From eda95d728a7b9b27dfa4ece0ca9da134a0ff8e83 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: josh-59 Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2023 10:52:20 -0600 Subject: [PATCH] November 12, 2023 --- generalizing-open-source.html | 58 +++++++++++++++-------------------- 1 file changed, 24 insertions(+), 34 deletions(-) diff --git a/generalizing-open-source.html b/generalizing-open-source.html index 2e44b27..e1e7a3d 100644 --- a/generalizing-open-source.html +++ b/generalizing-open-source.html @@ -1,15 +1,11 @@ --- layout: default -title: "BONUS: Generalizing Open Source" +title: "Generalizing Open Source" last-updated: May 2023 --- @@ -104,13 +95,9 @@
-

BONUS: Generalizing Open Source

+

Generalizing Open Source

- As Steven Weber noted in The Success of Open Source, - open-source is as much a new and novel way of producing things - as it is a collection of software. - In this bonus material, I explore one possible method of - generalizing its modus operandi to non-software goods. + Open source has successfully built a suite of software

@@ -141,8 +128,8 @@

Gift Economies

- Gift economies are an adaptation to abundance, rather than - scarcity.[1] + Whereas capitalism is an adaptation to scarcity, gift economies are an + adaptation to abundance. The question is, can we generalize the open source way, and if so, how?

@@ -150,7 +137,7 @@

Gift Economies

Aside:

- This is merely a business whose structure supports volunteerism. + The nonprofit is merely a business whose structure supports volunteerism.

@@ -162,7 +149,7 @@

Aside:

It's just that few bother to formally announce it. Second, a nonprofit with an amenable purpose is a natural target for volunteer efforts, both commercial and private. - Such non-paying efforts are the backbone of open-source. + Such non-paying efforts are the backbone of the open-source ecosystem. Third, a collection of nonprofits is realizable within America today— In fact, it is not too far removed from the current @@ -171,27 +158,18 @@

Aside:

Reality Check

-
-

Aside:

- -

- Transition, not revolution. -

-
-

For the foreseeable future, any project must be financially solvent to be viable, long-term. That is to say, our goal is to prosper within the - status quo— the capitalist / market economy— and not to - "revolutionize" anything. + status quo— the capitalist / market economy— and thereby + prove ourselves superior.

Open source has flourished in the hostile context of the market economy because copying software is very inexpensive. - Copying software costs essentially nothing, so that - the goods produced can be— and are— given away gratis. + Copying software costs essentially nothing, enabling coders to give

@@ -200,6 +178,11 @@

Aside:

have to be financially solvent.

+

+ Pay what you can? + *Franchises* -> Sprawling cities, accessible by bicycle. +

+

See Also:

+

Many Small- / Medium-Sized Projects

@@ -229,6 +213,11 @@

Aside:

a nonprofit doing so.

+ +

+ A cacophony of projects that somehow work together to produce a useable + operating system. +

The second reason to prefer small projects @@ -554,6 +543,7 @@

Why?

+

FAQ