ABSTRACT
In 1998, Eric Raymond published “The Cathedral and the Bazaar,” an essay explor-
ing the potential of the open-source software movement. Raymond described how
programmer Linus Torvalds was able, with a brief online request for help, to recruit
volunteers from around the world who were willing to develop Linux from a kernel
of code into a robust software operating system that now competes with the likes of
proprietary-built Microsoft. According to the Open Source Initiative (2007), which
strives for a unified definition of the term, open-source software must meet ten
conditions that guarantee the right to use and to adapt the software without charge
so long as others are permitted to build on modifications and derived works freely.
Open-source software applications have become so prevalent and trustworthy that
the open-source philosophy has begun to creep into other areas of activity in which
new, easy-to-use online technologies facilitate collaborative work often accom-
plished among strangers. Yochai Benkler (2006), a prominent commentator on
economic and social networking, observes that “the networked environment makes
possible a new modality of organizing production: Radically decentralized, col-
laborative, and nonproprietary; based on sharing resources and outputs among
widely distributed, loosely connected individuals who cooperate with each other
without relying on either market signals or managerial commands.” He calls this
modality “commons-based peer production” (p. 60).
