The fundamental building block of open source software is collaboration. Without collaboration, there can be no open source: it is only by sharing, modifying, and re-distributing software that software becomes open source. In class we watched a presentation given by Soleio Cuervo whose entry into software development started in earnest when he bought a file of Joshua Davies’ source code. Cuervo describes how ‘rather than starting from scratch on a blank canvas I was able to tweak Joshua Davies’ work and make it my own’. And there you have it. By collaborating, Cuervo, and others in a similar position, were able to build upon and improve the workings of others, giving them a huge jumpstart in the practice. This workflow is how every great contribution is made, whether in art or science or or technology; each invention or innovation would not have been possible if not for the work that went before it. No car or medicine or bridge or piece of software was built in isolation. For innovation to happen developers must be able to understand how previous problems were solved and products created. In the case of software, this is only possible if the source code is freely available to view, modify, and redistribute.
Richard Stallman, the inventor of GNU a major contributor of Linux, describes how ‘free’ software does not mean it costs nothing but rather that you have the freedom to use it as you wish without it controlling you. He goes on to set out four fundamental requirements first free software:
Freedom zero: run the program for whatever purpose you wish.
Freedom one: able to study the source code and change it. Can be representing the programmer themselves or a wider group.
Freedom two: create and re-distribute copies
Freedom three: modify and redistribute modified programme
Should any of these freedoms be missing, it is the program that controls the users. Bad software can force users to delete files, install harmful upgrades, and exploit their lack of understanding of the software for profit. As such, Stallman argues that sometimes inconveniences must be suffered in order to remain free, as many popular software is regularly taking advantage of their users for profit.
Stallman also discusses how important an open source operating system is. It gives users control over how their computer works at a fundamental level, allowing them to make decisions and adjustments as was best for them rather than the company that distributed the OS.
These presentations gave me a strong understanding of why open source is so valuable. If I think about any project I have a for work from, I have always built upon the work of others. It is very rare anything is made in isolation, and it is also very hard to be creative when the software you are using can only be used in a certain way. For innovation and creativity to flourish, and for problems to be solved, Open sourcing must happen.