectual freedom. In addition, it is argued by Lessig (1999) that the FLOSS community can offer an inspiration in their commitment to transparency in their products and their ability to open up governmental regulation and control through free/libre and open source code.

Dependencies, Networks, and Priorities in an Open Source Project

2011 ◽  
pp. 116-125
Author(s):  
Juha Järvensivu
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Software Projects ◽  
Network Characteristics ◽  
Project Networks ◽  
Open Source Project ◽  
Project Network ◽  
Network Studies

Dependencies between modern software projects are common. Jointly, such dependencies form a project network, where changes in one project cause changes to the others belonging to the same project network. This chapter discusses the issues of dependencies, distances, and priorities in open source project networks, from the standpoint of both technological and social networks. Thus, a multidisciplinary approach to the phenomenon of open source software (OSS) development is offered. There is a strong empirical focus maintained, since the aim of the chapter is to analyze OSS network characteristics through an in-depth, qualitative case study of one specifi c open source community: the Open Source Eclipse plug-in project Laika. In our analysis, we will introduce both internal and external networks associated with Laika, together with a discussion of how tightly they are intertwined. We will analyze both the internal and the external networks through the elements of mutuality, interdependence, distance, priorities, different power relations, and investments made in the relationships—elements chosen on the basis of analysis of the network studies literature.

scholarly journals The Image of Ethnography—Making Sense of the Social Through Images: A Structured Method

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 160940691984301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo A. Ayala ◽  
Tomas F. Koch
Keyword(s):  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Research Participant ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Systematic Observation ◽  
Know How ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ethnographic Analysis

Although systematic observation and interviews are the most common techniques in ethnography, a deep understanding requires research tools adapted to exploring beyond the observational scope. Nonconventional methods can support ethnography and complement observations and thus refine the construction of meaning. Qualitative research literature deals disproportionately more with some forms of data, typically text, lacking a structured method for visuals. This article arises from a case study using nonconventional methods, such as sociograms and participant-made drawings, and presents a structured method to attain enriched ethnographic analysis. Using this structured method, the research then draws on representation, visualization, and interaction as ports of entry into group dynamics. The aim being to open a way to discovery when visual and interactional representations do not easily translate into words. Spoken language presupposes an ability to capture and convey thought with precision and clarity and to know how the interlocutor may interpret words. A structured method to analyze images can fruitfully assist in the process. Since every research participant has a view on or a way of making sense of the research subject, the method is universal in application.

scholarly journals Slow Disaster in the Anthropocene: A Historian Witnesses Climate Change on the Korean Peninsula

Daedalus ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 149 (4) ◽  
pp. 192-206
Author(s):  
Scott Gabriel Knowles
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Korean Peninsula ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Social Production ◽  
The Social ◽  
A Site ◽  
Historical Methods

Despite their seeming reluctance to engage in the politics of the now, historians have a crucial role to play as witnesses to climate change and its attendant social injustices. Climate change is a product of industrialization, but its effects are known in different geographical and temporal scales through the compilation and analysis of historical narratives. This essay explores modes of thinking about disasters and temporality, the Anthropocene, and the social production of risk – set against a case study of the Korean DMZ as a site for historical witnessing. Historical methods are crucial if we are to investigate deeply the social processes that have produced climate change. A “slow disaster in the Anthropocene” approach might show the way forward.

Intellectual Property Battles in a Technological Global Economy: A Just War Analysis

2004 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 679-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Just War ◽  
Free Software ◽  
Ethical Awareness ◽  
Property A ◽  
Software Licenses ◽  
Just War Tradition ◽  
Word Processors

Abstract:War has broken out in the technological global economy, principally in battles over intellectual property. A particularly fierce aspect of this battle sets people who guard proprietary software against hackers, who want information to be free. The key challenge today is to produce an adequate conceptual lens for seeing what ethically is at stake in this battle. Toward this end, this paper uses the just war tradition to analyze differences between proponents of Free Software and proponents of Open Source Software. This paper’s use of three just war criteria—Just Cause, Right Intention, and Discrimination—illustrates how the just war tradition can raise the level of ethical awareness about the intellectual property wars that continue to rage in the technological global economy.The division between the two [open source and free software] is often bitterly contested, both from inside and outside the communities. The holiest of holy wars are not fought over word processors, operating systems, or compilers. They are all about software licenses.—Joe Barr

scholarly journals Leveraging multifaceted proximity measures among developers in predicting future collaborations to improve the social capital of software projects

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 1240-1271
Author(s):  
Amit Kumar ◽  
Sonali Agarwal
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Collaboration Network ◽  
Software Projects ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Proximity Measures ◽  
Project Level

Social capital is an asset earned by people through their social connections. One of the motivations among developers to contribute to open source development and maintenance tasks is to earn social capital. Recent studies suggest that the social capital of the project has an impact on the sustained participation of the developers in open source software (OSS). One way to improve the social capital of the project is to help the developers in connecting with their peers. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no prior research which attempts to predict future collaborations among developers and establish the significance of these collaborations on improving the social capital at the project level. To address this research gap, in this paper, we model the past collaborations among developers on version control system (VCS) and issue tracking system (ITS) as homogeneous and heterogeneous developer social network (DSN). Along with the novel path count based features, defined on proposed heterogeneous DSN, multifaceted proximity features are used to generate a feature set for machine learning classifiers. Our experiments performed on 5 popular open source projects (Spark, Kafka, Flink, WildFly, Hibernate) indicate that the proposed approach can predict the future collaborations among developers on both the platforms i.e. VCS as well as ITS with a significant accuracy (AUROC up to 0.85 and 0.9 for VCS and ITS respectively). A generic metric- recall of gain in social capital is proposed to investigate the efficacy of these predicted collaborations in improving the social capital of the project. We also concretised this metric on various measures of social capital and found that collaborations predicted by our approach have significant potential to improve the social capital at project level (e.g. Recall of gain in cohesion index up to 0.98 and Recall of gain in average godfather index up to 0.99 for VCS). We also showed that structure of collaboration network has an impact on the accuracy and usefulness of predicted collaborations. Since the past research suggests that many newcomers abandon the open source project due to social barriers which they face after joining the project, our research outcomes can be used to build the recommendation systems which might help to retain such developers by improving their social ties based on similar skills/interests.

scholarly journals Share and Share Alike: Understanding and Enforcing Open Source and Free Software Licenses

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian W. Carver
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
International Business ◽  
Free Software ◽  
District Court ◽  
Software Developers ◽  
Software Licenses ◽  
Software Licensing

This paper describes the history and the commonly used software licensing terms of the free software and open source movements. It explains the GPL and discusses attempts to enforce the GPL. The GPL is a revolutionary copyright license that has allowed software developers to use existing law to copyright their work, while allowing licensees the freedoms to use, copy, modify, and distribute their work, but not to turn the work into a proprietary derivative. 2005 brought two notable efforts to enforce the license in court. A district court in Munich, Germany declared the GPL valid and enforceable. Meanwhile, litigation between The SCO Group (SCO) and International Business Machines (IBM) may clarify how U.S. courts will interpret the GPL. Suggested Citation: Brian W. Carver, Share and Share Alike: Understanding and Enforcing Open Source and Free Software Licenses, 20 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 443 (2005).

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